The Motivational Factors for Reading in Terms of Students

Abstract Issues related to reading skill can be handled both cognitively and affectively. In this study, the reading issue was handled affectively. In this sense, the city center of Burdur became the population of the study. By inclining towards the sample, composed of randomly selected primary and high school students, it was aimed to determine the factors playing role on the motivation for reading in the eyes of students. To do this, a questionnaire was developed by the researcher. Obtained data were analyzed by the SPSS statistical software. According to the findings, such factors as teachers, family members, friends, books, environment and activities had a diagnostic effect on students in terms of awakening their willingness to read. Another finding is that such factors were mostly effective on primary schools students while less effective on high school students. In terms of gender, factors except for activities and books became more effective on girls than boys. Hence, to lead students to read, books should be given to students as presents by their teacher and parents, they should be good models for them, children should be relied on and given autonomy if they are provided with books catching their interests and to be supported in the process of choosing the right friends. Key Words Reading, Reading Problems, Reading Motivation. Reading process, in a sense, is to recognize sound, syllable, words, to convert it into sound and it is reporting process in a systematic form, in a gradual structure that textual components require one another such as sentence, word, syllable, and sound. In another sense, reading process is a reader's extrapolation process about sentences and words in the text by activating his background knowledge at a higher level in the direction of instructions of the text (see Alderson, 2000; Treiman, 2003). The findings regarding students' and teachers' adequacy and habit regarding that process present a negative profile (Arslan, Celik, & Celik, 2009; Ciftci, 2007; Karatay, 2007; Keles, 2006; Kurulgan, & Cekerol, 2008; Oguz, Yildiz, & Hayirsever, 2009; Saracoglu, Bozkurt, & Serin, 2003; Topcu, 2007; Yilmaz, 1989). That negative profile by definition of reading performance could be concerned with both cognitive and affective features (Guthrie & Wigfield, 2005). Although students as Applegate and Applegate (2004) stated on the ground of many research results, they are proficient as cognitive, they are reluctant to reading. That is to say, they do not prefer reading. In other words, as Lau (2004) stated, many useful strategies with the purpose of improving student's reading skills could be taught to students. However, students will want to benefit from those strategies only if they are motivated for reading. Sever (1990) describes this situation as the second dimension of reading problem. Because of that, by taking that authenticity as a starting point, in this research the motivation is regarded as the affective aspect of reading and specific reading motivation will be dwelt on. Motivation is defined as an inner ability, a stimulus that pushes a person to take action to achieve a goal (Duy, 2007; Fidan, 1985). Motivation, which is by definition tripwire, multifaceted, and prompt in using mind and language, is a fact that changes depending on time (Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000). Nowadays, the theoreticians concerned with motive state that peoples' beliefs in proficiency to be successful, their inner and outer motives, their goals, and social contamination play an important role in identifying how many and how much activity they will do (Baker & Wigfield, 1999; Wigfield & Guthire, 1997). Wigfield & Guthrie conceptualized the reading motive in first language in a form that is made up of three main categories and eleven subordinate components that match with the factors which are determiners in providing motives (Mori, 2002). Motivation has very important role in reading process. …