1Íkala, Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
Benjamin Carcamo
Associate Professor, Universidad de
Las Américas, Chile, Santiago, Chile.
bcarcamo@udla.cl
https://orcid.
org/0000-0001-7330-9007
Carmen Carmona
Assistant Professor, Depto. de
Lenguas Extranjeras, Universidad de
Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile.
carmen.carmona@upla.cl
https://orcid.
org/0009-0005-3116-6809
Abstract
Visionary teaching interventions have had a positive impact on developing and
strengthening students’ ideal L2 self and motivated behavior. However, research
on the effects of this kind of intervention on the motivation of translation and in-
terpretation students is scarce. Using a mixed methods approach, the study aimed to
evaluate the impact of a semester-long intervention, focused on translation and in-
terpretation students’ future professional careers, on their motivation, intended
effort, and willingness to communicate. The participants were translation and in-
terpretation students with a B1 level of English, who were divided in two groups
for the study. The treatment group received a vision intervention (N=14) whereas
the control group (N=14) did not. To measure the differences in motivation
before and after the intervention, a questionnaire was used. Additionally, a semi-
structured interview was used to explore in greater depth the students’ perceptions
of the experience. The results of this study reveal that visionary teaching increased
both ideal L2 self and intended effort of students. Furthermore, it showed that the
intervention was memorable for students and that it benefited them in establishing
a future L2 professional vision as well as outlining the steps to achieve it. Our
findings suggest the importance of including visionary teaching in translation and
interpretation programs so that students can become motivated and involved in
their future professional paths.
Keywords: efl, interpretation, motivation, translation, visionary teaching
Resumen
Las intervenciones de visualización han tenido un impacto positivo en el desa-
rrollo y el fortalecimiento de la actitud ideal para el aprendizaje de una segunda
lengua y de la motivación entre los estudiantes. Sin embargo, se ha investigado
poco sobre los efectos de este tipo de intervención en la motivación de los estu-
diantes de traducción e interpretación. Este estudio mixto tuvo como objetivo
The Impact of a Vision Intervention
on Translation and Interpretation Students’
L2 Motivation
Impacto de una intervención de visualización sobre la motivación para aprender
una segunda lengua de los estudiantes de traducción e interpretación
Impact d'une intervention de visualisation sur la motivation à apprendre une seconde
langue chez les étudiants de traduction et interprétation
Impacto de uma intervenção de visualização na motivação para o aprendizado
de um segundo idioma entre estudantes de tradução e interpretação
Received: 2023-02-15 / Accepted: 2023-07-14 / Published: 2023-11-24
https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.ikala.353447
Editor: Doris Correa, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia.
Copyright, Universidad de Antioquia, 2023. This is an open access article, distributed in compliance with the terms of the
Creative Commons license by-nc-sa 4.0 International.
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
Benjamin Carcamo
Associate Professor, Universidad de
Las Américas, Chile, Santiago, Chile.
bcarcamo@udla.cl
https://orcid.
org/0000-0001-7330-9007
Carmen Carmona
Assistant Professor, Depto. de
Lenguas Extranjeras, Universidad de
Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile.
carmen.carmona@upla.cl
https://orcid.
org/0009-0005-3116-6809
Abstract
Visionary teaching interventions have had a positive impact on developing and
strengthening students’ ideal L2 self and motivated behavior. However, research
on the effects of this kind of intervention on the motivation of translation and in-
terpretation students is scarce. Using a mixed methods approach, the study aimed to
evaluate the impact of a semester-long intervention, focused on translation and in-
terpretation students’ future professional careers, on their motivation, intended
effort, and willingness to communicate. The participants were translation and in-
terpretation students with a B1 level of English, who were divided in two groups
for the study. The treatment group received a vision intervention (N=14) whereas
the control group (N=14) did not. To measure the differences in motivation
before and after the intervention, a questionnaire was used. Additionally, a semi-
structured interview was used to explore in greater depth the students’ perceptions
of the experience. The results of this study reveal that visionary teaching increased
both ideal L2 self and intended effort of students. Furthermore, it showed that the
intervention was memorable for students and that it benefited them in establishing
a future L2 professional vision as well as outlining the steps to achieve it. Our
findings suggest the importance of including visionary teaching in translation and
interpretation programs so that students can become motivated and involved in
their future professional paths.
Keywords: efl, interpretation, motivation, translation, visionary teaching
Resumen
Las intervenciones de visualización han tenido un impacto positivo en el desa-
rrollo y el fortalecimiento de la actitud ideal para el aprendizaje de una segunda
lengua y de la motivación entre los estudiantes. Sin embargo, se ha investigado
poco sobre los efectos de este tipo de intervención en la motivación de los estu-
diantes de traducción e interpretación. Este estudio mixto tuvo como objetivo
The Impact of a Vision Intervention
on Translation and Interpretation Students’
L2 Motivation
Impacto de una intervención de visualización sobre la motivación para aprender
una segunda lengua de los estudiantes de traducción e interpretación
Impact d'une intervention de visualisation sur la motivation à apprendre une seconde
langue chez les étudiants de traduction et interprétation
Impacto de uma intervenção de visualização na motivação para o aprendizado
de um segundo idioma entre estudantes de tradução e interpretação
Received: 2023-02-15 / Accepted: 2023-07-14 / Published: 2023-11-24
https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.ikala.353447
Editor: Doris Correa, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia.
Copyright, Universidad de Antioquia, 2023. This is an open access article, distributed in compliance with the terms of the
Creative Commons license by-nc-sa 4.0 International.
2Íkala Benjamin CarCamo & Carmen Carmona
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
evaluar el impacto de una intervención a lo largo de un semestre en la motivación,
el esfuerzo previsto y la disposición de los estudiantes frente a la comunicación.
Dicha intervención se centró en las futuras carreras profesionales de estudiantes de
traducción e interpretación. Los participantes, estudiantes de traducción e inter-
pretación con un nivel B1 de inglés, se dividieron en dos grupos para el estudio.
El grupo de tratamiento participó en una intervención de visualización (N=14),
mientras que el grupo de control (N=14) no participó. Para medir las diferencias
en la motivación antes y después de la intervención, se usó un cuestionario. Se
utilizó una entrevista semiestructurada para explorar en detalle las percepciones
de los estudiantes sobre esta experiencia. Los resultados del estudio revelaron que
la enseñanza visionaria mejoró tanto la actitud ideal para el aprendizaje de una se-
gunda lengua como el esfuerzo previsto de los estudiantes. Además, mostró que la
intervención fue memorable para los estudiantes y que les ayudó a establecer una
proyección de su futuro profesional con la L2 y a definir los pasos necesarios para
alcanzar esa visión. Estos hallazgos sugieren la importancia de incluir la enseñanza
visionaria en los programas de traducción e interpretación, pues esta permite que los
estudiantes se motiven y se comprometan con sus futuras carreras profesionales.
Palabras clave: enseñanza del inglés como segunda lengua, interpretación, moti-
vación, traducción, enseñanza visionaria
Résumé
Les interventions de visualisation ont eu un impact positif sur le développement et le
renforcement du soi idéal de l'apprennant d'une seconde langue et sur la motivation
chez les étudiants des langues. Cependant, peu de recherches ont été menées sur
les effets de ce type d’intervention pour la motivation des étudiants en traduction
et interprétation. Cette étude mixte visait à évaluer l'impact d'une intervention
d’un semestre sur la motivation, l’effort envisagé et la volonté de communiquer
des étudiants. L’intervention était axée sur les carrières futures des étudiants
en traduction et interprétation. Les participants, des étudiants en traduction et
interprétation ayant un niveau d’anglais B1, ont été divisés en deux groupes au
cours de l’étude. Le groupe expérimental a participé à une intervention sur la vi-
sion (N=14), tandis que le groupe de contrôle (N=14) n’y a pas participé. Pour
mesurer les différences de motivation avant et après l’intervention, un question-
naire a été utilisé. Un entretien semi-directif a également été utilisé pour explorer
davantage les perceptions des étudiants sur l’expérience. Les résultats de l’étude
ont révélé que l’enseignement visionnaire améliorait à la fois le soi idéal de l'ap-
prenant d'une seconde langue et l’effort envisagé des étudiants. En outre, ils ont
montré que l’intervention a été mémorable pour les étudiants et les a aidé à établir
une vision de leur future carrière en L2 et à déterminer les étapes nécessaires pour
atteindre cette vision. Ces résultats indiquent l’importance d’inclure une ensei-
gnement visionnaire dans les programmes de traduction et d’interprétation, car
il permet aux étudiants de se motiver et de s’impliquer dans leur future carrière.
Mots-clés : enseignement de l’anglais en tant que seconde langue, interprétation,
traduction, enseignement visionnaire
Resumo
As intervenções de visão tiveram um impacto positivo no desenvolvimento e
no fortalecimento do eu ideal de L2 e do comportamento motivado dos alunos.
Entretanto, poucas pesquisas foram feitas sobre os efeitos desse tipo de interven-
ção na motivação dos alunos de tradução e interpretação. Este estudo teve como
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
evaluar el impacto de una intervención a lo largo de un semestre en la motivación,
el esfuerzo previsto y la disposición de los estudiantes frente a la comunicación.
Dicha intervención se centró en las futuras carreras profesionales de estudiantes de
traducción e interpretación. Los participantes, estudiantes de traducción e inter-
pretación con un nivel B1 de inglés, se dividieron en dos grupos para el estudio.
El grupo de tratamiento participó en una intervención de visualización (N=14),
mientras que el grupo de control (N=14) no participó. Para medir las diferencias
en la motivación antes y después de la intervención, se usó un cuestionario. Se
utilizó una entrevista semiestructurada para explorar en detalle las percepciones
de los estudiantes sobre esta experiencia. Los resultados del estudio revelaron que
la enseñanza visionaria mejoró tanto la actitud ideal para el aprendizaje de una se-
gunda lengua como el esfuerzo previsto de los estudiantes. Además, mostró que la
intervención fue memorable para los estudiantes y que les ayudó a establecer una
proyección de su futuro profesional con la L2 y a definir los pasos necesarios para
alcanzar esa visión. Estos hallazgos sugieren la importancia de incluir la enseñanza
visionaria en los programas de traducción e interpretación, pues esta permite que los
estudiantes se motiven y se comprometan con sus futuras carreras profesionales.
Palabras clave: enseñanza del inglés como segunda lengua, interpretación, moti-
vación, traducción, enseñanza visionaria
Résumé
Les interventions de visualisation ont eu un impact positif sur le développement et le
renforcement du soi idéal de l'apprennant d'une seconde langue et sur la motivation
chez les étudiants des langues. Cependant, peu de recherches ont été menées sur
les effets de ce type d’intervention pour la motivation des étudiants en traduction
et interprétation. Cette étude mixte visait à évaluer l'impact d'une intervention
d’un semestre sur la motivation, l’effort envisagé et la volonté de communiquer
des étudiants. L’intervention était axée sur les carrières futures des étudiants
en traduction et interprétation. Les participants, des étudiants en traduction et
interprétation ayant un niveau d’anglais B1, ont été divisés en deux groupes au
cours de l’étude. Le groupe expérimental a participé à une intervention sur la vi-
sion (N=14), tandis que le groupe de contrôle (N=14) n’y a pas participé. Pour
mesurer les différences de motivation avant et après l’intervention, un question-
naire a été utilisé. Un entretien semi-directif a également été utilisé pour explorer
davantage les perceptions des étudiants sur l’expérience. Les résultats de l’étude
ont révélé que l’enseignement visionnaire améliorait à la fois le soi idéal de l'ap-
prenant d'une seconde langue et l’effort envisagé des étudiants. En outre, ils ont
montré que l’intervention a été mémorable pour les étudiants et les a aidé à établir
une vision de leur future carrière en L2 et à déterminer les étapes nécessaires pour
atteindre cette vision. Ces résultats indiquent l’importance d’inclure une ensei-
gnement visionnaire dans les programmes de traduction et d’interprétation, car
il permet aux étudiants de se motiver et de s’impliquer dans leur future carrière.
