the nature of reading

1. SUKRAN SAYGI Department of Basic English, Middle East Technical University [email protected] The Nature of Reading Motivation and Student Perceptions

2. 2 Citizens of modern societies must be good readers to be successful. The advent of computer and the Internet does nothing to change this fact about reading. If anything, electronic communication only increases the need for effective reading skills and the strategies as we cope with the large quantities of information made available to us (Grabe, 2009: 5).

3. Citizens of modern societies must be good readers to be successful. The advent of computer and the Internet does nothing to change this fact about reading. If anything, electronic communication only increases the need for effective reading skills and the strategies as we cope with the large quantities of information made available to us (Grabe, 2009: 5). Inspiration for the study 3

5. a never ending enthusiasm to change things to reach European standards a central university placement exam washback private and state universities state and anatolian high schools (foreign language oriented) 5 Some facts about Turkey

7. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 2003 by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 41 countries and Turkey mathematics, science and reading tests Turkey has the second lowest performance in all tests among the OECD countries 7

8. The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), 2001 othe reading achievement of primary school fourth grade students: 449 Park, 2006: home literacy environments of the 25 participant countries o early home literacy activities, index of parents attitudes toward reading and number of books at home Turkey was in the lowest group 8

9. define the nature of motivation to read in Turkish (L1) and in English (L2) to explore the relationship between the students motivations to read and their success in reading exams to gain an insight as to the educational value students assign to reading motivation in the classroom dynamics Purpose of the study 9

10. Questionnaire Population and Setting preparatory school of a private university in Ankara, Turkey pre-intermediate (N = 172) upper-intermediate (N = 101) Student interviewees students from the lower and upper third groups depending on percentile scores (N = 8) Methodology 10

11. Instruments I . The questionnaire was adapted from Wang & Guthries Motivations for Reading Questionnaire (2004) and Yamashitas (2007) reading attitude questionnaire. II. semi-structured face-to-face interviews the formation of their motivation to read the effect of contextual surroundings (such as teacher, materials) on their motivation their expectations about their future education in their departments 11

12. 12 1. Nature of Reading Motivation (L1 and L2) a. Principal Component Analysis b. Correlations between L1 Reading Motivaton Constructs and L2 Reading Motivation Constructs Results & Discussion Quantitative

13. 13 Factor Extracted Sample Item Personal Reasons to Read I have favorite subjects that I like to read about in English/Turkish. Social Recognition I feel happy when someone recognizes my reading ability in English/Turkish. Anxiety I feel anxious if I dont know all the words when I read something in English/Turkish. Comfort I dont mind even if I cannot understand the content entirely when I read something in English/Turkish. Value I can become more sophisticated if I read materials in English/Turkish. Information I can acquire broad knowledge if I read materials in English/Turkish. Principal Component Analysis

14. 14 L1 and L2 Constructs Whole Questionnaire Population Pre- intermeadite Upper- intermediate Anxiety . 203** .199** - Reasons to read .206** .203** . 210* Value .368** .446** .284** Recognition .655** .633** .678** Correlation Analyses ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). * Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

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16. 16 2. the relationship between motivation to read and success in reading a. Hierarchical Regression Analyses Results Quantitative

17. Question Result relationship between L1 reading motivation and L2 reading achievement No significant contribution was observed. the relationship between L2 reading motivation and L2 reading achievement L2 reading motivation factors significantly predicted 8.1 % of reading achievement. Pre-intermediate Reading anxiety is a significant predictor. Upper-intermediate Comfort is a significant predictor. habits and behaviors in L2 Time spent reading in English is a significant predictor & a positive significant correlation between the students reading achievement and their online text preferences17

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22. I. Personal Factors value students put on reading interest levels background II. Institutional Factors syllabus coursebook teacher exams22

23. 23 Barr & Dreeben, 1983

24. Reading motivation is a COURSE BOOK thing: one size fits all mentality the course books syllabus is the syllabus students like the reading texts in the course book because they are short and easy --- they are not accustomed to dealing with long texts due to the education system 24

25. the teacher - the only motivator - higher levels of student motivation when they see that the teacher care about their progress Classroom Conditions 25

26. having the freedom to choose motivates students to become engaged in their reading students are more interested in soft texts than pen-and-paper texts more technology in class What to do, then? 26

27. syllabus needs analyis institutionalized syllabus course book selection beyond the teachers control 27

28. Grabe, W. (2009). Reading in a second language: Moving from theory to practice. New York: Cambridge University Press. Mendi, H.B. (2009). The relationship between reading strategies, motivation and reading test performance in foreign language learning. Unpublished masters thesis, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey. Park, H. (2008). Home literacy environments and childrens reading performance: A comparative study of 25 countries. Educational Research and Evaluation, 14 (6), 489-505. Wang, J. H. & Guthrie, J. T. (2004) Modeling the Effects of Intrinsic Motivation, Extrinsic Motivation, Amount of Reading, and Past Reading Achievement on Text Comprehension between U.S. and Chinese students. Reading Research Quarterly, 39, (2) pp. 162-186. Yamashita, J. (2002). Influence of L1 reading on L2 reading: different perspectives from the process and product of reading. Studies in Language and Culture, 23 (2), 271-283. Yamashita, J. (2007). The relationship of reading attitudes between L1 and L2: An investigation of adult EFL learners in Japan. TESOL Quarterly, 41 (1), 81- 105. References 28

29. for further information or your comments [email protected] 29 THANK YOU