VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

GRADUATION PAPER

THE PRACTICE OF EXTENSIVE READING
AMONG SECOND YEAR HONORS PROGRAM
STUDENTS AT FELTE, ULIS, VNU

Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Minh Trâm
(PhD)
Student: Bùi Thị Mai
Course: QH2014.F1.E1

HÀ NỘI, 2018


ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

HOẠT ĐỘNG ĐỌC RỘNG CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM 2
HỆ CHẤT LƯỢNG CAO,
KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH, ĐHNN, ĐHQGHN

GV hướng dẫn: Nguyễn Thị Minh Trâm (PhD)
Sinh viên:Bùi Thị Mai
Khóa: QH2014.F1.E1

HÀ NỘI, 2018


ACCEPTANCE PAGE
I hereby state that I: Bui Thi Mai, class QH2014.F.1, E1, being a candidate for
the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the College
relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in
the library.

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the
library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in
accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care,
loan or reproduction of the paper.

Signature

Date: May 4th, 2018


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
On completion of this graduation paper, I would like to thank many
people for their invaluable help during the conduct of the research.
First and foremost, I would like to send my deepest gratitude towards my
supervisor Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Tram for her precious guidance, critical
comments and valuable suggestions, without all of which I would not have be
able to complete this paper.
Secondly, I would like to express my sincerest thanks to those 64 secondyear students in the Honor Program for supporting me to collect the data,
especially 6 students who helped me with the interview. Their participation was
indispensable for the completion of the research.

Last but not least, I owe the warmest thanks to my family and friends who
never failed to encourage me to overcome numerous obstacles during the process
of conducting the paper.

Bui Thi Mai

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ABSTRACT
Reading skill plays an indispensable role in the acquisition of second
language, therefore, numerous studies has been devoted to figure out effective
approaches for L2/FL learners to maximize their reading capability. Among
different methods to teach and learn reading, extensive reading (ER) is widely
acknowledged with the paramount benefits it can offer. Nevertheless, in the
context of Vietnam, ER still remains an unpopular approach compared to the
traditional method of intensive reading. Hence, this research aims at gaining an
insight into the practice of ER among Second year Honors Program students by
seeking answers to two research questions regarding (1) the reading frequency,
reading materials and (2) the motivational factors for extensive reading in
English.
The paper is a mixed-method study that adopted both quantitative and
qualitative methods, employing survey and interview to combine the strengths of
both forms so as to compare and validate the results. Initially, the survey was
carried out among 64 sophomore students in the Honors Program, followed by
the interview with 6 participants. The results revealed that most students read
English extensively outside class with high frequency; students prefer reading
short materials to long materials; factors that most motivate students to read
extensively is Intrinsic motivation for L1, followed by Extrinsic motivation and
the third position belongs to Intrinsic motivation for L2. On the other hand,

factors related to family and parents

are the least influential. The findings

hopefully will benefit not only researchers and teachers interested in ER
approach but also students by raising awareness of their own practice.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................... iii
LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................... v
FIGURES ............................................................................................................... v
TABLES ................................................................................................................. v
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 1
1.1.

Background of the study.......................................................................... 1

1.2. Statement of problem and research questions ................................................. 2
1.3. Scope of the study ........................................................................................... 3
1.4. Significance of the study ................................................................................. 3
1.5. Organization .................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE ................................................................................ 5
2.1. Extensive reading ............................................................................................ 5
2.1.1. Extensive reading approach ...................................................................... 5