Mots-clés : enseignement de l’anglais en tant que seconde langue, interprétation,
traduction, enseignement visionnaire
Resumo
As intervenções de visão tiveram um impacto positivo no desenvolvimento e
no fortalecimento do eu ideal de L2 e do comportamento motivado dos alunos.
Entretanto, poucas pesquisas foram feitas sobre os efeitos desse tipo de interven-
ção na motivação dos alunos de tradução e interpretação. Este estudo teve como
3Íkala T he I mpacT of a VIsIon I nTerVenTIon on T ranslaTIon and I nTerpreTaTIon sTudenTs ’ l2 moTIVaTIon
Medellín, ColoMbia, Vol. 29 issue 1 (January -april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
objetivo, usando métodos mistos, avaliar uma intervenção de um semestre sobre a
motivação, o esforço esperado e a vontade de se comunicar. A intervenção se concen-
trou nas futuras carreiras dos alunos de tradução e interpretação. Os participantes,
estudantes de tradução e interpretação com nível B1 de inglês, foram divididos em
dois grupos durante o estudo. O grupo de tratamento participou de uma inter-
venção de visão (N=14), enquanto o grupo de controle (N=14) não participou.
Para medir as diferenças na motivação antes e depois da intervenção, foi usado
um questionário para medir o eu ideal de L2, o eu deôntico de L2, as atitudes em
relação ao aprendizado, o esforço esperado, a facilidade de usar imagens e a vonta-
de de se comunicar por meio da escrita. Uma entrevista semiestruturada também
foi usada para explorar melhor as percepções dos alunos sobre a experiência. Os
resultados do estudo revelaram que o ensino visionário melhorou tanto o eu ideal
de L2 dos alunos quanto o esforço pretendido. Além disso, a análise dos dados das
entrevistas semiestruturadas mostrou que a intervenção foi memorável para os alunos
e que os ajudou a estabelecer uma projeção para o seu futuro profissional com a L2
e a determinar os passos necessários para alcançar essa visão. Estas conclusões real-
çam a importância de incluir um ensino visionário nos programas de tradução e
interpretação, uma vez que permite aos estudantes ficarem motivados e envolvidos
nas suas futuras carreiras profissionais.
Palavras-chave: ensino de inglês como segunda língua, interpretação, motivação,
tradução, ensino visionário
Medellín, ColoMbia, Vol. 29 issue 1 (January -april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
objetivo, usando métodos mistos, avaliar uma intervenção de um semestre sobre a
motivação, o esforço esperado e a vontade de se comunicar. A intervenção se concen-
trou nas futuras carreiras dos alunos de tradução e interpretação. Os participantes,
estudantes de tradução e interpretação com nível B1 de inglês, foram divididos em
dois grupos durante o estudo. O grupo de tratamento participou de uma inter-
venção de visão (N=14), enquanto o grupo de controle (N=14) não participou.
Para medir as diferenças na motivação antes e depois da intervenção, foi usado
um questionário para medir o eu ideal de L2, o eu deôntico de L2, as atitudes em
relação ao aprendizado, o esforço esperado, a facilidade de usar imagens e a vonta-
de de se comunicar por meio da escrita. Uma entrevista semiestruturada também
foi usada para explorar melhor as percepções dos alunos sobre a experiência. Os
resultados do estudo revelaram que o ensino visionário melhorou tanto o eu ideal
de L2 dos alunos quanto o esforço pretendido. Além disso, a análise dos dados das
entrevistas semiestruturadas mostrou que a intervenção foi memorável para os alunos
e que os ajudou a estabelecer uma projeção para o seu futuro profissional com a L2
e a determinar os passos necessários para alcançar essa visão. Estas conclusões real-
çam a importância de incluir um ensino visionário nos programas de tradução e
interpretação, uma vez que permite aos estudantes ficarem motivados e envolvidos
nas suas futuras carreiras profissionais.
Palavras-chave: ensino de inglês como segunda língua, interpretação, motivação,
tradução, ensino visionário
4Íkala Benjamin CarCamo & Carmen Carmona
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
Introduction
Achievement in L2 is difficult to explain due to a
wide range of individual differences among learn-
ers (Dörnyei, 2019). A particular difference to
which second-language acquisition (sla) research-
ers involved in positive psychology have been
paying attention for some time is in the levels of
L2 motivation that students have (Al-Hoorie &
Szabó, 2022). Currently, the L2 Motivational
Self System (L2MSS) has become one of the
current predominant frameworks in L2 motiva-
tion (Dörnyei, 2019; Thorsen et al., 2020). This
framework is based on the theory of possible selves
(Markus & Nurius, 1986) and self-discrepancy
theory (Higgins, 1987) and thus asserts that moti-
vation can be understood as the desire to bridge
the gap between our present self and our future
self, which guides the way we act (Moskovsky et al.,
2016). Additionally, it explains the construct of
motivation as tripartite. The first component is
the ideal L2 self, which refers to the desired future
state one would like to reach. The second one is the
ought-to L2 self, which accounts for the percep-
tions people may have of the future state others
desire they reach. Finally, the L2 learning expe-
rience involves all factors related to the learning
environment in which one is immersed, such as
the classmates, the classroom atmosphere, and the
teacher.
The L2MSS construct has supported much of the
contemporary research on motivation. According
to the principles of the L2MSS, a pedagogi-
cal trend known as “vision-based teaching” or
“visionary teaching” has been developing. This
methodological approach can be defined as the
use of pedagogical resources to create and foster a
positive vision for students of their future selves
which in turn will help them be more motivated
to learn English as a foreign or second language.
Different interventions have implemented tech-
niques aiming at achieving this objective with
different degrees of success (Chan, 2014; Le-Thi
et al., 2022; Magid, 2014; Sampson, 2012; Sato,
2020). Additionally, recent research has shown
that future L2 writing selves can positively pre-
dict L2 writing achievement (Tahmouresi & Papi,
2021; Zhu, Guan, & Yao, 2022).
Some common limitations have been made
explicit by researchers who used visionary teach-
ing to raise students’ motivation. They noted the
lack of control groups (Vlaeva & Dörnyei, 2021),
the shortness of the interventions (Sato, 2020;
Vlaeva & Dörnyei, 2021), and the lack of data on
students from different parts of the world (Boo
et al., 2015). In the case of translating and inter-
preting, research has been done on motivation,
but these studies have usually focused on the rea-
sons why people volunteer to translate (Lee, 2022;
Olohan, 2014), the motivation toward acquiring
translating and interpreting skills (Wu, 2016), and
motivation in the professional context (Mossop,
2014). There is little research on how translation
and interpretation students feel about acquiring
the L2 even though the L2 competence has con-
sistently been determined as a crucial factor in the
development and training of future translators
and interpreters (Angelelli, 2007, 2008; Blasco
Mayor, 2015; Liu & Yu, 2019).
To address these weaknesses, we carried out a quasi-
experimental study that consisted in the design of
a vision-based teaching intervention for an esl
course part of the Spanish-English Translation and
Interpretation program in a university in Chile.
The intervention lasted an entire 4-month semes-
ter and consisted of a series of weekly activities
that prompted the creation and strengthening of a
future self for students. The main objectives of the
study were to determine the effects of an L2MSS-
based visionary intervention program on L2
motivation as well as how students engaged with
the activities used in the intervention.
Theoretical Framework
The study drew heavily on the L2MSS. Hence, for
this section, we start by introducing the L2MSS
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
Introduction
Achievement in L2 is difficult to explain due to a
wide range of individual differences among learn-
ers (Dörnyei, 2019). A particular difference to
which second-language acquisition (sla) research-
ers involved in positive psychology have been
paying attention for some time is in the levels of
L2 motivation that students have (Al-Hoorie &
Szabó, 2022). Currently, the L2 Motivational
Self System (L2MSS) has become one of the
current predominant frameworks in L2 motiva-
tion (Dörnyei, 2019; Thorsen et al., 2020). This
framework is based on the theory of possible selves
(Markus & Nurius, 1986) and self-discrepancy
theory (Higgins, 1987) and thus asserts that moti-
vation can be understood as the desire to bridge
the gap between our present self and our future
self, which guides the way we act (Moskovsky et al.,
2016). Additionally, it explains the construct of
motivation as tripartite. The first component is
the ideal L2 self, which refers to the desired future
state one would like to reach. The second one is the
ought-to L2 self, which accounts for the percep-
tions people may have of the future state others
desire they reach. Finally, the L2 learning expe-
rience involves all factors related to the learning
environment in which one is immersed, such as
the classmates, the classroom atmosphere, and the
teacher.
The L2MSS construct has supported much of the
contemporary research on motivation. According
to the principles of the L2MSS, a pedagogi-
cal trend known as “vision-based teaching” or
“visionary teaching” has been developing. This
methodological approach can be defined as the
use of pedagogical resources to create and foster a
positive vision for students of their future selves
which in turn will help them be more motivated
to learn English as a foreign or second language.
Different interventions have implemented tech-
niques aiming at achieving this objective with
different degrees of success (Chan, 2014; Le-Thi
et al., 2022; Magid, 2014; Sampson, 2012; Sato,
2020). Additionally, recent research has shown
that future L2 writing selves can positively pre-
dict L2 writing achievement (Tahmouresi & Papi,
2021; Zhu, Guan, & Yao, 2022).
Some common limitations have been made
explicit by researchers who used visionary teach-
ing to raise students’ motivation. They noted the
lack of control groups (Vlaeva & Dörnyei, 2021),
the shortness of the interventions (Sato, 2020;
Vlaeva & Dörnyei, 2021), and the lack of data on
students from different parts of the world (Boo
et al., 2015). In the case of translating and inter-
preting, research has been done on motivation,
but these studies have usually focused on the rea-
sons why people volunteer to translate (Lee, 2022;
Olohan, 2014), the motivation toward acquiring
translating and interpreting skills (Wu, 2016), and
motivation in the professional context (Mossop,
2014). There is little research on how translation
and interpretation students feel about acquiring
the L2 even though the L2 competence has con-
sistently been determined as a crucial factor in the
development and training of future translators
and interpreters (Angelelli, 2007, 2008; Blasco
Mayor, 2015; Liu & Yu, 2019).
To address these weaknesses, we carried out a quasi-
experimental study that consisted in the design of
a vision-based teaching intervention for an esl
course part of the Spanish-English Translation and
Interpretation program in a university in Chile.
The intervention lasted an entire 4-month semes-
ter and consisted of a series of weekly activities
that prompted the creation and strengthening of a
future self for students. The main objectives of the
study were to determine the effects of an L2MSS-
based visionary intervention program on L2
motivation as well as how students engaged with
the activities used in the intervention.
Theoretical Framework
The study drew heavily on the L2MSS. Hence, for
this section, we start by introducing the L2MSS
5Íkala T he I mpacT of a VIsIon I nTerVenTIon on T ranslaTIon and I nTerpreTaTIon sTudenTs ’ l2 moTIVaTIon
Medellín, ColoMbia, Vol. 29 issue 1 (January -april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
framework as well as how it is usually measured.
Then, we present how motivation has been stud-
ied in the field of translation and interpretation.
L2MSS and Visionary Teaching
Dörnyei proposed a framework known as L2MSS
based on ideas from Markus and Nurius’s (1986)
possible selves theory and Higgins’ (1987) self-
discrepancy theory. From the ideas of Markus
and Nurius (1986), motivation is conceived as
strongly related to how individuals feel and what
they think about themselves, and believe these
feelings and ideas are important behavior reg-
ulators (Markus & Wurf, 1987). These mental
representations people create are known as self-
concepts, which can be defined as the mental images
of thoughts and feelings that come together into
multiple possible selves. These possible selves con-
tain tangible images and senses about the future
and are related to fears (feared self ), ideals (ideal
self ), and duties (ought self ) (Higgins, 1987;
Markus & Nurius, 1986). Possible selves may
reduce or enhance motivation in general and L2
motivation specifically by working as self-guides
that explain how people act in the present to move
toward the future (Dörnyei, 2009; Hamman et al.,
2010; Sommer & Baumeister, 2002).
