This study aimed to examine the effect of an intensive reading intervention on reading motivation. The intervention program, ("Joy of Reading"), was implemented in six 2nd grade special education classes for pupils with learning disabilities, compared to a control group (n = 108 pupils in total). The intervention program was created…

This study explores the relative contribution to EFL reading comprehension of the following individual-difference variables: prior knowledge, topic interest, linguistic proficiency, gender, reading motivation, and metacognitive awareness. It also investigates the relationship between the aforementioned individual differences and the role of text…

The authors extend previous work on students' perceptions of teachers' autonomy-enhancing and autonomy-suppressing behaviors in relation to students' engagement to a more situated context (i.e., two Grade 4 science instructional conditions instead of school in general) and a linguistically diverse population (i.e., Hispanic students). They also…

Extensive reading is gaining credibility as an effective way of boosting students' affect especially in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context where access to a second language (L2) input is minimal. This study uses a pattern-matching, single case study research design to examine an adult reader's motivation and anxiety shifts towards…

The universal importance of reading, a receptive skill, is enormous. It encompasses a major part of learning and teaching a language. Reading ameliorates language competence of learners and it has an all-inclusive effect on their acquisition of second language. But some students are not found appropriately motivated or found demotivated in reading…

In order to identify materials that would encourage urban eighth graders to read, the authors asked students about the importance they placed on reading, about their own reading abilities, and the role of race and genre in their book choice. On the basis of subscale scores from the "Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile Reading Survey"…

Among foreign language educators interest in extensive reading is growing along with questions about learner motivation to read. Maintaining learner motivation over long periods of time is influenced by many variables suggesting that multiple means of stimulating motivation is needed. The psychological theory of flow has been suggested to…

This paper deals with the role of both the teacher and the student when choosing materials for the course, more specifically, with the selection of books for extensive reading. Although carried out in a first year tertiary education level, the results of this small scale study could be a good starting point for reflection in previous secondary and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between academic self-efficacy, dispositional optimism/pessimism, and preferences regarding the use of text materials and in-class activities of college students at a university that serves one of the highest-poverty regions in the United States. A sample of 105 students was surveyed.…

Strategy instruction is useful in teaching contexts. This paper examines the effects of strategy instruction in an EFL reading comprehension course carried out with 26 undergraduate students at a Colombian university. As a research method, a case study was implemented. There were three instruments with which to collect data: reading comprehension…

This study was an investigation of the impact of motivation to read on reading gains of struggling readers with and without specific learning disabilities (LD) who were exposed to a structured, research-based daily reading program over an 18-week period. Participants included 13 students with LD and 25 students without disabilities from two middle…

This article reports findings from two studies assessing reading compliance among first semester freshmen at a small Midwestern two-year liberal arts university. The first study assessed reading compliance of students enrolled in two sections of First Year Seminar, finding that 46% of students reported that they read assignments, yet only 55% of…

This Striving Readers evaluation examined the impact of a targeted intervention for struggling adolescent readers in participating schools. This study was conducted in nine high schools in nine school districts serving large percentages of at-risk students in Kentucky. The targeted intervention for struggling readers was the Kentucky Cognitive…

This report focuses on the opening of new school libraries and their impact on schools, teachers and students after two years of implementation of the Baltimore Elementary and Middle School Library Project (Library Project). The findings build on the first report of this project and show that it is not just new facilities, but also the added…

This Striving Readers evaluation examined the impact of a targeted intervention for struggling adolescent readers and investigated the impact of a whole-school literacy model on students in participating schools. This study was conducted in ten middle, nine high, and two 6-12 schools in seven rural school districts serving large percentages of…