2.1.2. Reading materials for extensive reading .................................................. 7
2.1.3. Research on L2 extensive reading ............................................................ 9
2.2. Motivation ..................................................................................................... 10
2.2.1. What is motivation? ................................................................................ 10
2.2.2. L2/FL motivation.................................................................................... 11
2.2.2.1.Gardner and Lambert‟s motivational theory .................................... 11
2.2.2.2.Self-determination theory ................................................................. 12
2.2.2.3. Tri-polar model ................................................................................ 13
2.2.2.4. Expectancy value theory .................................................................. 14
2.2.2.5. The process-oriented approach to L2 motivation research .............. 15
2.3. Reading motivation ....................................................................................... 16
2.3.1. What is reading motivation .................................................................... 16
2.3.2. The dimensions of reading motivation ................................................... 17
2.4. L2/FL reading motivation ............................................................................. 18
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2.5. Related studies .............................................................................................. 21
2.5.1. An overview of related studies worldwide ............................................. 21
2.5.2. An overview of related studies in ULIS, VNU ...................................... 24
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ....................................................................... 25
3.1. Participants .................................................................................................... 25
3.2. Sampling ....................................................................................................... 25
3.3 Data collection ............................................................................................... 26
3.3.1 Data collection instruments ..................................................................... 26
3.3.1.1. Questionnaire ................................................................................... 26
3.3.1.2. Interview .......................................................................................... 27
3.3.2. Data collection procedure ....................................................................... 27
3.3.2.1. Questionnaire administration ........................................................... 27
3.3.2.2. Interview administration .................................................................. 28

3.4. Data analysis ................................................................................................. 28
3.4.1.Questionnaire analysis ............................................................................. 29
3.4.1.1. Analysis method: Quantitative analysis strategy ............................. 29
3.4.1.2. Analysis procedure ......................................................................... 29
3.4.2. Interview analysis ................................................................................... 29
3.4.2.1. Analysis method: Qualitative analysis strategy ............................... 29
3.4.2.2. Analysis procedure .......................................................................... 29
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ................................................. 31
4.1. Research question 1: ..................................................................................... 31
4.2. Research question 2: ..................................................................................... 35
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ............................................................................. 49
5.1. Major findings ............................................................................................... 49
5.2. Pedagogical implications .............................................................................. 50
5.3. Limitations and recommendations ................................................................ 52
REFERENCES ..................................................................................................... 54
APPENDICES...................................................................................................... 59
APPENDIX 1 - QUESTIONNAIRE ................................................................... 59
APPENDIX 2 - INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ...................................................... 63
APPENDIX 3 - SAMPLE TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW .................... 64
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LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND ABBREVIATIONS
FIGURES
Figure 1: The Tri-polar model by Balboni (1994, cited in Caon, 2006) .............. 14
Figure 2: The Tri-polar model by Caon (2006) ................................................... 14
Figure 3: A process model of learning motivation in the L2 classroom (Dornyei
2001)..................................................................................................................... 16
Figure 4: Model of the major variables motivating the decision to read in L2
(from Day and Bamford 1998, p.28) .................................................................... 19

Figure 5: Frequency of extensive reading among in English among second-year
Honors Program students, FELTE, ULIS ............................................................ 32

TABLES
Table 1: Different types of English materials read among second-year Honors
Program students .................................................................................................. 34
Table 2: Motivational factors for reading extensively in English among secondyear Honors Program students ............................................................................. 37
Table 3: Interest-related intrinsic motivation factors ........................................... 39
Table 4: Knowledge-related intrinsic motivation factors .................................... 40
Table 5: Extrinsic motivation factors ................................................................... 42
Table 6: Motivation factors related to self-efficacy ............................................. 44
Table 7: Motivation factors related to friend influences ...................................... 46
Table 8: Motivation factors related to family and parents‟ influence .................. 47

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ABBREVIATIONS
FELTE
ULIS
VNU
EFL
ESL
ER
FL
L1
L2
SD

Faculty of English Language Teacher Education

University of Languages and International Studies
Vietnam National University
English as a Foreign Language
English as a Second Language
Extensive Reading
Foreign Language
First Language
Second Language
Standard deviation

vi


CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, the author focuses on presenting the rationale, research
statement and research questions, the significance as well as the scope of the
study. As a result, this chapter is supposed to serve as a clear guideline for the
whole research
1.1.