Higgins’ theory (1987) is composed of three selves:
the actual self, the ideal self, and the ought self. The
actual self contains the image one has of the charac-
teristics one believes to possess in the present. The
ideal self represents the hopes and aspirations as
we expect them to turn out. Finally, the ought self
is related to the characteristics one believes one
should possess based on moral obligations and
responsibilities. These three selves guide our moti-
vation. For example, if there is disparity between
the actual and ideal selves, a possible positive out-
come could be the motivation we need to drive
ourselves toward closing the gap between the two.
On the other hand, the distance between the actual
and ought self may generate feelings of agita-
tion and anxiety (Higgins, 1987). According to
these ideas, Dörnyei (2009) proposed a tripartite
framework composed of an ideal L2 self, ought-to
L2 self, and a third component he labeled as the L2
learning experience.
Regarding the pedagogical implications of the
L2MSS, this framework has been used to develop
a teaching approach known as visionary teaching,
which seeks to help students construct, strengthen,
and put their ideal L2 selves into action through
visualization activities (Chan, 2014; Dörnyei &
Kubanyiova, 2014; Hadfield & Dörnyei, 2013;
Le-Thi et al., 2022; Magid, 2014; Safdari, 2021;
Sampson, 2012; Sato, 2020). This teaching method
considers nine conditions that need to be fulfilled so
that the motivational potential of visionary teach-
ing can come to life. The conditions state that the
vision is supposed to be available to the learner, elab-
orate and vivid, plausible, not comfortably within
reach, different from the current self, in harmony
with the other elements of the learner’s self-con-
cept, operationalized through practical strategies,
activated by means of reminders, and counterbal-
anced with the negative consequences that may
arise from not realizing the vision. Dörnyei and
Kubanyiova (2014) proposed a series of six stages
to conduct visionary teaching: creating the vision,
strengthening the vision, substantiating the vision,
transforming the vision into action, keeping the
vision alive, and counterbalancing the vision.
An important number of interventions has been
put together considering the L2MSS framework in
different countries and fields of study (see Vlaeva
& Dörnyei, 2021 for a detailed overview). For
instance, Munezane (2015) explored whether will-
ingness to communicate could be increased using
visualization and goal setting with students of
mixed majors. Although the quantitative findings
were not significant, the learners showed signs of
increased willingness to communicate and motiva-
tion as to how they connected English with their
future. Another example can be found in Safdari’s
(2021) study in which he conducted a 7-week
intervention with the objective of exploring the
effects of a visionary intervention on motivational
attributes of students in an English academy. The
Medellín, ColoMbia, Vol. 29 issue 1 (January -april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
framework as well as how it is usually measured.
Then, we present how motivation has been stud-
ied in the field of translation and interpretation.
L2MSS and Visionary Teaching
Dörnyei proposed a framework known as L2MSS
based on ideas from Markus and Nurius’s (1986)
possible selves theory and Higgins’ (1987) self-
discrepancy theory. From the ideas of Markus
and Nurius (1986), motivation is conceived as
strongly related to how individuals feel and what
they think about themselves, and believe these
feelings and ideas are important behavior reg-
ulators (Markus & Wurf, 1987). These mental
representations people create are known as self-
concepts, which can be defined as the mental images
of thoughts and feelings that come together into
multiple possible selves. These possible selves con-
tain tangible images and senses about the future
and are related to fears (feared self ), ideals (ideal
self ), and duties (ought self ) (Higgins, 1987;
Markus & Nurius, 1986). Possible selves may
reduce or enhance motivation in general and L2
motivation specifically by working as self-guides
that explain how people act in the present to move
toward the future (Dörnyei, 2009; Hamman et al.,
2010; Sommer & Baumeister, 2002).
Higgins’ theory (1987) is composed of three selves:
the actual self, the ideal self, and the ought self. The
actual self contains the image one has of the charac-
teristics one believes to possess in the present. The
ideal self represents the hopes and aspirations as
we expect them to turn out. Finally, the ought self
is related to the characteristics one believes one
should possess based on moral obligations and
responsibilities. These three selves guide our moti-
vation. For example, if there is disparity between
the actual and ideal selves, a possible positive out-
come could be the motivation we need to drive
ourselves toward closing the gap between the two.
On the other hand, the distance between the actual
and ought self may generate feelings of agita-
tion and anxiety (Higgins, 1987). According to
these ideas, Dörnyei (2009) proposed a tripartite
framework composed of an ideal L2 self, ought-to
L2 self, and a third component he labeled as the L2
learning experience.
Regarding the pedagogical implications of the
L2MSS, this framework has been used to develop
a teaching approach known as visionary teaching,
which seeks to help students construct, strengthen,
and put their ideal L2 selves into action through
visualization activities (Chan, 2014; Dörnyei &
Kubanyiova, 2014; Hadfield & Dörnyei, 2013;
Le-Thi et al., 2022; Magid, 2014; Safdari, 2021;
Sampson, 2012; Sato, 2020). This teaching method
considers nine conditions that need to be fulfilled so
that the motivational potential of visionary teach-
ing can come to life. The conditions state that the
vision is supposed to be available to the learner, elab-
orate and vivid, plausible, not comfortably within
reach, different from the current self, in harmony
with the other elements of the learner’s self-con-
cept, operationalized through practical strategies,
activated by means of reminders, and counterbal-
anced with the negative consequences that may
arise from not realizing the vision. Dörnyei and
Kubanyiova (2014) proposed a series of six stages
to conduct visionary teaching: creating the vision,
strengthening the vision, substantiating the vision,
transforming the vision into action, keeping the
vision alive, and counterbalancing the vision.
An important number of interventions has been
put together considering the L2MSS framework in
different countries and fields of study (see Vlaeva
& Dörnyei, 2021 for a detailed overview). For
instance, Munezane (2015) explored whether will-
ingness to communicate could be increased using
visualization and goal setting with students of
mixed majors. Although the quantitative findings
were not significant, the learners showed signs of
increased willingness to communicate and motiva-
tion as to how they connected English with their
future. Another example can be found in Safdari’s
(2021) study in which he conducted a 7-week
intervention with the objective of exploring the
effects of a visionary intervention on motivational
attributes of students in an English academy. The
6Íkala Benjamin CarCamo & Carmen Carmona
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
results indicated that all motivation-related mea-
sures increased except for ought-to L2 self. More
recently, in Chile, Sato (2020) did a vision inter-
vention with business majors. The intervention
focused on their future selves as entrepreneurs who
could become internationally successful. The inter-
vened group showed an increased L2 self at the end
of the study, but, contrary to expectations, intended
effort did not change. None of these interventions
has been specifically conducted with translation
and interpretation students even though being able
to use English as an additional language is essential
for the professional success translators and inter-
preters aim at achieving.
L2 Motivation in Translation
and Interpretation
The recent rise in the number of academics as well as
people outside the academia that have become part
of the translation and interpretation community has
led to an increase in studies in this area in aspects
such as cognitive processes (Angelone & Marín,
2022; Christoffels et al., 2006; Mellinger, 2022),
strategy use (Abdelaal, 2019; Zhu et al., 2022), and
machine learning (Castilho et al., 2018; Costa-jussà,
& Fonollosa, 2015). Surprisingly, an understudied
area in this regard has been the role of language
proficiency in translation and interpretation. As
Blasco Mayor (2015) indicates, despite being
commonsense that language proficiency should
be a common prerequisite to be able to interpret
effectively, few are the studies that have explored
this relation in depth. Nonetheless, the studies
that have done so have consistently revealed that
high proficiency level in the second language is
positively correlated to good performance in trans-
lation and interpretation (Angelelli, 2007, 2008;
Blasco Mayor, 2007, 2015; Liu & Yu, 2019). For
this reason, the case of building a strong ideal L2
self that guides translation and interpretation stu-
dents could be made, and has, in fact, started to
gather interest ( Jabu et al., 2021; Lee, 2022).
Among the investigations that have been con-
ducted on translation and interpretation students’
motivation, only a few studies have taken into con-
sideration the notion of self. Liu and Yu (2019)
conducted a case study to analyze what demoti-
vated a student specializing in translation and
interpretation studies in China as well as how these
demotivators influenced a participant’s behavior fol-
lowing a self-concept perspective. In this study, the
researchers gathered qualitative data from diaries
and interviews. As a result, four areas were revealed
as demotivators for the participant: significant
others, coursework, curriculum, and self-perceived
ability. These demotivators made the student feel
trapped in the present self of a fully occupied stu-
dent, thus putting him far away from an ideal L2
self that he could have as a professional translator
or interpreter in the foreign language. In the case of
interpretation trainees, Wu (2016) explored stu-
dents’ demotivation in a Chinese context through
the analysis of essays and questionnaires. The find-
ings reveal that ideal self is a better motivator than
instrumentality and avoidance, which supports
the importance of encouraging interpreting train-
ees to visualize their future success and elaborate
future self-guides.
Through an action research project conducted in
an ma program, Ho (2020) studied the impact
a two-stage translation workshop had on inter-
preting students’ motivation and lack of interest.
During the intervention, participants went from
familiarizing themselves with the work translators
do to carrying out translation projects collabora-
tively. The first stage served to introduce students
to the work of translators. The second stage was
market and project-oriented, and students had
to view themselves as freelancers. To measure the
success of the experience, the researcher imple-
mented a questionnaire and interviews at the end
of the program. The findings show that the role-
playing hands-on translation experience sparked
extra motivation in the students to practice their
skills, which can be connected to the importance
of creating an ideal L2 self. Working in small
groups helped students increase opportunities
to voice their opinions and feel involved in their
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
results indicated that all motivation-related mea-
sures increased except for ought-to L2 self. More
recently, in Chile, Sato (2020) did a vision inter-
vention with business majors. The intervention
focused on their future selves as entrepreneurs who
could become internationally successful. The inter-
vened group showed an increased L2 self at the end
of the study, but, contrary to expectations, intended
effort did not change. None of these interventions
has been specifically conducted with translation
and interpretation students even though being able
to use English as an additional language is essential
for the professional success translators and inter-
preters aim at achieving.
L2 Motivation in Translation
and Interpretation
The recent rise in the number of academics as well as
people outside the academia that have become part
of the translation and interpretation community has
led to an increase in studies in this area in aspects
such as cognitive processes (Angelone & Marín,
2022; Christoffels et al., 2006; Mellinger, 2022),
strategy use (Abdelaal, 2019; Zhu et al., 2022), and
machine learning (Castilho et al., 2018; Costa-jussà,
& Fonollosa, 2015). Surprisingly, an understudied
area in this regard has been the role of language
proficiency in translation and interpretation. As
Blasco Mayor (2015) indicates, despite being
commonsense that language proficiency should
be a common prerequisite to be able to interpret
effectively, few are the studies that have explored
this relation in depth. Nonetheless, the studies
that have done so have consistently revealed that
high proficiency level in the second language is
positively correlated to good performance in trans-
lation and interpretation (Angelelli, 2007, 2008;
Blasco Mayor, 2007, 2015; Liu & Yu, 2019). For
this reason, the case of building a strong ideal L2
self that guides translation and interpretation stu-
dents could be made, and has, in fact, started to
gather interest ( Jabu et al., 2021; Lee, 2022).
Among the investigations that have been con-
ducted on translation and interpretation students’
motivation, only a few studies have taken into con-
sideration the notion of self. Liu and Yu (2019)
conducted a case study to analyze what demoti-
vated a student specializing in translation and
interpretation studies in China as well as how these
demotivators influenced a participant’s behavior fol-
lowing a self-concept perspective. In this study, the
researchers gathered qualitative data from diaries
and interviews. As a result, four areas were revealed
as demotivators for the participant: significant
others, coursework, curriculum, and self-perceived
ability. These demotivators made the student feel
trapped in the present self of a fully occupied stu-
dent, thus putting him far away from an ideal L2
self that he could have as a professional translator
or interpreter in the foreign language. In the case of
interpretation trainees, Wu (2016) explored stu-
dents’ demotivation in a Chinese context through
the analysis of essays and questionnaires. The find-
ings reveal that ideal self is a better motivator than
instrumentality and avoidance, which supports
the importance of encouraging interpreting train-
ees to visualize their future success and elaborate
future self-guides.
