Abstract:

The article examines the motives of the career choice made by first-year students and the impact these motives can have on their academic performance. In the recent years, there has been marked a growing interest in this issue preceded by a close study of the learning motivation of high school students. What guides school-leavers when choosing a higher educational institution to enter? What are their career expectations?
Various empirical research into the problem have revealed that during the four years of study, while doing college courses and considering different career options, undergraduates do not simply have to adjust their old system of learning motives to the new requirements of life but also completely restructure it.

The article provides the results of a study conducted at Kazan Federal University among the first-year students doing a bachelor’s degree in linguistics. Upon graduation the students will become professional interpreters and translators.

One of the objectives of the survey is to assess the role of motives in students’ career choices and establish the crucial ones that will boost their academic performance. The article deals with the following motives: general social (awareness of social needs and norms), educational (attitude to learning), professional (higher education is perceived as the basis for professional training), and utilitarian (related to personal well-being).

The authors of the article conclude that when looking for the most effective ways of teaching career-oriented courses, professors should keep in mind that motivation is a part of a student’s subjective inner world. Motivation is generally led by individual desires, inclinations and needs. In class a professor indirectly influences the motivational sphere; thereby he/she can nourish or discourage students’ thirst for knowledge. What is more, without the cognitive interest, it is impossible to develop positive attitude to the educational process. The appropriate learning motivation is one of the most important conditions for high-quality specialist training.

Keywords:

Motivation, motives, career-oriented academic course, linguistics.