Background of the study
Reading skill is an integrative aspect in EFL/ESL learning, therefore, the

methods to develop reading ability have long been investigated by a vast number
of studies. According to the traditional teaching method of intensive reading,
learners are required to read linguistically challenging texts, followed by
answering comprehension questions (Suk, 2017). Although intensive reading
proves essential to enable learners to develop reading ability, this approach
hardly offers learners with the opportunities to access the target language on a
regular basis (Anderson, 1999). Moreover, learners are often demotivated with

challenging texts, finding little interest in reading despite the necessity to
enhance their reading skill. As a result, extensive reading (ER) has been
proposed as another effective reading approach in motivating second language
learners. A large volume of literature has substantiated the effectiveness of ER in
developing fluent L2 readers since ER allows learners to expose to ample
meaningful input within their competence level ( Mason & Krashen, 1997;
Grundy, 2004; Robb & Susser, 1989). These studies also indicates that ER exerts
positive impacts on reading motivation by encouraging readers to read more in
English.
Motivation which is defined as “forces acting either on or within a person
to initiate behaviour” (Cofer and Petri, 2016, cited in Pirih, 2017, p.7) has been
recognized as one of the major determinant in L2 achievement (Dörnyei, 1998).
According to Guthrie and Wigfield (2004, p.299), reading is an “effortful
activity”, which often involves learners to make choice. Therefore, motivation
plays a pivotal part in reading engagement and can significantly contribute to
reading achievement. Even students with “strongest cognitive skills” do not read
much if they lack motivation to read (Guthrie & Wigfield, 2004, p.299).

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Nevertheless, not enough attention has been paid to L2 reading
motivation as well as the practice of ER in Vietnamese context. In fact, in
Vietnam, ER remains unpopular in both L2 instruction and learner‟s reading
habit since a great deal of emphasis is put on Intensive reading with the focus on
short-term goals such as exams scores and degrees (Le, 2005). Regarding the
Faculty of English Language Teacher Education (FLTE) at the University of
Languages and International Studies (ULIS), Vietnam National University
(VNU), intensive reading still maintains a core focus in the curriculum. Not until
the academic year 2005-2006 was ER familiarized and exploited to foster

learners‟ autonomy (Tran, 2009). Since then, ER has gradually been popularized
with its frequently incorporation in the L2 teaching program. Typically, for
Honors Program, the integration of ER in some reading projects such as the
Reading Journals and Reading Challenge has been witnessed.
Though reading skill has received considerable investigation within ULIS
context, not much research can be found related to ER. To be specific, only two
graduation theses examined the practice of ER among ULIS‟s students. Those
researchers (Tran, 2009; Nguyen, 2013) approached ER from a broad viewpoint,
exploring first year and second year mainstream students‟ realization of ER in
terms of reading amount, reading materials and reading strategies as well as their
perception of ER‟s difficulties and benefits.
Therefore, not only research on ER but also research on ER motivation is
found lacking. This motivates the researcher of this paper to conduct the study on
“The practice of extensive reading among second-year Honors Program
students at FELTE, ULIS, VNU”. Being conducted with different research
direction and subjects at another point of time, the current research is assumed to
reveal useful and up to date research results which are devoted to further
betterment of the English teaching program in ULIS with regard to reading
practice.
1.2. Statement of problem and research questions
This research aims at investigating two aspects of ER among second-year
Honors Program students: first is the habit of students in reading English

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extensively in terms of reading frequency and reading materials; and second is
factors that motivate students to read extensively. Then, the research is expected
to raise several implications for teachers with a view to effectively exploiting ER
in their reading instruction and raising learners‟ awareness of the practice of ER.

In brief, the aims and objectives of the research are summarized into two
research questions as follows:
1. How frequently and what kind of materials do second-year Honors
program students in FELTE, ULIS, VNU read extensively in English?
2. What factors motivate the students to read extensively in English?
1.3. Scope of the study
Firstly, the aim of the researcher is to provide an informative description
of students‟ ER practice. Three specific aspects of the practice of ER are
investigated, namely reading frequency, reading materials and reading
motivation.
Secondly, since two previous researches on ER in ULIS were both carried
out within the scope of mainstream students, the researcher wishes to see if there
is any difference in the practice of ER when the participants come from another
group. Consequently, the selected participants includes students from three
second-year Honors Program classes, namely 16E1, 16E2 and 16E22.
1.4. Significance of the study
Once the research is completed, it will firstly contribute to the
contemporary repository of research on the field of ER and reading motivation in
ULIS. Based on that, following researchers can continue to make more
investigation into this field since this research‟s scope is quite limited.
Moreover, the research can also serve as a ground for teachers to gain an
insight into students‟ habit and motivation in ER. As a result, they can come up
with initiatives to not only effectively integrate ER into the curriculum but also
encourage students to read more and help them maintain their motivation for an
endurable time.