Through an action research project conducted in
an ma program, Ho (2020) studied the impact
a two-stage translation workshop had on inter-
preting students’ motivation and lack of interest.
During the intervention, participants went from
familiarizing themselves with the work translators
do to carrying out translation projects collabora-
tively. The first stage served to introduce students
to the work of translators. The second stage was
market and project-oriented, and students had
to view themselves as freelancers. To measure the
success of the experience, the researcher imple-
mented a questionnaire and interviews at the end
of the program. The findings show that the role-
playing hands-on translation experience sparked
extra motivation in the students to practice their
skills, which can be connected to the importance
of creating an ideal L2 self. Working in small
groups helped students increase opportunities
to voice their opinions and feel involved in their
7Íkala T he I mpacT of a VIsIon I nTerVenTIon on T ranslaTIon and I nTerpreTaTIon sTudenTs ’ l2 moTIVaTIon
Medellín, ColoMbia, Vol. 29 issue 1 (January -april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
projects. This could be connected to the strength-
ening of the vision stage. Unfortunately, although
the survey and interviews served their purpose, the
study did not make use of validated surveys; there-
fore, the motivation construct was not clear.
The literature review shows that when motiva-
tion is studied in translation and interpretation
research, the concept is understood as motiva-
tion toward translating or interpreting and it is
mainly studied descriptively. Considering that
some of these findings show L2 competence as an
important factor that impacts motivation and per-
formance (Angelelli, 2007, 2008; Blasco Mayor,
2015; Liu & Yu, 2019), it is also relevant to study
how translation and interpretation students can
increase their motivation toward learning the sec-
ond language, which is one of the essential skills to
be able to perform well at their future jobs.
Method
The study followed a convergent mixed methods
design (Creswell, 2014). That is, we made use of
both quantitative and qualitative data to explore
the phenomenon of L2 motivation to formulate
robust explanations that account for the results of
the intervention.
Sample
Two second year university classes of the same
English language course were used for the study.
One of them received the treatment whereas the
other did not. A total of 34 students participated
in these classes. 28 of them responded to both
the pre-surveys and post-surveys (N=14 in CGr,
N=14 in ExpGr), so we used the data of those
28 students for the analyses. The average age of
the students was 21.35 years (SD = 3.22). Eleven
students were male (39.3%) and seventeen were
female (60.7%). All students were in a B1 English
course that is compulsory for students pursuing
translation and interpretation bachelor’s degrees
and were registered in a translation and interpre-
tation course of study in which they are expected
to later pursue both majors to receive a university
diploma, as opposed to other Chilean universities
where students are expected to choose one of the
two career paths.
Instruments
We made use of a questionnaire and an open-
ended survey. The questionnaire had two parts
and was implemented before the intervention as
well as after it ended. The first part of the question-
naire included questions to gather demographic
data and 26 items on a six-point Likert-type scale
as used in You et al. (2016). These items sought
information on the following variables:
1. Ideal L2 self — 5 items from Moskovsky et al.
(2016)
2. Ought-to L2 self — 6 items from Teimouri
(2017)
3. Intended effort — 5 items from Moskovsky et
al. (2016)
4. Attitudes toward learning English as an L2 —
6 items from You et al. (2016)
5. Ease of using imagery — 4 items from You et
al. (2016).
Minor modifications were made to 4 items in
order to adapt them to the context of the coun-
try and the study program in which they were
used for this study. These modifications were checked
and agreed upon in a focus group with 3 Chilean
tesol teachers. The second part of the question-
naire included 10 items that measured willingness
to communicate through writing in and out of
class (MacIntyre et al., 2001). Willingness to com-
municate through writing was chosen along with
intended effort as proxies to what the students’
actual motivated behavior is under the assumption
that the more these variables increase, the more
motivated the student is (You et al., 2016). The
reliability analysis yielded acceptable to high lev-
els of internal consistency (ideal L2 self: α =.848;
Medellín, ColoMbia, Vol. 29 issue 1 (January -april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
projects. This could be connected to the strength-
ening of the vision stage. Unfortunately, although
the survey and interviews served their purpose, the
study did not make use of validated surveys; there-
fore, the motivation construct was not clear.
The literature review shows that when motiva-
tion is studied in translation and interpretation
research, the concept is understood as motiva-
tion toward translating or interpreting and it is
mainly studied descriptively. Considering that
some of these findings show L2 competence as an
important factor that impacts motivation and per-
formance (Angelelli, 2007, 2008; Blasco Mayor,
2015; Liu & Yu, 2019), it is also relevant to study
how translation and interpretation students can
increase their motivation toward learning the sec-
ond language, which is one of the essential skills to
be able to perform well at their future jobs.
Method
The study followed a convergent mixed methods
design (Creswell, 2014). That is, we made use of
both quantitative and qualitative data to explore
the phenomenon of L2 motivation to formulate
robust explanations that account for the results of
the intervention.
Sample
Two second year university classes of the same
English language course were used for the study.
One of them received the treatment whereas the
other did not. A total of 34 students participated
in these classes. 28 of them responded to both
the pre-surveys and post-surveys (N=14 in CGr,
N=14 in ExpGr), so we used the data of those
28 students for the analyses. The average age of
the students was 21.35 years (SD = 3.22). Eleven
students were male (39.3%) and seventeen were
female (60.7%). All students were in a B1 English
course that is compulsory for students pursuing
translation and interpretation bachelor’s degrees
and were registered in a translation and interpre-
tation course of study in which they are expected
to later pursue both majors to receive a university
diploma, as opposed to other Chilean universities
where students are expected to choose one of the
two career paths.
Instruments
We made use of a questionnaire and an open-
ended survey. The questionnaire had two parts
and was implemented before the intervention as
well as after it ended. The first part of the question-
naire included questions to gather demographic
data and 26 items on a six-point Likert-type scale
as used in You et al. (2016). These items sought
information on the following variables:
1. Ideal L2 self — 5 items from Moskovsky et al.
(2016)
2. Ought-to L2 self — 6 items from Teimouri
(2017)
3. Intended effort — 5 items from Moskovsky et
al. (2016)
4. Attitudes toward learning English as an L2 —
6 items from You et al. (2016)
5. Ease of using imagery — 4 items from You et
al. (2016).
Minor modifications were made to 4 items in
order to adapt them to the context of the coun-
try and the study program in which they were
used for this study. These modifications were checked
and agreed upon in a focus group with 3 Chilean
tesol teachers. The second part of the question-
naire included 10 items that measured willingness
to communicate through writing in and out of
class (MacIntyre et al., 2001). Willingness to com-
municate through writing was chosen along with
intended effort as proxies to what the students’
actual motivated behavior is under the assumption
that the more these variables increase, the more
motivated the student is (You et al., 2016). The
reliability analysis yielded acceptable to high lev-
els of internal consistency (ideal L2 self: α =.848;
8Íkala Benjamin CarCamo & Carmen Carmona
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
ought-to L2 self: α =.679; intended effort: α=.673;
attitudes toward learning English: α=.72; ease of
using imagery: α =.654; willingness to commu-
nicate through writing: α=.781). The complete
questionnaire can be consulted in Appendix 1.
The open-ended survey contained four questions
that focused on the intervention tasks and the
impact of the intervention on their future selves.
Students answered the questions in their mother
tongue. This survey was conducted with students
from the experimental group. Eleven of the stu-
dents submitted responses. The questions were
the following:
1. What activities of the intervention do you
remember? Briefly describe them.
2. In what ways did the activities you experienced
in the intervention helped you visualize your-
self in the future using English at a professional
level?
3. Can you describe instances in which you felt
motivated toward your L2 language learning in
class? In case you do not remember any, why
do you think you are not able to?
4. In what ways do you see yourself learning
English in the future? Why would you do it
that way?
Students were given these questions in handout
format and given time to answer them in class.
Intervention
The course in which the intervention took place
was initially composed of 19 students, three of
whom dropped out halfway during the semes-
ter. They had six sessions per week, each lasting
70 minutes. They used the textbook First Expert
(Bell & Gower, 2014). The objective of this course
is to gradually develop reading, writing, listening,
and speaking skills in English to become success-
ful users of the language at a professional level. All
the students in this program are expected to reach
a C1 level of proficiency by the time they graduate
as interpreters/translators. The general objectives
of the course for both sections were the same, and
all lessons were taught by three teachers. The only
difference was that, once a week, only the interven-
tion group received visionary teaching activities.
As regards the intervention, each intervention
activity took place once a week, normally at the
beginning of the lesson, and took roughly 30 min-
utes of the class time to cover these tasks.
The control group undertook the same activi-
ties as the intervention group except for those that
pertained to the intervention. The time the inter-
vention group spent on the vision building activities
the control group would usually spend on extra
discussion activities dealing with the material
being covered in regular classes or standard com-
municative language activities, such as vocabulary
and grammar practice in context. The interven-
tion was divided into six main stages, as shown in
Table 1.
The activities were a combination of some taken
from the book Motivating Learning (Hadfield
& Dörnyei, 2013) and others that were designed
to help students visualize their future paths in
relation to the translation and interpretation pro-
gram. In general terms, our intervention consisted
of activities that helped students create a vision of
themselves as future translators or interpreters
based on their own interests and the information
we presented in class. This information was deliv-
ered by means of multimodal texts and videos that
exposed students to the skills that are necessary to
these professions in what respects to English as
well as to the possible jobs they might land. After
students created their vision as future translators
or interpreters, we strengthened and further sub-
stantiated their vision by providing them with
activities that would allow them to engage with how
they saw themselves facing challenges associated
to their future jobs and with rewarding activities
such as the celebration of Translation Day. Next,
we implemented activities that helped students
transform their visions into actions by having
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
ought-to L2 self: α =.679; intended effort: α=.673;
attitudes toward learning English: α=.72; ease of
using imagery: α =.654; willingness to commu-
nicate through writing: α=.781). The complete
questionnaire can be consulted in Appendix 1.
The open-ended survey contained four questions
that focused on the intervention tasks and the
impact of the intervention on their future selves.
Students answered the questions in their mother
tongue. This survey was conducted with students
from the experimental group. Eleven of the stu-
dents submitted responses. The questions were
the following:
1. What activities of the intervention do you
remember? Briefly describe them.
2. In what ways did the activities you experienced
in the intervention helped you visualize your-
self in the future using English at a professional
level?
3. Can you describe instances in which you felt
motivated toward your L2 language learning in
class? In case you do not remember any, why
do you think you are not able to?
4. In what ways do you see yourself learning
English in the future? Why would you do it
that way?
Students were given these questions in handout
format and given time to answer them in class.
Intervention
The course in which the intervention took place
was initially composed of 19 students, three of
whom dropped out halfway during the semes-
ter. They had six sessions per week, each lasting
70 minutes. They used the textbook First Expert
(Bell & Gower, 2014). The objective of this course
is to gradually develop reading, writing, listening,
and speaking skills in English to become success-
ful users of the language at a professional level. All
the students in this program are expected to reach
a C1 level of proficiency by the time they graduate
as interpreters/translators. The general objectives
of the course for both sections were the same, and
all lessons were taught by three teachers. The only
difference was that, once a week, only the interven-
tion group received visionary teaching activities.
As regards the intervention, each intervention
activity took place once a week, normally at the
beginning of the lesson, and took roughly 30 min-
utes of the class time to cover these tasks.
The control group undertook the same activi-
ties as the intervention group except for those that
pertained to the intervention. The time the inter-
vention group spent on the vision building activities
the control group would usually spend on extra
discussion activities dealing with the material
being covered in regular classes or standard com-
municative language activities, such as vocabulary
and grammar practice in context. The interven-
tion was divided into six main stages, as shown in
Table 1.
