Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-g4j75 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-25T19:46:39.858Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

17 - Attitudes, Motivations, and Enjoyment of Reading in Multiple Languages

from Part Four - Language(s) and Literacy of Multilingual Children through Schooling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2022

By
Sara A. Smith  and
Victoria A. Murphy
Edited by
Anat Stavans  and
Ulrike Jessner
Anat Stavans
Affiliation:
Beit Berl College, Israel
Ulrike Jessner
Affiliation:
Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Austria
Get access

Summary

Psychosocial factors strongly influence language learning and reading achievement for children. Evidence indicates a strong positive relationship between attitudes toward reading in the first (L1) and second or third languages (L2/L3) and subsequent reading achievement among multilinguals. Many studies of children learning to read demonstrate direct positive relationships between intrinsic motivation and reading achievement. Other studies have found that extrinsic motivation is the motivational facet that most predicts achievement. Researchers have begun to consider how the relationship between reading attitudes in one language might affect reading motivation and outcomes for another language. In this chapter we examine relevant theoretical frameworks of motivation and psychosocial factors that influence language learning and reading. Next, we present state-of-the-field findings regarding psychosocial factors related to reading achievement among multilingual children. We discuss how to reconcile contradictory findings and consider which features of language and context may be salient for predicting relationships. Finally, we make recommendations for future research and consider pedagogical implications.