3


Lastly, the results drawn from this research can equip students with a

better acknowledgement of their own ER practice, which leads to pertinent
adjustments in their perception or their reading practice.
1.5. Organization
Chapter 1 – Introduction: presents the rationale, research problems and
research questions, the significance as well as the scope of the study.
Chapter 2 – Literature review: provides the theoretical background of
the study, including discussion of the key concepts and related studies.
Chapter 3 – Methodology: describes the research setting, participants,
instruments of data collection as well as procedure employed to carry out data
analysis.
Chapter 4 – Findings and discussion: presents, analyzes and discusses
the results that the researcher found out from the collected data according to the
two research questions.
Chapter 5 – Conclusion: summarizes the answers to the research
questions, presents pedagogical implications, the limitations of the research and
some recommendations for further studies.
Summary: This chapter has presented the rationale for the study, its
objectives, its

scope and significance together with the organization of the

paper. Further details can be found in the following chapters.

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CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE
This chapter offers an overview of the literature related to this study.
While the first part presents the literature on extensive reading, the second part
aims at summarizing some influential motivation theories as well as research in

reading and L2 reading motivation. The last section is devoted to related studies
of the research.
2.1. Extensive reading
2.1.1. Extensive reading approach
The term “extensive reading” was first coined by Harold Palmer as
“reading book after book” (1968, p.137, cited in Nguyen, 2013) with readers‟
emphasis on the meaning, not the language of the text. He is also the first to
distinguish it from intensive reading, which often refers to the careful reading of
shorter, more difficult foreign language texts, followed by other linguistic
activities, comprehension, grammar and vocabulary exercises. According to
Bamford and Day (2002), “Extensive reading is an approach to language
teaching in which learners read a lot of easy material in the new language” (p. 1).
Grabe and Stoller (2011, cited in Suk, 2015) define extensive reading as “an
approach in which learners read large quantities of materials that are within their
linguistic competence” (p. 286). These two definitions share an agreement in the
reading amount and the difficulty level of reading materials. In ER, readers,
firstly have to read a lot, and secondly, read materials within their reading
competence.
Besides those two aspects, other researchers also contribute their own
work to complete the characteristics of ER. Regarding the reading purpose,
Jacobs, Rajan and Renandya (1999, cited in Tran, 2009) asserted that learners
read extensively not only for information but also for pleasure. In pedagogical
context, many researchers have realized ER‟s pedagogical potential in teaching
reading and the foreign language itself (Day, Omura & Hiramatsu, 1991;
Grundy, 2004; Lai, 1993; Robb & Susser, 1989).
The complexity of ER is perhaps illustrated the most profoundly in Day
and Bamford‟s Top ten principles for teaching ER (2002), which includes:

5



1. The reading material is easy.
2. A variety of reading material on a wide range of topics must be available.
3. Learners choose what they want to read.
4. Learners read as much as possible.
5. The purpose of reading is usually related to pleasure, information, and
general understanding.
6. Reading is its own reward.
7. Reading speed is usually faster rather than slower.
8. Reading is individual and silent
9. Teachers orient and guide their students.
10. The teacher is a role model of a reader.
From the above 10 principles, some key aspects of ER should be
discussed as follows. First and foremost, reading materials need to be within
learners‟ linguistic ability to allow effortless reading and enable independent
reading. Easy materials can facilitate reading experience, making it more
enjoyable without any burden, as a result, readers can continue to read for a
longer period with faster speed compared to challenging texts in intensive
reading. The second factor is the amount of reading. One remarkable strength of
ER is the opportunity of exposure to ample meaningful input in the target
language, which increases reading comprehension and reading fluency (Bell,
2001).
The third key feature should be highlighted is learners‟ autonomy in ER to
choose reading materials, their level, the space and time for reading. When
learners can freely select materials of their interest and of appropriate competent
level, their personal needs are satisfied. Therefore, ER personalizes reading,
meanwhile, requires readers to be more responsible for their own learning.
Dickinson (1995) claims that developing learning autonomy offers various