The activities were a combination of some taken
from the book Motivating Learning (Hadfield
& Dörnyei, 2013) and others that were designed
to help students visualize their future paths in
relation to the translation and interpretation pro-
gram. In general terms, our intervention consisted
of activities that helped students create a vision of
themselves as future translators or interpreters
based on their own interests and the information
we presented in class. This information was deliv-
ered by means of multimodal texts and videos that
exposed students to the skills that are necessary to
these professions in what respects to English as
well as to the possible jobs they might land. After
students created their vision as future translators
or interpreters, we strengthened and further sub-
stantiated their vision by providing them with
activities that would allow them to engage with how
they saw themselves facing challenges associated
to their future jobs and with rewarding activities
such as the celebration of Translation Day. Next,
we implemented activities that helped students
transform their visions into actions by having
9Íkala T he I mpacT of a VIsIon I nTerVenTIon on T ranslaTIon and I nTerpreTaTIon sTudenTs ’ l2 moTIVaTIon
Medellín, ColoMbia, Vol. 29 issue 1 (January -april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
them map out the skills that they are working on
at university and the ones they expect to continue
acquiring. After implementing activities that
helped them put their vision into action through
role plays such as writing their own speech to pro-
mote their academic path, students were exposed
to an activity related to counterbalancing the
vision. In this activity they reflected on the self-
barriers they might have to face while they work
toward achieving their visions. Most of the activ-
ities gave room for students to interact with their
classmates communicatively (as to enquire about
Stage Activities Timeframe
1. Creating
the vision
Future alternatives (Hadfield & Dörnyei, 2013): In this activity, students analyze different future
selves and compare their own ideas for the future with the ones read about.
Adapted version of my future L2 self (Hadfield & Dörnyei, 2013): Students imagine themselves
in the future after having become translators or interpreters then answer questions about that
moment in the future.
Week 2–3
2. Strengthening
the vision
Freelance translator or freelance interpreter (activity was designed for the intervention): It
consisted of watching two Youtube videos: one about freelance translators and one about freelance
interpreters. Then, students imagine which of the two they would like to become in the future and
write a text promoting their specific services.
Happy International Translation/Interpretation day (activity designed for the intervention):
Students watch a video about International Translation Day and answer questions about what
translators and interpreters do in their everyday lives. Then, they imagine themselves in their
professional lives and write an email telling a friend about what they are doing.
Week 3–4
3. Substantiating
the vision
Reality check (activity designed for the intervention): Students watch a video about the differences
in the challenges translators and interpreters face in the workplace. Then, they answer questions and,
finally, create a table in which they decide what objectives for their professional goals are easy to
achieve, possible long-term, very difficult to achieve, and not achievable.
They exchange tables with their classmates.
Reading comprehension: The main differences between translators and interpreters
(activity designed for the intervention): Students read about the differences between these
professions. They classify the challenges mentioned in the text in terms of how easy and/or difficult
they are to overcome. Then, they compare their own tables with the ones created based on the text.
Week 5–6
4. Transforming
the vision into
action
Your abilities in university (activity designed for the intervention): Students identify the skills
they would like to acquire during university and complete a table with them (abilities in 2nd year, 3rd
year, 4th year).
How are you preparing? (activity designed for the intervention): Students look at an infographic
about the main skills translators and interpreters need to acquire. Then, they reflect on what they are
currently doing and what they would like to start doing in order to develop these skills.
Week 8–9
5. Keeping
the vision alive
Where are you now? (activity designed for the intervention): This was a writing task in which
students wrote a speech imagining they have graduated and had now been invited to return to
university to deliver a speech for the students entering the same program in the future. They were
asked to mention in their written speech what they were doing after graduating, how they managed
to get there, the importance of learning English, and the importance of acquiring translation or
interpretation skills.
Week 10
6. Counterbalancing
the vision
What gets in the way of learning? (Hadfield & Dörnyei, 2013): Students match descriptions of
self-barriers with their corresponding headings. Then, they discuss in groups which they identify the
most with and how they deal with their
despicable selves.
Week 11
Table 1 Details of the Vision-Based Intervention Among L2 Students
Medellín, ColoMbia, Vol. 29 issue 1 (January -april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
them map out the skills that they are working on
at university and the ones they expect to continue
acquiring. After implementing activities that
helped them put their vision into action through
role plays such as writing their own speech to pro-
mote their academic path, students were exposed
to an activity related to counterbalancing the
vision. In this activity they reflected on the self-
barriers they might have to face while they work
toward achieving their visions. Most of the activ-
ities gave room for students to interact with their
classmates communicatively (as to enquire about
Stage Activities Timeframe
1. Creating
the vision
Future alternatives (Hadfield & Dörnyei, 2013): In this activity, students analyze different future
selves and compare their own ideas for the future with the ones read about.
Adapted version of my future L2 self (Hadfield & Dörnyei, 2013): Students imagine themselves
in the future after having become translators or interpreters then answer questions about that
moment in the future.
Week 2–3
2. Strengthening
the vision
Freelance translator or freelance interpreter (activity was designed for the intervention): It
consisted of watching two Youtube videos: one about freelance translators and one about freelance
interpreters. Then, students imagine which of the two they would like to become in the future and
write a text promoting their specific services.
Happy International Translation/Interpretation day (activity designed for the intervention):
Students watch a video about International Translation Day and answer questions about what
translators and interpreters do in their everyday lives. Then, they imagine themselves in their
professional lives and write an email telling a friend about what they are doing.
Week 3–4
3. Substantiating
the vision
Reality check (activity designed for the intervention): Students watch a video about the differences
in the challenges translators and interpreters face in the workplace. Then, they answer questions and,
finally, create a table in which they decide what objectives for their professional goals are easy to
achieve, possible long-term, very difficult to achieve, and not achievable.
They exchange tables with their classmates.
Reading comprehension: The main differences between translators and interpreters
(activity designed for the intervention): Students read about the differences between these
professions. They classify the challenges mentioned in the text in terms of how easy and/or difficult
they are to overcome. Then, they compare their own tables with the ones created based on the text.
Week 5–6
4. Transforming
the vision into
action
Your abilities in university (activity designed for the intervention): Students identify the skills
they would like to acquire during university and complete a table with them (abilities in 2nd year, 3rd
year, 4th year).
How are you preparing? (activity designed for the intervention): Students look at an infographic
about the main skills translators and interpreters need to acquire. Then, they reflect on what they are
currently doing and what they would like to start doing in order to develop these skills.
Week 8–9
5. Keeping
the vision alive
Where are you now? (activity designed for the intervention): This was a writing task in which
students wrote a speech imagining they have graduated and had now been invited to return to
university to deliver a speech for the students entering the same program in the future. They were
asked to mention in their written speech what they were doing after graduating, how they managed
to get there, the importance of learning English, and the importance of acquiring translation or
interpretation skills.
Week 10
6. Counterbalancing
the vision
What gets in the way of learning? (Hadfield & Dörnyei, 2013): Students match descriptions of
self-barriers with their corresponding headings. Then, they discuss in groups which they identify the
most with and how they deal with their
despicable selves.
Week 11
Table 1 Details of the Vision-Based Intervention Among L2 Students
10Íkala Benjamin CarCamo & Carmen Carmona
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
their classmates’ answers) and share their visions
and reflections with them (see Appendix 2 for
activity samples).
Data Analysis
For the quantitative data, we started by checking
the similarity of the groups. One-way anovas
(Analysis of Variance tests) detected the groups
were statistically similar to each other, and thus the
intervention could take place. For the estimation
of the impact of the intervention, we conducted
the ancova (Analysis of Covariance) test in the
cases that the corresponding assumptions were met.
In the cases in which the assumptions were not,
we performed Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test.
In the case of the qualitative data, we opted for a
qualitative inductive approach (Charmaz, 2006).
Once the main researcher had preliminary cate-
gories, the codebook was shared with another
researcher. The second researcher analyzed 20%
of the sample already coded using the prelimi-
nary codebook to ensure intercoder reliability
(icr; O’Connor & Joffe, 2020). The agreement
reached 84.615% with a kappa of .782. After doing
this, both coders discussed disagreements with
the codes and revised again the qualitative data
considering the final codebook.
Results and Discussion
Considering the design of the study, we present
our results in terms of the type of data we com-
piled and analyzed. We start by introducing our
quantitative results and then we present our qual-
itative ones. Finally, we provide a reflection on
what these findings represent collectively in rela-
tion to our research objectives.
Quantitative Results
As shown in Table 2, in general, the average score
of the participants in the different subscales was
similar for both the control group and the inter-
vention group. The only exception to this pattern
can be seen in the ought-to L2 self subscale, where
the mean score of the participants in the control
group was higher than the mean score of those
in the experimental group. In addition, the mean
score of the participants in the experimental group
increased after treatment in the ideal L2 self and
Construct Group Pretest Posttest
M (SD) Me (Q1–Q3) M (SD) Me (Q1–Q3)
Ideal L2 Self Experimental 25.29 (1.38) 25.0 (25.0–25.75) 28.71 (1.14) 29.0 (28.25–29.00)
Control 25.64 (2.24) 25.5 (24.25–27.75) 26.43 (3.16) 25.5 (24.25–27.75)
Ought-to L2 Self Experimental 22.79 (3.79) 22.5 (20.25–24.0) 24.29 (4.01) 25.5 (23.0–26.0)
Control 26.50 (6.51) 26.0 (21.0–32.0) 25.79 (6.61) 27.0 (20.5–29.75)
Attitudes Toward L2
Language Learning
Experimental 31.29 (2.13) 31.5 (30.0–33.0) 31.93 (2.27) 32.0 (31.25–33.75)
Control 30.57 (4.64) 32.0 (27.25–34.75) 31.36 (3.61) 31.5 (29.25–35.0)
Intended Effort Experimental 25.50 (1.70) 25.5 (25.0–26.75) 29.21 (0.80) 29.0 (29.0–30.0)
Control 26.00 (2.39) 26.5 (25.0–27.0) 27.71 (1.86) 28.0 (26.25–29.0)
Willingness to Communicate
(in Class)
Experimental 18.64 (4.72) 20.0 (15.25–21.75) 19.36 (3.48) 19.5 (18.25–21.75)
Control 19.57 (5.23) 20.5 (16.5–23.75) 20.21 (3.36) 21.5 (18.25–22.0)
Willingness to Communicate
(Out of Class)
Experimental 19.71 (2.61) 20.0 (18.0–21.0) 17.93 (4.20) 19.0 (16.0–20.75)
Control 19.86 (4.26) 20.0 (18.25–22.0) 19.79 (3.26) 21.0 (19.0–21.0)
Ease of Using Imagery Experimental 20.64 (2.41) 21.5 (20.0–22.0) 21.93 (1.69) 22.0 (21.0–23.0)
Control 19.86 (3.28) 20.5 (17.5–22.0) 20.50 (3.23) 21.0 (19.25–23.0)
Table 2 Descriptive Statistics of Pre- and Post- Scores by Group
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
their classmates’ answers) and share their visions
and reflections with them (see Appendix 2 for
activity samples).
Data Analysis
For the quantitative data, we started by checking
the similarity of the groups. One-way anovas
(Analysis of Variance tests) detected the groups
were statistically similar to each other, and thus the
intervention could take place. For the estimation
of the impact of the intervention, we conducted
the ancova (Analysis of Covariance) test in the
cases that the corresponding assumptions were met.
In the cases in which the assumptions were not,
we performed Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test.
In the case of the qualitative data, we opted for a
qualitative inductive approach (Charmaz, 2006).
Once the main researcher had preliminary cate-
gories, the codebook was shared with another
researcher. The second researcher analyzed 20%
of the sample already coded using the prelimi-
nary codebook to ensure intercoder reliability
(icr; O’Connor & Joffe, 2020). The agreement
reached 84.615% with a kappa of .782. After doing
this, both coders discussed disagreements with
the codes and revised again the qualitative data
considering the final codebook.
Results and Discussion
Considering the design of the study, we present
our results in terms of the type of data we com-
piled and analyzed. We start by introducing our
quantitative results and then we present our qual-
itative ones. Finally, we provide a reflection on
what these findings represent collectively in rela-
tion to our research objectives.
