Reading motivation

Reading motivation is the motivational drive to read, an area of interest in the field of education. Studying and implementing the conditions under which students are motivated to read is important in the process of teaching and fostering learning. Reading and writing motivation are the processes to put more effort on reading and writing activities.

Different strategies can be followed to develop a student's motivation to read.

• Integrating sensory organs with text materials. For example, when reading the word "apple", read it loudly, visualize, feel the texture, taste, and odor.
• Pronounce each word properly. Differentiate pronunciation for the purpose of spelling and for the purpose of communicating ideas.
• In pronunciation, give emphasis on phonic discrimination, for example, C-A-T, C-A-N, etc.
• Change from extrinsic to intrinsic reading motivation. Although incentives are a good motivator, further interest in reading will come from intrinsic wants and needs. Instead of rewarding reading with a gift, relate reading completion to increased reading competency and accomplishment.
• Organize reading material in an attractive way.
• Follow "SQ4R" strategies in reading the text:
  • S: Survey – Survey the outlines.
  • Q: Question – Make question out of outlines without going in too deeply.
  • R: Read – Read the material in order to answer the question.
  • R: Reflect – Relate what is read to real life.
  • R: Recite – Read section and take notes. Associate text with spoken words and gestures.
  • R: Review – Review the material soon after reading and on a schedule.

For students who know how to read, but need extra encouragement, giving a book talk is a way to inspire reading. It is an especially effective tool with reluctant readers who need a hook before they will invest the energy into reading a book. Reading motivation for children can be enhanced when it is read with songs or music as later develops some imageries about the text.

See also

• Writing motivation
• Patricia Alexander
• Book talk

External links

• Learning motivation
• Article abstracts about reading motivation

References

• Alexander, P. A. (1998). The nature of disciplinary and domain learning: The knowledge, interest, and strategic dimensions of learning from subject-matter text. In C. Hynd (Ed.), Learning from text across conceptual domains (pp. 263-287). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.