6



benefits such as enhance intrinsic motivation, productivity and the sense of
empowerment .
The two last principles introduce the role of teacher in ER. Since learners‟
autonomy is emphasized, Day and Bamford (1998, 2002) argues that the major
role of teachers is to provide orientation in the beginning of the ER process and
continue with continuous guidance. Teachers need to act as a role model in
reading to motivate learners as well.
2.1.2. Reading materials for extensive reading
As regards reading materials for extensive reading, those materials have to
satisfy three main criteria namely material variety, material self selection and
appropriate difficulty level (Day and Bamford, 2002). According to Hu and
Nation (2000, cited in Tran, 2009), learners should know at least 98 percent of
the words in the texts to guarantee successful reading comprehension and reading
fluency.
The traditional materials for ER is Graded Readers, which are books
written or adapted specifically for L2 learners. Those books, therefore, strictly
restrict the simplicity of vocabulary and grammatical structures as well as match
the length of the text with the lexical resource and grammar controls (Nation &
Ming-Tzu, 1999). A graded reader scheme typically consists of a series of
vocabulary and grammar levels to suit different reading proficiency so that
readers can start from the easiest levels first before moving on to the next level
(Nation & Ming-Tzu, 1999). The strongest argument for graded readers is they
present L2 learners with an opportunity to read at a level of comfort and fluency,
which usually lacks in authentic materials. However, graded readers are criticised
for focusing mainly on vocabulary and sytax while neglecting the communicative
value of the texts (Widdowson, 1978, cited in Pirih, 2017). On the contrary,
many reading teachers consider authentic materials, mostly “real-world texts”,
offers an exposure to real-life reading which is considered as more relevant and

motivating (Pirih, 2017, p.38).
Authentic texts are also called Unsimplified texts, which are defined as
“real life texts, not written for pedagogical purposes” (Wallace, 1992, p.145,

7


cited in Nguyen, 2013). The texts generally produced by native speakers could be
comprehended rather effortlessly by native speakers. Authentic materials are
believed to offer myriad benefits. Floris (2008, cited in Guo, 2012) asserts that
authentic materials should be incorporated in the curriculum since they are more
motivating, engaging and relevant to students‟ life. Sánchez, Pėrex, & Gómes
(2010, cited in Guo, 2012) concurs that exposure to real-life materials also grants
learners the opportunities to develop language competence in a more
communicative way.
However, the use of authentic texts is very controversial due to their
complexity of vocabulary and structures for low-level learners. Compared to
Simplified texts, Unsimplified ones are loaded with a wide range of vocabulary
and identical words are not repeated frequently (Guo, 2012). Therefore, learners
may encounter difficulty comprehending the texts. But Baleghizadeh‟s study
(2010, cited in Guo, 2012) indicates that if unsimplified texts are accompanied
with frequent teachers‟ facilitation, the problem may be overcome. Based on this
study, as long as students can have interaction with teachers and receive teachers‟
assistance, the interference of difficult vocabulary and structure in understanding
will be resolved.
Authentic materials vary widely from from literature, CDs, DVDs, news,
movies, TV programs, even to brochures and menus. Categorized by James and
Lange (1974), authentic materials comprise three types: (1) technical
information, consisting of headlines, column headings, table of content; (2) short
materials comprising advertisements, weather reports, and other short items; (3)

long articles, including full feature stories, fictions, comic strips, editorials.
Currently, besides newspaper, magazines, articles and stories, online-texts
are also gaining increasingly popular for extensive readers due to their
comparatively low price, up-to-date information and the convenience in
searching for information. Robb and Susser (1990, cited in Guo, 2012) claimed
that the Internet offers a valuable source of materials for ER since the high
expense required for purchasing a huge number of printed materials usually
poses a hindrance to the practice of ER. Despite acknowledging some possible