Quantitative Results
As shown in Table 2, in general, the average score
of the participants in the different subscales was
similar for both the control group and the inter-
vention group. The only exception to this pattern
can be seen in the ought-to L2 self subscale, where
the mean score of the participants in the control
group was higher than the mean score of those
in the experimental group. In addition, the mean
score of the participants in the experimental group
increased after treatment in the ideal L2 self and
Construct Group Pretest Posttest
M (SD) Me (Q1–Q3) M (SD) Me (Q1–Q3)
Ideal L2 Self Experimental 25.29 (1.38) 25.0 (25.0–25.75) 28.71 (1.14) 29.0 (28.25–29.00)
Control 25.64 (2.24) 25.5 (24.25–27.75) 26.43 (3.16) 25.5 (24.25–27.75)
Ought-to L2 Self Experimental 22.79 (3.79) 22.5 (20.25–24.0) 24.29 (4.01) 25.5 (23.0–26.0)
Control 26.50 (6.51) 26.0 (21.0–32.0) 25.79 (6.61) 27.0 (20.5–29.75)
Attitudes Toward L2
Language Learning
Experimental 31.29 (2.13) 31.5 (30.0–33.0) 31.93 (2.27) 32.0 (31.25–33.75)
Control 30.57 (4.64) 32.0 (27.25–34.75) 31.36 (3.61) 31.5 (29.25–35.0)
Intended Effort Experimental 25.50 (1.70) 25.5 (25.0–26.75) 29.21 (0.80) 29.0 (29.0–30.0)
Control 26.00 (2.39) 26.5 (25.0–27.0) 27.71 (1.86) 28.0 (26.25–29.0)
Willingness to Communicate
(in Class)
Experimental 18.64 (4.72) 20.0 (15.25–21.75) 19.36 (3.48) 19.5 (18.25–21.75)
Control 19.57 (5.23) 20.5 (16.5–23.75) 20.21 (3.36) 21.5 (18.25–22.0)
Willingness to Communicate
(Out of Class)
Experimental 19.71 (2.61) 20.0 (18.0–21.0) 17.93 (4.20) 19.0 (16.0–20.75)
Control 19.86 (4.26) 20.0 (18.25–22.0) 19.79 (3.26) 21.0 (19.0–21.0)
Ease of Using Imagery Experimental 20.64 (2.41) 21.5 (20.0–22.0) 21.93 (1.69) 22.0 (21.0–23.0)
Control 19.86 (3.28) 20.5 (17.5–22.0) 20.50 (3.23) 21.0 (19.25–23.0)
Table 2 Descriptive Statistics of Pre- and Post- Scores by Group
11Íkala T he I mpacT of a VIsIon I nTerVenTIon on T ranslaTIon and I nTerpreTaTIon sTudenTs ’ l2 moTIVaTIon
Medellín, ColoMbia, Vol. 29 issue 1 (January -april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
ought-to L2 self subscales. The mean score with
respect to intended effort increased in both
groups; however, the change was greater for the
experimental group. Finally, the mean score in
attitudes towards L2 language learning, L2 will-
ing to communicate in class and out of class, and
ease of using imagery do not seem to have changed
after the intervention.
To estimate if the intervention had statistically
significant effects on the treatment group, we con-
ducted the ancova test with the variables that
complied with the assumptions of linearity, nor-
mality, equal slopes, homogeneity of variance, and
homoscedasticity. We used the Wilcoxon Rank
Sum Test with those that failed to comply with
one of the assumptions.
After confirming the assumptions, an ancova
was conducted to determine the effect of the
intervention on the score of each ought-to L2 self
scale and motivated behavior scale in the post-test,
adjusting for the baseline score of the participants
on their respective scales (see Table 3).
These results suggest that there were no differences
between the control and experimental groups in the
ought-to L2 score (F(1, 25) = 0.281; p = 0.601; η2 =
0.011), Willingness to Communicate (WtC) in writ-
ing in the classroom (F(1, 25) = 0.215; p = 0.647;
η2 = 0.009) and ease of using imagery (F(1, 25) =
1.549; p = 0.225; η2 = 0.058) after the intervention.
Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test was carried out to deter-
mine the effect of the intervention on the change
(post test minus pre test) in the score of each
L2MSS and motivated behavior scale. The Wilcoxon
Rank Sum test was conducted for the ideal L2
self, intended effort, attitudes toward L2 language
learning, and wtc out of class subscales as shown
in Table 4.
The results indicate that there are differences
between the experimental group and the control
group in the ideal L2 Self (U = 45.5; p = 0.015)
and intended effort (U = 33; p = 0.003) after the
intervention, that is, the experimental group had
a greater change in their scores on said scales after
the intervention compared to the control group.
However, no differences were found between the
groups in attitudes towards L2 learning (U = 99;
p = 0.981) and WtC out of class (U = 120.5;
p = 0.308).
Qualitative Results
For the qualitative analysis, we used an induc-
tive approach. After combining the codes that
emerged from line-to-line coding, three themes
were identified in the data: (a) intervention activ-
ities, (b) benefits of the intervention, and (c)
demotivation. The first two categories were pres-
ent in all the participants that submitted their
answers whereas the last one showed only in two
of them, whose common denominator was their
Outcome Covariate SS df F
p-value η
2
OL2S-post OL2S-pre 5.217 1 0.281 0.601 0.011
WtC
IN-post WtC IN-pre 1.896 1 0.215 0.647 0.009
Ease-post Ease-pre 7.404 1 1.549 0.225 0.058
Table 3 Summary of ancova Models Comparison
by Group
Note: OL2S = ought-to L2 self; WtC IN = willingness to
communicate in class; Ease = ease of using imagery; post =
post-intervention; pre = pre-intervention; SS = Sum of
squares; df = degrees of freedom; η2 = generalized eta
squared.
Outcome Estimate U
p-value Low
CI
Upper
CI
Effect
size
il2s –2.999 45.5 0.015 –4.999 –0.999 0.463
ie –2.000 33 0.003 –3.000 –1.000 0.573
al2l –0.000 99 0.981 –2.999 2.000 0.009
wtc out 1.000 120.5 0.308 –1.000 4.000 0.197
Table 4 Summary Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test Compari-
son by Group
Note: IL2S = ideal L2 self; IE = intended effort; AL2S =
attitude towards L2 learning; WtC out = willing to
communicate out of class; Estimate = Location parameter
statistic; CI = Confidence interval.
Medellín, ColoMbia, Vol. 29 issue 1 (January -april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
ought-to L2 self subscales. The mean score with
respect to intended effort increased in both
groups; however, the change was greater for the
experimental group. Finally, the mean score in
attitudes towards L2 language learning, L2 will-
ing to communicate in class and out of class, and
ease of using imagery do not seem to have changed
after the intervention.
To estimate if the intervention had statistically
significant effects on the treatment group, we con-
ducted the ancova test with the variables that
complied with the assumptions of linearity, nor-
mality, equal slopes, homogeneity of variance, and
homoscedasticity. We used the Wilcoxon Rank
Sum Test with those that failed to comply with
one of the assumptions.
After confirming the assumptions, an ancova
was conducted to determine the effect of the
intervention on the score of each ought-to L2 self
scale and motivated behavior scale in the post-test,
adjusting for the baseline score of the participants
on their respective scales (see Table 3).
These results suggest that there were no differences
between the control and experimental groups in the
ought-to L2 score (F(1, 25) = 0.281; p = 0.601; η2 =
0.011), Willingness to Communicate (WtC) in writ-
ing in the classroom (F(1, 25) = 0.215; p = 0.647;
η2 = 0.009) and ease of using imagery (F(1, 25) =
1.549; p = 0.225; η2 = 0.058) after the intervention.
Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test was carried out to deter-
mine the effect of the intervention on the change
(post test minus pre test) in the score of each
L2MSS and motivated behavior scale. The Wilcoxon
Rank Sum test was conducted for the ideal L2
self, intended effort, attitudes toward L2 language
learning, and wtc out of class subscales as shown
in Table 4.
The results indicate that there are differences
between the experimental group and the control
group in the ideal L2 Self (U = 45.5; p = 0.015)
and intended effort (U = 33; p = 0.003) after the
intervention, that is, the experimental group had
a greater change in their scores on said scales after
the intervention compared to the control group.
However, no differences were found between the
groups in attitudes towards L2 learning (U = 99;
p = 0.981) and WtC out of class (U = 120.5;
p = 0.308).
Qualitative Results
For the qualitative analysis, we used an induc-
tive approach. After combining the codes that
emerged from line-to-line coding, three themes
were identified in the data: (a) intervention activ-
ities, (b) benefits of the intervention, and (c)
demotivation. The first two categories were pres-
ent in all the participants that submitted their
answers whereas the last one showed only in two
of them, whose common denominator was their
Outcome Covariate SS df F
p-value η
2
OL2S-post OL2S-pre 5.217 1 0.281 0.601 0.011
WtC
IN-post WtC IN-pre 1.896 1 0.215 0.647 0.009
Ease-post Ease-pre 7.404 1 1.549 0.225 0.058
Table 3 Summary of ancova Models Comparison
by Group
Note: OL2S = ought-to L2 self; WtC IN = willingness to
communicate in class; Ease = ease of using imagery; post =
post-intervention; pre = pre-intervention; SS = Sum of
squares; df = degrees of freedom; η2 = generalized eta
squared.
Outcome Estimate U
p-value Low
CI
Upper
CI
Effect
size
il2s –2.999 45.5 0.015 –4.999 –0.999 0.463
ie –2.000 33 0.003 –3.000 –1.000 0.573
al2l –0.000 99 0.981 –2.999 2.000 0.009
wtc out 1.000 120.5 0.308 –1.000 4.000 0.197
Table 4 Summary Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test Compari-
son by Group
Note: IL2S = ideal L2 self; IE = intended effort; AL2S =
attitude towards L2 learning; WtC out = willing to
communicate out of class; Estimate = Location parameter
statistic; CI = Confidence interval.
12Íkala Benjamin CarCamo & Carmen Carmona
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
low grades in the course. We will proceed to focus
on the first two.
When participants were asked about activities they
remembered, they all mentioned at least one activ-
ity related to the intervention. Most of the activities
mentioned were specifically those related to their
future as translators or interpreters.
P1exp: We did activities in which we visualized our-
selves as future translators and interpreters, for example,
which activities we were going to engage in, where we
would be working.
P2exp: What I remember the most was the day in which
we were shown that video in which some people would
talk about their jobs as translators and interpreters. I feel
that it helped me to see which of the two paths I would
pursue in the future, which would be more convenient,
comfortable, and how I would feel satisfied.
The focus on their future was also evident in their
strategies for future learning, in which they men-
tioned an analytic interest toward exploring how
language works and social learning in the form
of positive groupwork where they could try out the
language with classmates, colleagues, or native
speakers.
With respect to the benefits the intervention had
on them, we were able to identify two types of
benefits: (1) establishment of future visions (45%)
and (2) awareness of how to make progress toward
the future (55%). The following quotes represent
the comments made:
P4exp: When we saw the roles of the translators that
work as freelancers from home helped me visualize
what I would like to do in the future (future visions).
P7exp: The activities helped me realize that I have some
areas in which I should be working on to become the
professional I want to turn out to be (how to make
progress toward the future).
The power of visualization is essential in the L2MSS
framework since future self-guides necessarily
involve images and senses to come to life (Papi et
al., 2019; You et al., 2016). Previous vision inter-
ventions have confirmed that visualizing ideal
English selves and ways to get to them can help
learners increase their motivation, agency, positive
emotions, proficiency, willingness to communi-
cate, and L2 production (Chan, 2014; Munezane,
2015; Safdari, 2021; Sampson, 2012; Sato, 2020).
In these interventions, imagery enhancement plays
an essential role in strengthening, substantiat-
ing, and keeping students’ visions alive under the
assumption that an attractive vision of one’s future
self motivates L2 language behavior (Dörnyei,
2009; Hadfield & Dörnyei, 2013).
