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Article published In: Translation, Cognition & Behavior
Vol. 8:1 (2025) ► pp.66–98

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Coaching for translation learning

Focusing on learners’ translation competence development

ORCiD logo with link | Hunan Women’s UniversityChangsha
 | Pai Chai UniversityDaejeon
Published online: 29 September 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/tcb.24003.tan
Abstract
This study explores coaching as a pedagogical framework to enhance translation learners’ competence development through a problem-solving lens. Grounded in three core assumptions — translation essentially as a complex, iterative process of resolving ill-structured problems; translation competence as an ill-structured problem-solving competence with translation thinking abilities as its core; and the necessity of cultivating learners’ translation thinking and facilitating their translation learning processes to promote translation competence development and acquisition — the research proposes an interconnection model integrating constructivism, complexity theory, and metacognitive self-regulation. To operationalize this framework, two sub-models are introduced: (1) the Translation Problem-Solving Coaching (TPSC) model, which guides learners through structured cycles to develop adaptive thinking; and (2) the Student-Centred Learning Process Coaching (SCLPC) model, which supports learners in aligning their learning processes with goals. Case-based validation illustrates how coaching scaffolds cognitive and metacognitive growth. Implications for translation pedagogy are discussed.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.What is coaching and why does it matter to translation learning?
    • 2.1Definitions and principles of coaching
    • 2.2Coaching in educational contexts: Problem-solving orientation
    • 2.3Coaching as a potential pedagogical approach for translation learning
  • 3.Revisiting translation competence from the problem-solving perspective
  • 4.Revisiting the development of translation competence from the problem-solving perspective
  • 5.Construction of the conceptual framework of coaching for translation learning
    • 5.1A coaching model for translation learning
    • 5.2Sub-models for coaching translation learning
      • 5.2.1The Translation Problem-Solving Coaching (TPSC) Model
      • 5.2.2The Student-Centered Learning Process Coaching (SCLPC) Model
  • 6.Implications
  • 7.Conclusion
  • References
References (74)
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