8


drawbacks of online-based materials such as lower reading rate, damaged vision,
Silva (2009, cited in Pirih, 2017) cannot deny its pedagogical merits, particularly
the ability to

access a vast amount of varied information covering a wide

diversity of topics and genres.
2.1.3. Research on L2 extensive reading
Numerous research has been conducted on the field of extensive reading
with supportive results for the benefits readers can reap from reading extensively.
One of the empirically proved achievements of extensive reading is the
increase in reading speed and reading comprehension (Mason & Krashen, 1997;
Robb and Susser 1989; Bell, 2001). Robb and Susser (1989) carried out a study
on 125 Japanese university students over the period of one semester. The
experimental group read SRA cards in class and a minimum of 500 pages in
books written for American teenagers at home. The control group read textbooks
followed by reading exercise focusing on teaching skills of efficient reading. The
results demonstrated that the experimental group showed considerable gain in

two reading comprehension measures and this group also read faster (a mean of
336.39 seconds for the total passages) compared to the controlled group ( a mean
of 441.90 seconds for the total passages). In Bell‟s research (2001), 26 adult
students working in various government ministries in Yemen Arab Republic
were divided into two groups who took part in two different reading programs.
14 students participated in an extensive reading program whose main material is
graded readers while the other 12 students just focused on intensive reading of
short texts designed to help them practice reading comprehension questions,
referential questions cloze or gap fills. The findings indicated that participants
exposed to extensive reading achieved significantly higher reading speed and
also scored higher in the measure of reading comprehension.
An abundance of literature also regards vocabulary gain another
noticeable linguistic benefit of extensive reading. Horst (2005) measured
vocabulary gain among 21 ESL learners using innovative methods of electronic
scanning, lexical frequency profiling and individualized checklist. The results
confirmed an increase in lexical acquisition for 21 participants after 6 weeks

9


reading graded readers. Another study by Lai (1993) was to examine participants
from four schools to see if there was any lexical enhancement between the
treatment group and the control group. The results showed three out of four
treatment groups displayed better in the vocabulary test in comparison to the
control group. Pigada and Schmitt (2006) conducted a case study on a French
learners who were required to read four graded readers (approximately 30,000
words) in a month. 133 words in the graded readers were tested in terms of three
types of vocabulary knowledge (meaning, spelling and grammatical knowledge).
Researchers discovered that the participants gained 65% of the vocabulary
knowledge with spelling benefiting the most.

In short, not only can readers‟ language competence be upgraded but their
reading motivation is also positively affected. The relationship between extensive
reading and motivation will be discussed in details in later part of this literature
review.
2.2. Motivation
2.2.1. What is motivation?
Although motivation is common terms used in educational and research
context, surprisingly, there is little agreement on the definition of motivation.
Despite that inconsistency, most researchers seem to advocate that motivation is
the impetus that moves people to act and direct them. As Dornyei (2000, p.520)
defines motivation as “the choice of a particular action, the persistence with it
and the effort expended on it”. Steel and Konig (2006) put forth the reason as for
the complexity that motivation and motivational subsets occur since one theory
can only deal with one motivational subset. Dornyei (1998) also points out that
this diversity is not accident. The reasons why people behave the way the do is
associated with different psychological perspectives. With each psychological
viewpoint comes a motivational theory, therefore, it would be almost impossible
to finalize the conceptualization of motivation and “devising an integrative
super-theory of motivation will always remain an unrealistic desire” (Dornyei &
Ushioda, 2013, cited in Pirih, 2017)

10


2.2.2. L2/FL motivation
It has long been proved that motivation is one of the most important
factors that contribute to successful achievements in language learning. As
Dornyei (1998, p.117) proposes, motivation helps sustain the prolonged and
tedious learning process. Even learners with outstanding abilities may not fulfill
long-term goals and even well-designed curricula and good teaching cannot

surely guarantee learning success. Additionally, motivation can also compensate
for ability deficiencies and learning conditions.
Due to the importance of motivation in L2/FL learning, it has become the
centre of various studies. The following part aims at discussing five significant
motivational theories which exerts great influences on the construct of
motivation in L2/FL learning.
2.2.2.1.Gardner and Lambert’s motivational theory
In the early phase of L2 motivation, two psychologists, Gardner and
Lambert (1972) proposed a motivational model whose principle is learners‟
attitude towards the L2 community and the goals or orientation sought through
the acquisition of L2 significantly effects their L2 learning. The model includes
two

main orientations, integrative orientation and instrumental orientation.