Collectively, these findings indicate that students
preparing to become translators and interpreters
can greatly benefit from vision teaching. Although
we did not use specific real examples as aspirations
for future selves as done in prior studies (Hiver et
al., 2019, Sato, 2020), our findings show that the
material generated specifically for translators and
interpreters was successful in having students cre-
ate and strengthen self-images that were plausible
and in harmony with their expectations (Dörnyei,
2009). Qualitative evidence showing that stu-
dents were able to visualize more clearly how to
develop their desired future selves is in line with
two relevant characteristics of vision interventions:
the importance of relating vision with the future
professional context and the need for the vision to
be attainable for students.
The importance of relating vision with the future
professional context has been pointed out in other
interventions. For example, Sato (2020) helped
business students create a vision by showing
them a Chilean entrepreneur who was speaking in
English at a location the students were familiar
with and by engaging them in role-play activ-
ities in which they played the role of Chilean
company representatives negotiating with a U.S.
company. Our intervention is similar to Sato’s
(2020) in the sense that students were able to see
how English was part of their future professional
activities through career-specific visions. Ideal L2
self appears to increase when language learners
can correlate their language proficiency with their
successful performance in their potential jobs
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
low grades in the course. We will proceed to focus
on the first two.
When participants were asked about activities they
remembered, they all mentioned at least one activ-
ity related to the intervention. Most of the activities
mentioned were specifically those related to their
future as translators or interpreters.
P1exp: We did activities in which we visualized our-
selves as future translators and interpreters, for example,
which activities we were going to engage in, where we
would be working.
P2exp: What I remember the most was the day in which
we were shown that video in which some people would
talk about their jobs as translators and interpreters. I feel
that it helped me to see which of the two paths I would
pursue in the future, which would be more convenient,
comfortable, and how I would feel satisfied.
The focus on their future was also evident in their
strategies for future learning, in which they men-
tioned an analytic interest toward exploring how
language works and social learning in the form
of positive groupwork where they could try out the
language with classmates, colleagues, or native
speakers.
With respect to the benefits the intervention had
on them, we were able to identify two types of
benefits: (1) establishment of future visions (45%)
and (2) awareness of how to make progress toward
the future (55%). The following quotes represent
the comments made:
P4exp: When we saw the roles of the translators that
work as freelancers from home helped me visualize
what I would like to do in the future (future visions).
P7exp: The activities helped me realize that I have some
areas in which I should be working on to become the
professional I want to turn out to be (how to make
progress toward the future).
The power of visualization is essential in the L2MSS
framework since future self-guides necessarily
involve images and senses to come to life (Papi et
al., 2019; You et al., 2016). Previous vision inter-
ventions have confirmed that visualizing ideal
English selves and ways to get to them can help
learners increase their motivation, agency, positive
emotions, proficiency, willingness to communi-
cate, and L2 production (Chan, 2014; Munezane,
2015; Safdari, 2021; Sampson, 2012; Sato, 2020).
In these interventions, imagery enhancement plays
an essential role in strengthening, substantiat-
ing, and keeping students’ visions alive under the
assumption that an attractive vision of one’s future
self motivates L2 language behavior (Dörnyei,
2009; Hadfield & Dörnyei, 2013).
Collectively, these findings indicate that students
preparing to become translators and interpreters
can greatly benefit from vision teaching. Although
we did not use specific real examples as aspirations
for future selves as done in prior studies (Hiver et
al., 2019, Sato, 2020), our findings show that the
material generated specifically for translators and
interpreters was successful in having students cre-
ate and strengthen self-images that were plausible
and in harmony with their expectations (Dörnyei,
2009). Qualitative evidence showing that stu-
dents were able to visualize more clearly how to
develop their desired future selves is in line with
two relevant characteristics of vision interventions:
the importance of relating vision with the future
professional context and the need for the vision to
be attainable for students.
The importance of relating vision with the future
professional context has been pointed out in other
interventions. For example, Sato (2020) helped
business students create a vision by showing
them a Chilean entrepreneur who was speaking in
English at a location the students were familiar
with and by engaging them in role-play activ-
ities in which they played the role of Chilean
company representatives negotiating with a U.S.
company. Our intervention is similar to Sato’s
(2020) in the sense that students were able to see
how English was part of their future professional
activities through career-specific visions. Ideal L2
self appears to increase when language learners
can correlate their language proficiency with their
successful performance in their potential jobs
13Íkala T he I mpacT of a VIsIon I nTerVenTIon on T ranslaTIon and I nTerpreTaTIon sTudenTs ’ l2 moTIVaTIon
Medellín, ColoMbia, Vol. 29 issue 1 (January -april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
with hands-on activities that lead them to imag-
ine themselves in those positions while they also
increase their understanding of the skills and sub-
skills involved.
An attainable vision for students is another essen-
tial factor to consider when incorporating vision
building activities. Previous research has indicated
the need to use mental imagery that is perceived as
attainable by students as well as the need to make
the steps to make this vision real and explicit
(Sato, 2020; Vlaeva & Dörnyei, 2021). Keeping in
mind that the participants in our study were only
second year students, activities focused on famil-
iarizing them with the skills and tasks part of both
the translation and interpretation fields appears to
have worked well in helping students set proximal
goals that were in line with the most immedi-
ate pressing concerns of university (Dörnyei &
Kubanyiova, 2014). The usual apprehensions of
vision interventions in other study programs strike
as being less problematic when implementing vision
building interventions with translation and inter-
pretation students; therefore, this is an interesting
avenue to continue exploring as a tool to motivate
undergraduate students not only with language
learning, but also with their future professions.
Conclusions
Our vision intervention with translation and inter-
pretation students has yielded positive results that
suggest that this type of program can greatly benefit
from incorporating vision-based activities in their
curricula. Our intervention considered all stages
proposed in the literature (Dörnyei & Kubanyiova,
2014) as well as the design of tasks that were pro-
fession-oriented in that it relied on the students’
interest in becoming interpreters and translators,
and our findings revealed that students increased
both in their ideal L2 self and intended effort.
Furthermore, qualitative data supported the idea
that the intervention was memorable for students
and helped them understand the steps they could
take to move toward their ideal future self effectively.
Although the study yielded significant results, we
believe there are three limitations that we should
mention. First, we were unable to conduct an exper-
imental study with random group assignment due
to university constraints related to factors such as
students’ schedules. Considering that there is a
lack of fully experimental designs in this area of
study, it is important that researchers include
randomness in students’ assignment to con-
trol and experimental groups in future studies.
Additionally, another limitation of the study was
that not all students responded to both the pre-
and post- surveys, thus reducing the final sample
of the study. Due to this problem, the sample size
was smaller than expected. Ideally, in future stud-
ies, researchers should use a larger sample to avoid
this limitation and confirm these findings. Finally,
although writing was chosen as the main avenue
of expression for students, more activities related
to speaking could have been considered for the
intervention, which might have had a positive
impact on the students who were more interested
in interpretation.
Researchers interested in continuing vision inter-
ventions with translation and interpretation
students in future studies could implement inter-
ventions that consider not only motivated behavior
as an outcome variable to gauge the success of the
intervention but also language measures (Papi et
al., 2019). Although we have made attempts to
relate vision and language proficiency improve-
ments with overall good results (Le-Thi et al.,
2022; Sato, 2020), there are plenty of areas that are
yet to be examined such as online interaction, writ-
ing quality, and reading comprehension, among
others. Finally, long-term benefits of vision inter-
ventions are in the early stages (Papi, 2022), hence
examining how and whether motivation continues
to increase after a vision intervention becomes of
relevance to justify its incorporation in the curric-
ulum as well as in teaching materials. By doing so,
we can carry on Dörnyei’s efforts to make motiva-
tion research relevant to teachers (Ushioda, 2022).
Medellín, ColoMbia, Vol. 29 issue 1 (January -april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
with hands-on activities that lead them to imag-
ine themselves in those positions while they also
increase their understanding of the skills and sub-
skills involved.
An attainable vision for students is another essen-
tial factor to consider when incorporating vision
building activities. Previous research has indicated
the need to use mental imagery that is perceived as
attainable by students as well as the need to make
the steps to make this vision real and explicit
(Sato, 2020; Vlaeva & Dörnyei, 2021). Keeping in
mind that the participants in our study were only
second year students, activities focused on famil-
iarizing them with the skills and tasks part of both
the translation and interpretation fields appears to
have worked well in helping students set proximal
goals that were in line with the most immedi-
ate pressing concerns of university (Dörnyei &
Kubanyiova, 2014). The usual apprehensions of
vision interventions in other study programs strike
as being less problematic when implementing vision
building interventions with translation and inter-
pretation students; therefore, this is an interesting
avenue to continue exploring as a tool to motivate
undergraduate students not only with language
learning, but also with their future professions.
Conclusions
Our vision intervention with translation and inter-
pretation students has yielded positive results that
suggest that this type of program can greatly benefit
from incorporating vision-based activities in their
curricula. Our intervention considered all stages
proposed in the literature (Dörnyei & Kubanyiova,
2014) as well as the design of tasks that were pro-
fession-oriented in that it relied on the students’
interest in becoming interpreters and translators,
and our findings revealed that students increased
both in their ideal L2 self and intended effort.
Furthermore, qualitative data supported the idea
that the intervention was memorable for students
and helped them understand the steps they could
take to move toward their ideal future self effectively.
Although the study yielded significant results, we
believe there are three limitations that we should
mention. First, we were unable to conduct an exper-
imental study with random group assignment due
to university constraints related to factors such as
students’ schedules. Considering that there is a
lack of fully experimental designs in this area of
study, it is important that researchers include
randomness in students’ assignment to con-
trol and experimental groups in future studies.
Additionally, another limitation of the study was
that not all students responded to both the pre-
and post- surveys, thus reducing the final sample
of the study. Due to this problem, the sample size
was smaller than expected. Ideally, in future stud-
ies, researchers should use a larger sample to avoid
this limitation and confirm these findings. Finally,
although writing was chosen as the main avenue
of expression for students, more activities related
to speaking could have been considered for the
intervention, which might have had a positive
impact on the students who were more interested
in interpretation.
Researchers interested in continuing vision inter-
ventions with translation and interpretation
students in future studies could implement inter-
ventions that consider not only motivated behavior
as an outcome variable to gauge the success of the
intervention but also language measures (Papi et
al., 2019). Although we have made attempts to
relate vision and language proficiency improve-
ments with overall good results (Le-Thi et al.,
2022; Sato, 2020), there are plenty of areas that are
yet to be examined such as online interaction, writ-
ing quality, and reading comprehension, among
others. Finally, long-term benefits of vision inter-
ventions are in the early stages (Papi, 2022), hence
examining how and whether motivation continues
to increase after a vision intervention becomes of
relevance to justify its incorporation in the curric-
ulum as well as in teaching materials. By doing so,
we can carry on Dörnyei’s efforts to make motiva-
tion research relevant to teachers (Ushioda, 2022).
14Íkala Benjamin CarCamo & Carmen Carmona
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
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www.udea.edu.co/ikala
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Al-Hoorie, A. & Szabó, F. (Eds.) (2022). Researching language
learning motivation: A concise guide. Bloomsbury Ac-
ademic. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350166912
Angelelli, C. (2007). Accommodating the need for medical
interpreters: The California Endowment Interpret-
er Testing Project. The Translator, 13(1), 63–82.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2007.107992
29
Angelelli, C. (2008). Longitudinal studies and the develop-
ment of assessment for advanced competencies. In
L. Ortega & H. Byrnes (Eds.), The longitudinal study
of L2 advanced capacities (pp. 264–278). Routledge.
Angelone, E., & Marín, A. (2022). Reconceptualizing
breaks in translation: Breaking down or breaking
through? The International Journal for Translation
and Interpreting Research, 14(2), 68–83. https://
doi.org/10.12807/ti.114202.2022.a05
Bell, J., & Gower, R. (2014). First Expert (3rd Ed.). Pearson
Education.
Blasco Mayor, M. (2007). La comprensión oral en el desar-
rollo de la pericia de la interpretación de conferencias.
Comares.
Blasco Mayor, M. (2015). L2 proficiency as predictor of
aptitude for interpreting: An empirical study. Trans-
lation and Interpreting Studies. The Journal of the
American Translation and Interpreting Studies Asso-
ciation, 10(1), 108–132. https://doi.org/10.1075/
tis.10.1.06bla
Boo, Z., Dörnyei, Z., & Ryan, S. (2015). L2 motivation
research 2005–2014: Understanding a publication
surge and a changing landscape. System, 55, 145–
157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2015.10.006
Castilho, S., Doherty, S., Gaspari, F., Moorkens, J. (2018).