Keywords

Multilingualismchild(hood)languageliteracydevelopmentreading motivationpsychosocial
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Childhood Multilingualism , pp. 393 - 414
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alkhateeb, H. M. (2014). Reading anxiety, classroom anxiety, language motivation, reader self-perception, and Arabic achievement of Arab-American students learning Arabic as a second language. Psychological Reports, 115(3), 918–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Appel, R., & Muysken, P. (2005). Language Contact and Bilingualism. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.Google Scholar
August, D., & Shanahan, T., eds. (2007). Developing Reading and Writing in Second-Language Learners: Lessons from the Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth Published by Routledge for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baker, L., & Wigfield, A. (1999). Dimensions of children’s motivation for reading and their relations to reading activity and reading achievement. Reading Research Quarterly, 34(4), 452–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The Exercise of Control. Basingstoke: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Becker, M., McElvany, N., & Kortenbruck, M. (2010). Intrinsic and extrinsic reading motivation as predictors of reading literacy: A longitudinal study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(4), 773–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bourdieu, P. (1994). Structures, habitus, power: Basis for a theory of symbolic power. In Alcoff, L. et al., Culture/Power/History: A Reader in Contemporary Social Theory. Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp. 155–99.Google Scholar
Bourdieu, P. (1998). Practical Reason: On the Theory of Action. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Briggs, J. G., & Walter, C. (2016). Read on! Extensive reading and young second language learners’ motivation and attitudes. Report for University of Oxford Department of Education.Google Scholar
Bush, J. C. (2015). The impact of classroom games on the acquisition of second language grammar. Language in Focus, 1(2), 17–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Camiciottoli, B. (2001). Extensive reading in English: Habits and attitudes of a group of Italian university EFL students. Journal of Research in Reading, 24(2), 135–53.Google Scholar
Catto, S. (2017). More Than One Voice: Utilizing Students’ Home Languages And Cultural Experiences In Reading Recovery. In Ortlieb, E. & Cheek, E. H., eds., Addressing Diversity in Literacy Instruction. Bingley: Emerald Publishing, pp. 17–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carhill, A., Suárez-Orozco, C., & Páez, M. (2008). Explaining English language proficiency among adolescent immigrant students. American Educational Research Journal, 45(4), 1155–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cenoz, J. (2003). The additive effect of bilingualism on third language acquisition: A review. International Journal of Bilingualism, 7(1), 71–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cenoz, J., & Valencia, J. F. (1994). Additive trilingualism: Evidence from the Basque country. Applied Psycholinguistics, 15(2), 195–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chapman, J. W., & Tunmer, W. E. (1995). Development of young children’s reading self-concepts: An examination of emerging subcomponents and their relationship with reading achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 87(1), 154–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, C., Osborne, S., & Dugdale, G. (2009). Reaching Out with Role Models. London: National Literacy Trust.Google Scholar
Conlon, E. G., Zimmer‐Gembeck, M. J., Creed, P. A., & Tucker, M. (2006). Family history, self‐perceptions, attitudes and cognitive abilities are associated with early adolescent reading skills. Journal of Research in Reading, 29(1), 11–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Csizér, K., & Lukács, G. (2010). The comparative analysis of motivation, attitudes and selves: The case of English and German in Hungary. System, 38(1), 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummins, J. (2000). Language, Power, and Pedagogy: Bilingual Children in the Crossfire. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985a). The general causality orientations scale: Self-determination in personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 19(2), 109–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985b). Conceptualizations of intrinsic motivation and self-determination. In Intrinsic Motivation and Self-determination in Human Behavior. Boston: Springer, pp. 11–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dhanapala, K. V. (2006). Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and L2 reading comprehension of university learners in Japan and Sri Lanka. Proceedings of the JACET Summer Seminar, 6, 39–43.Google Scholar
Dhanapala, K. V., & Hirakawa, Y. (2016). L2 reading motivation among Sri Lankan university students. Reading Psychology, 37(2), 202–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The Psychology of the Language Learner: Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Dörnyei, Z., & Chan, L. (2013). Motivation and vision: An analysis of future L2 self images, sensory styles, and imagery capacity across two target languages. Language Learning, 63(3), 437–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dörnyei, Z., & Ryan, S. (2015). The Psychology of the Language Learner Revisited. New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eccles, J. S., Adler, T. F., Futterman, R., Goff, S. B., Kaczala, C. M., Meece, J., & Midgley, C. (1983). Expectancies, values and academic behaviors. In Spence, J. T., ed., Achievement and Achievement Motives. San Francisco: WH Freeman.Google Scholar
Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (1995). In the mind of the actor: The structure of adolescents’ achievement task values and expectancy-related beliefs. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21(3), 215–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
El‐Khechen, W., Ferdinand, H. D., Steinmayr, R., & McElvany, N. (2016). Language‐related values, reading amount, and reading comprehension in students with migration backgrounds. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 86(2), 256–77.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Erten, I. H., Zehir Topkaya, E., & Karakas, M. (2010). Exploring motivational constructs in foreign language reading. Hacettepe University Journal of Education, 39, 185–96.Google Scholar
Gardner, R. C., & Lambert, W. E. (1959). Motivational variables in second-language acquisition. Canadian Journal of Psychology/Revue canadienne de psychologie, 13(4), 266–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gardner, R. C., & Lambert, W. E. (1972). Attitudes and Motivation in Second-Language Learning. New York: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Gardner, R. C., Smythe, P. C., Clément, R., & Gliksman, L. (1976). Second language learning: A social psychological perspective. Canadian Modern Language Review, 32, 198–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garnett, B., & Ungerleider, C. (2008). An introductory look at the academic trajectories of ESL students. Working paper for the Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Diversity, Vancouver.Google Scholar
Guthrie, J. T., Hoa, L. W., Wigfield, A., Tonks, S. M., & Perencevich, K. C. (2005). From spark to fire: Can situational reading interest lead to long‐term reading motivation?. Literacy Research and Instruction, 45(2), 91–117.Google Scholar
Guthrie, J. T., McRae, A., & Klauda, S. L. (2007). Contributions of concept-oriented reading instruction to knowledge about interventions for motivations in reading. Educational Psychologist, 42(4), 237–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hancock, A. (2006). Attitudes and approaches to literacy in Scottish Chinese families. Language and Education, 20(5), 355–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hvistendahl, R., & Roe, A. (2004). The literacy achievement of Norwegian minority students. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 48(3), 307–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jiménez, R. T., García, G. E., & Pearson, P. D. (1996). The reading strategies of bilingual Latina/o students who are successful English readers: Opportunities and obstacles. Reading Research Quarterly, 31(1), 90–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katzir, T., Lesaux, N. K., & Kim, Y. S. (2009). The role of reading self-concept and home literacy practices in fourth grade reading comprehension. Reading and Writing, 22(3), 261–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, K. J. (2011). Reading motivation in two languages: An examination of EFL college students in Korea. Reading and Writing, 24(8), 861–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, T. Y., & Kim, Y. K. (2014). A structural model for perceptual learning styles, the ideal L2 self, motivated behavior, and English proficiency. System, 46, 14–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kondo-Brown, K. (2006). Affective variables and Japanese L2 reading ability. Reading in a Foreign Language, 18(1), 55–71.Google Scholar