Integrative orientation refers to the desire to interact with the native L2 speakers
and the L2 culture. For instrumental orientation, it is the desire to master the L2
for practical goals such as job promotion or credit degree. In order to measure
these motivational factors, Gardner designed a testing instrument, the
Attitude/Motivational Test Battery, which provoked enormous interest in
empirical studies. However, the results are inconsistent and the core principle in
Garder‟s theory remains unsuccessfully proved. While the desire for
communicating with the L2 native speakers is suggested to be crucial for L2
acquisition, some studies prove integrative orientation has little to do with
motivational process and only has relevance in some socio-cultural context
(Clément, Dörnyei, & Noels, 1994; Dörnyei, 1990; Moïse, Clément, & Noels,
1990; cited in Noels, Pelletier, Clément & Vallerand, 2000).

11



In the next period, a shift towards a cognitive approach was witnessed
with more motivational theory formulations. One influential one is the selfdetermination theory by Deci-Ryan (1985).
2.2.2.2.Self-determination theory
In the self-determination theory, Deci and Ryan (1985) identified
motivation with intrinsic and extrinsic motives.
Intrinsic motivation (IM) indicates the motivation to engage in an activity
since that activity is enjoyable and satisfying to do. According to Deci and Ryan,
IM comprises three main intrinsic needs, namely autonomy need, competence
need and psychological relatedness. If learners are given the freedom and
independence in their learning, this will promote their intrinsic motivation.
Additionally, if learners hold belief in their ability to accomplish the activity
effectively, their intrinsic motive is also enhanced. Lastly, the sense of belonging
to a larger group, a class for example, helps motivate learners intrinsically.
Vallerand and his colleagues later formulated a three-part taxonomy for
IM. The first part is “knowledge” which is related to the feeling when exploring
and developing new knowledge. Secondly, “accomplishment” refers to the sense
of completing a task or reaching a goal. “Stimulation”, the last pat of this
taxonomy, is the sense associated with feelings when performing a task such as
fun or excitement (cited in Noel et al., 2000).
Extrinsic motivation (EM): Different from IM, extrinsically motivated
behaviors are carried out to achieve some utilitarian purposes. Three levels of
EM, from the lowest to highest level, are categorized as: external regulation,
introjected regulation and identified regulation. External regulation refers to
activities which are motivated by external sources to a person such as benefits or
cost (obtaining awards or avoiding punishment). Once the reasons for learning is
taken away, people would no longer continue studying, therefore external
regulation is the least determined form. In introjected regulation, reasons for the
activities originate from some pressures learners are encountering. In other
words, it is indeed not their personal choice but their response to outside

pressures. For instance, students practice speaking an L2 because they feel

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ashamed if they cannot speak an L2. Learning takes place as long as learners feel
the need to reduce the guilt. The most self-determined form of extrinsic
motivation is identified motivation. This type of motivation occurs when learners
choose to study due to their own personal reasons associated with the activities‟
perceived usefulness. A student read L2 books everyday since he/she believes
reading books is an indispensable part in L2 learning and considerably contribute
to his/her L2 achievements.
2.2.2.3. Tri-polar model
The tri-polar model developed by Balboni (1994, cited in Caon, 2006)
identified 3 main factors in motivation namely the duty, the need and the
pleasure.
The first motivation for studying, within the context of school, is not
concerned with interest, but more frequently with the duty. According to Balboni
(1994, cited in Caon, 2006), duty can come in the two following forms:
“Hetero-directed”, which is induced from external factors such as a
program given by the school with