Approaches to human and machine translation
quality assessment. In J. Moorkens, S. Castilho, F.
Gaspari, & S. Doherty (Eds.), Translation quality
assessment. Machine translation: Technologies and
applications (vol. 1; pp. 9–38). Springer, Cham.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91241-7_2
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Chinese university students’ possible second lan-
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learning (pp. 357–376). Multilingual Matters.
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hybrid machine translation and its applications.
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past, the present and the future. Journal for the Psy-
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Dörnyei Z., & Kubanyiova M., (2014). Motivating learners,
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16Íkala Benjamin CarCamo & Carmen Carmona
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
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Zhu, X., Guan, Y., & Yao, Y. (2022). Transfer of ideal L1
and L2 writing selves and their impacts on L2 writ-
ing enjoyment and integrated performance. Assessing
Writing, 54, 100674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
asw.2022.100674
Appendices
Appendix 1 – Questionnaire used (in Spanish) as a pre and post-test
Questionnaire
Choose from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree) the degree in which you identify with the fol-
lowing statements.
Ideal L2 Self
1. I can imagine myself communicating in written English appropriately in the future.
2. I can imagine myself reading texts in English in my area.
3. I can imagine myself having friends that speak in English as their mother tongue.
4. Every time I think about my future job, I see myself using English.
5. I can imagine myself using English fluently like my favorite English-speaking teacher/sportsperson/
singer.
Ought-to L2 Self
6. Studying English is important because the university expects me to do it.
7. Without learning English, it will be difficult to travel to English-speaking countries.
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
Journal of Second Language Writing, 53, 100837.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2021.100837
Teimouri, Y. (2017). L2 selves, emotions, and moti-
vated behaviors. Studies in Second Language
Acquisition, 39, 691–709. https://doi.org/10.1017/
S0272263116000243
Thorsen, C., Henry, A., & Cliffordson, C. (2020). The case
of a missing person? The current L2 self and the
L2 motivational self system. International Journal
of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 23, 584–
600. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2017.13
88356
Ushioda, E. (2022). Motivating in the language classroom:
A discourse of ‘social control’? In A. Al-Hoorie & F.
Szabó (Eds.), Researching language learning motiva-
tion (pp. 7–16). Bloomsbury Academic. https://doi.
org/10.5040/9781350166912.ch-1
Vlaeva, D., & Dörnyei, Z. (2021). Vision enhancement
and language learning: A critical analysis of vision-
building in an English for Academic Purposes
programme. Language Teaching Research, 25(6).
https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688211014551
Wu, Z. (2016). Towards understanding interpreter train-
ees’ (de)motivation: An exploratory study. The
International Journal for Translation & Interpreting
Research, 8(2), 13–25. https://doi.org/10.12807/
ti.108202.2016.a02
You, C. J., Dörnyei, Z., & Csizer, K. (2016). Motivation,
vision, and gender: A survey of learners of English
in China. Language Learning, 66, 94–123. https://
doi.org/10.1111/lang.12140
Zhu, H., Ang, L.H., & Mansor, N.S. (2022) Genre-based
translation strategies on cultural references: A sys-
tematic review. Journal of Language and Linguistic
Studies, 18(1), 898–912.
Zhu, X., Guan, Y., & Yao, Y. (2022). Transfer of ideal L1
and L2 writing selves and their impacts on L2 writ-
ing enjoyment and integrated performance. Assessing
Writing, 54, 100674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
asw.2022.100674
Appendices
Appendix 1 – Questionnaire used (in Spanish) as a pre and post-test
Questionnaire
Choose from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree) the degree in which you identify with the fol-
lowing statements.
Ideal L2 Self
1. I can imagine myself communicating in written English appropriately in the future.
2. I can imagine myself reading texts in English in my area.
3. I can imagine myself having friends that speak in English as their mother tongue.
4. Every time I think about my future job, I see myself using English.
5. I can imagine myself using English fluently like my favorite English-speaking teacher/sportsperson/
singer.
Ought-to L2 Self
6. Studying English is important because the university expects me to do it.
7. Without learning English, it will be difficult to travel to English-speaking countries.
17Íkala T he I mpacT of a VIsIon I nTerVenTIon on T ranslaTIon and I nTerpreTaTIon sTudenTs ’ l2 moTIVaTIon
Medellín, ColoMbia, Vol. 29 issue 1 (January -april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
8. I have to study English because I do not want to get low grades.
9. Some important people in my life feel it is necessary that I learn English.
10. Society expects me to learn English, so I can be part of the job market.
11. If I do not learn English, it will be difficult for me to use the Internet effectively for academic and
professional purposes.
Intended effort
12. If a course of my interest was only offered in English, I would take it.
13. I would love to study English even if it wasn’t a requisite.
14. I would like to study English for a long time.
15. I would like to concentrate on studying English more than any other subject.
16. English would still be important for me, even if I failed the course.
Learning attitudes
17. I like things I can do to practice in English.
18. I find it interesting to learn English.
19. I look forward to English classes.
20. I enjoy learning English.
21. The time I spend studying English goes by quickly.
22. I enjoy writing in English.
Ease of using imagery
23. Sometimes I imagine myself using English effortlessly in the future.
24. It find it easy to play imagined scenes of the things I am going to do in my mind.
25. It is easy for me to imagine that I am going to do well in English after I finish the course.
26. It has always been easy for me to use my imagination to visualize things that could occur.
Willingness to communicate in writing
1 = Almost never willing
2 = Sometimes willing
Medellín, ColoMbia, Vol. 29 issue 1 (January -april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
8. I have to study English because I do not want to get low grades.
9. Some important people in my life feel it is necessary that I learn English.
10. Society expects me to learn English, so I can be part of the job market.
11. If I do not learn English, it will be difficult for me to use the Internet effectively for academic and
professional purposes.
Intended effort
12. If a course of my interest was only offered in English, I would take it.
13. I would love to study English even if it wasn’t a requisite.
14. I would like to study English for a long time.
15. I would like to concentrate on studying English more than any other subject.
16. English would still be important for me, even if I failed the course.
Learning attitudes
17. I like things I can do to practice in English.
18. I find it interesting to learn English.
19. I look forward to English classes.
20. I enjoy learning English.
21. The time I spend studying English goes by quickly.
22. I enjoy writing in English.
Ease of using imagery
23. Sometimes I imagine myself using English effortlessly in the future.
24. It find it easy to play imagined scenes of the things I am going to do in my mind.
25. It is easy for me to imagine that I am going to do well in English after I finish the course.
26. It has always been easy for me to use my imagination to visualize things that could occur.
Willingness to communicate in writing
1 = Almost never willing
2 = Sometimes willing
18Íkala Benjamin CarCamo & Carmen Carmona
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
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3 = Willing half of the time
4 = Usually willing
5 = Almost always willing
Willingness to communicate in class
1. Write a story in English in class.
2. Write a letter or email to a friend in English in class.
3. Write about one of your favorite things in English in class.
4. Write your opinion in English in class.
5. Write a response to someone in a forum in English in class.
#3 Willingness to communicate out of class
6. Write a story in English out of class.
7. Write a letter or email to a friend in English out of class.
8. Write about one of your favorite things in English out of class.
9. Write your opinion in English out of class.
10. Write a response to someone in a forum in English out of class.
Appendix 2 – Samples of activities
a) Example of ‘Strengthening the Vision’ activity
Substantiating the vision – Happy International Translation/Interpretation Day!
Pre-listening
i. Group discussion
1) What would be good ways to celebrate Translation/Interpretation Day on campus?
While-listening
ii. Watch the following video and answer the questions: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=MUKQiqT7rSw&ab_channel=AmericanTranslatorsAssociation
1) What of the ‘typical days of translators’ would you like to be similar to yours were you to decide to
become a translator (Gaku’s? Maria’s or John’s?)? Explain why.
Medellín, C oloMbia, V ol. 29 issue 1 (January-april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
3 = Willing half of the time
4 = Usually willing
5 = Almost always willing
Willingness to communicate in class
1. Write a story in English in class.
2. Write a letter or email to a friend in English in class.
3. Write about one of your favorite things in English in class.
4. Write your opinion in English in class.
5. Write a response to someone in a forum in English in class.
#3 Willingness to communicate out of class
6. Write a story in English out of class.
7. Write a letter or email to a friend in English out of class.
8. Write about one of your favorite things in English out of class.
9. Write your opinion in English out of class.
10. Write a response to someone in a forum in English out of class.
Appendix 2 – Samples of activities
a) Example of ‘Strengthening the Vision’ activity
Substantiating the vision – Happy International Translation/Interpretation Day!
Pre-listening
i. Group discussion
1) What would be good ways to celebrate Translation/Interpretation Day on campus?
While-listening
ii. Watch the following video and answer the questions: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=MUKQiqT7rSw&ab_channel=AmericanTranslatorsAssociation
1) What of the ‘typical days of translators’ would you like to be similar to yours were you to decide to
become a translator (Gaku’s? Maria’s or John’s?)? Explain why.
19Íkala T he I mpacT of a VIsIon I nTerVenTIon on T ranslaTIon and I nTerpreTaTIon sTudenTs ’ l2 moTIVaTIon
Medellín, ColoMbia, Vol. 29 issue 1 (January -april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
2) What of the ‘typical days of interpreters’ would you like to be similar to yours were you to decide to
become a translator (Wayan’s? Annette and Jean’s or Sahra’s?)? Explain why.
Post-listening
iii. Imagine you are holding now your ideal future job… Is it as a translator? As an interpreter? Think
about the following details:
• Where you are working
• Why you are working there
• How much money would you like to make?
• What skills have made it possible for you to work doing that:
Use the previous ideas to write an email telling one of your friends about this job you now have.
b) Example of ‘Keeping the Vision Alive’ Activity
Writing task
Watch the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P52a3yJGnTw&ab_channel=uplacomunica
Imagine you have graduated from your university and now you are working in your ideal job, and you are
invited by the Translation/Interpretation program to deliver a speech about.
— What you are doing now
— How you managed to get there
— The importance of learning English
— The importance of your discipline (Translation OR Interpretation depending on what your
ideal job is)
Consider you will speak right after they show freshmen the previous video and that you are in charge of
welcoming these new students as well as motivating them with your experience.
How to cite this article: Carcamo, B., & Carmona, C. (2023). The impact of a vision intervention
on translation and interpretation students’ L2 motivation. Íkala, Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura, 29(1),
1–19. https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.ikala.353447
Medellín, ColoMbia, Vol. 29 issue 1 (January -april, 2024), pp. 1-19, issn 0123-3432
www.udea.edu.co/ikala
2) What of the ‘typical days of interpreters’ would you like to be similar to yours were you to decide to
become a translator (Wayan’s? Annette and Jean’s or Sahra’s?)? Explain why.
Post-listening
iii. Imagine you are holding now your ideal future job… Is it as a translator? As an interpreter? Think
about the following details:
• Where you are working
• Why you are working there
• How much money would you like to make?
• What skills have made it possible for you to work doing that:
Use the previous ideas to write an email telling one of your friends about this job you now have.
b) Example of ‘Keeping the Vision Alive’ Activity
Writing task
Watch the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P52a3yJGnTw&ab_channel=uplacomunica
Imagine you have graduated from your university and now you are working in your ideal job, and you are
invited by the Translation/Interpretation program to deliver a speech about.
— What you are doing now
— How you managed to get there
— The importance of learning English
— The importance of your discipline (Translation OR Interpretation depending on what your
ideal job is)
Consider you will speak right after they show freshmen the previous video and that you are in charge of
welcoming these new students as well as motivating them with your experience.
How to cite this article: Carcamo, B., & Carmona, C. (2023). The impact of a vision intervention
on translation and interpretation students’ L2 motivation. Íkala, Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura, 29(1),
1–19. https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.ikala.353447