Lesaux, N. K., & Geva, E. (2006). Synthesis: Development of literacy in language-minority students. In August, D. & Shanahan, T., eds., Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 53–74.Google Scholar
Masgoret, A. M., & Gardner, R. C. (2003). Attitudes, motivation, and second language learning: A meta‐analysis of studies conducted by Gardner and associates. Language Learning, 53(S1), 167–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merisuo-Storm, T., & Soininen, M. (2014). The interdependence between young students’ reading attitudes, reading skills, and self-esteem. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 4(2), 122–30.Google Scholar
Mihaljević Djigunović, J., & Lopriore, L. (2011). The learner: Do individual differences matter? In Enever, J., ed., ELLiE: Early Language Learning in Europe. London: The British Council.Google Scholar
Modirkhamene, S. (2006). The reading achievement of third language versus second language learners of English in relation to the interdependence hypothesis. International Journal of Multilingualism, 3(4), 280–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Montrul, S. A. (2012). Is the heritage language like a second language?. Eurosla Yearbook, 12(1), 1–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgan, P. L., & Fuchs, D. (2007). Is there a bidirectional relationship between children’s reading skills and reading motivation? Exceptional Children, 73(2), 165–83.Google Scholar
Murphy, V. A. (2014). Second Language Learning in the Early School Years: Trends and Contexts. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Murphy, V. A. (2018). Literacy development in linguistically diverse pupils. In Miller, D., Bayram, F., Rothman, J., & Serratrice, L., eds., Bilingual Cognition and Language: The State of the Science across Its Subfields. Studies in Bilingualism, 54. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 155–82.Google Scholar
Netten, A., Droop, M., & Verhoeven, L. (2011). Predictors of reading literacy for first and second language learners. Reading and Writing, 24(4), 413–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
OECD (2016). Programme for International Student Assessment Results from PISA 2015: United Kingdom. Retrieved from www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2015-United-Kingdom.pdf.Google Scholar
Papi, M. (2010). The L2 motivational self system, L2 anxiety, and motivated behavior: A structural equation modeling approach. System, 38(3), 467–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petscher, Y. (2010). A meta‐analysis of the relationship between student attitudes towards reading and achievement in reading. Journal of Research in Reading, 33(4), 335–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips Galloway, E., Uccelli, P., Aguilar, G., & Barr, C. D. (2020). Exploring the cross-linguistic contribution of Spanish and English academic language skills to English text comprehension for middle-grade dual language learners. AERA Open, 6(1), https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858419892575.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quiroz, G. (2014). Reading Strategies of Good and Average Bilingual Readers of Chinese and Spanish Backgrounds. MA thesis, University of Toronto.Google Scholar
Retelsdorf, J., Köller, O., & Möller, J. (2011). On the effects of motivation on reading performance growth in secondary school. Learning and instruction, 21(4), 550–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryan, S. (2009). Self and identity in L2 motivation in Japan: The ideal L2 self and Japanese learners of English. In Dörnyei, Z. & Ushioda, E., eds., Motivation, Language Identity and the L2 Self. Bristol: Multilingual Matters, pp. 120–43.Google Scholar
Schiefele, U., Schaffner, E., Möller, J., & Wigfield, A. (2012). Dimensions of reading motivation and their relation to reading behavior and competence. Reading Research Quarterly, 47(4), 427–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seville-Troike, M. (2000). Causes and consequences of language maintenance/shift. In Olshtein, E. & Hornczyk, G., eds., Language, Identity, and Immigration. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, pp. 159–71.Google Scholar
Sharpe, P. (1997). Teaching and learning at home: Features of parental support for the bilingual competence of pre‐schoolers. Early Child Development and Care, 130(1), 75–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, S. A., Briggs, J. G., Pothier, H., & Garcia, J. N. Jr. (2017). “Mental workouts for couch potatoes”: Executive function variation among Spanish-English bilingual young adults. Applied Linguistics, 40(3), 413–31.Google Scholar
Smith, S. A., & Li, Z. (2020). Closing the enjoyment gap: Heritage language maintenance motivation and reading attitudes among Chinese-American children. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2020.1742653.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Starbuck, E. (2018). How well prepared to teach EAL learners do teachers feel? EAL Journal blog, https://ealjournal.org/2018/04/23/how-well-prepared-to-teachers-feel-to-teach-eal-learners/.Google Scholar
Strand, S., Malmberg, L., & Hall, J. (2015). English as an Additional Language (EAL) and educational achievement in England: An analysis of the National Pupil Database. Report for the Educational Endowment Foundation, London.Google Scholar
Taboada, A., Tonks, S. M., Wigfield, A., & Guthrie, J. T. (2009). Effects of motivational and cognitive variables on reading comprehension. Reading and Writing, 22(1), 85–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torppa, M., Niemi, P., Vasalampi, K., Lerkkanen, M. K., Tolvanen, A., & Poikkeus, A. M. (2019). Leisure reading (but not any kind) and reading comprehension support each other: A longitudinal study across grades 1 and 9. Child Development, https://doi.org/ 10.1111/cdev.13241.Google Scholar
Wang, J. H. Y., & Guthrie, J. T. (2004). Modeling the effects of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, amount of reading, and past reading achievement on text comprehension between US and Chinese students. Reading Research Quarterly, 39(2), 162–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wigfield, A. (1997). Reading motivation: A domain-specific approach to motivation. Educational Psychologist, 32(2), 59–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wigfield, A., & Guthrie, J. T. (1997). Relations of children’s motivation for reading to the amount and breadth or their reading. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89(3), 420–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiley, T. G. (2001). On defining heritage languages and their speakers. In Kreeft Peyton, J., Ranard, D., & McGinnis, S., eds., Heritage Languages in America. Preserving a National Resource. McHenry: Center for Applied Linguistics, pp. 29–36.Google Scholar
Ushioda, E. (2011). Why autonomy? Insights from motivation theory and research. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 5(2), 221–32.Google Scholar
Valdés, G. (2001). Heritage language students: Profiles and possibilities. In Peyton, J., Ranard, J., & McGinnis, S., eds., Heritage Languages in America: Preserving a National Resource. McHenry: Center for Applied Linguistics, pp. 37–80.Google Scholar
Valencia, J. F., & Cenoz, J. (1992). The role of bilingualism in foreign language acquisition: Learning English in the Basque Country. Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 13(5), 433–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yamashita, J. (2004). Reading attitudes in L1 and L2, and their influence on L2 extensive reading. Reading in a Foreign Language, 16(1), 1–19.Google Scholar
Young, M. Y., & Gardner, R. C. (1990). Modes of acculturation and second language proficiency. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 22(1), 59–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×