contents and requirements imposed on

students without negotiation to be informed of students‟ interest and wish.
“Self-directed”, due to originating from the avoidance of failure such as
low grades or avoidance of parental punishment, is not durable
The second factor is the need, which is associated with personal objectives
and necessity, presents a more stable and durable source of motivation. However,
once the need is satisfied, the motivation can diminish at the same time and

learners loose interest in deepening their study.
The last one, the pleasure, is the most determined factor in terms of
stability and durability. Pleasure enables the subjects to progressively trigger and
generate motivation for learning. This can be understood not only as pleasant
emotions and feelings but also as satisfaction derived from a personal need
fulfillment, as enjoyment to challenge themselves with the new knowledge or as
pleasure to turn the knowledge into their own interpretation.
In order to illustrate the model, Balboni uses the triangle which separates
three elements with Pleasure at the top and Need & Duty at the opposite ends.

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Figure 1: The Tri-polar model by Balboni (1994, cited in Caon, 2006)
In 2006, based on the tri-polar model of Balboni, Caon proposed that if a
meaningful relationship in learning and teaching is created, “Duty” as a mere
external motivation in Balboni‟s model can be understood as an intrinsic sense of
duty, followed by a more stable force of motivation. According to Caon, a
meaningful relationship means a teacher-student relationship which presumes:
(1) an attention to students‟ needs and interests; (2) a capability to explain
transparently educative principles and the motivations behind specific
methodological choices; (3) a negotiation between students‟ requests and
necessities dictated by the school; (4) a joint-responsibility of all students. Under
those presumptions, Duty can be reinterpreted as a more positive motivation
factor which works alongside with Need and Pleasure in a circularity where these
three aspects cohabit in a meaningful relationship.

Figure 2: The Tri-polar model by Caon (2006)
2.2.2.4. Expectancy value theory
According to Eccles and Wigfield (1995), motivation for L2 learning is

composed of two key factors: the expectancy of success in a task and the value
attached to a task‟s success. Eccles defined expectancy of success is the belief of
how well they will perform in a future task. Prediction for expectancy for success

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can be made through learners‟ perception of task difficulty based on both their
previous experience and others‟ expectation. The second key factor is value,
which includes four sub-factors. The first one is “attainment value” referring to
the importance of the success of the task to oneself. Secondly, “intrinsic value”
is the enjoyment when accomplishing a task. Next, “extrinsic utility value” is
associated with the usefulness of a task and lastly, “cost” means the expense one
has to pay for completing a task, such as the time, effort or worries.
2.2.2.5. The process-oriented approach to L2 motivation research
The process-oriented approach has received attention from various
researchers since it takes into account the time element of motivation. Moreover,
this approach has created a research perspective in line with the general
approaches in second language acquisition which is to focus on the way various
motivational attributes affect learners‟ various learning behavior, in other words,
the actual learning process during a course (Dornyei, 2003, p.23). The process,
therefore, includes three distinct phases that are Preactional stage, Actional stage
and Proactional stage.
Preactional stage
Motivational functions:
1. Setting goals
2. Forming intentions
3. Launching action

Actional stage

Motivational functions:

Motivational functions:

1. Generating and

1. Forming causal

carrying out subtasks
2. Ongoing appraisal (of
one‟s performance)

Main motivational influences:

Postactional stage

3. Action control (selfregulation)

attributions
2. Elaborating standards
and strategies
3. Dismissing intention
and further planning

-Various goal properties (e.g.
relevance, specificity and

Main motivational influences: Main motivational influences:

proximity)

-Values associated with the

-Quality of the learning

learning process itself, as well

experience (pleasantness, need attributional styles and biases)

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-Atributional factors (e.g.,


as with its outcomes and

significance, coping potential, -Self-concept beliefs (e.g.,

consequences

self and social image)

self-confidence and self-

-Expectancy of success and

-Sense of autonomy

worth)

perceived coping potential


-Teachers‟ and parents‟

-Received feedback, praise,

-Learner beliefs and strategies

influence

grades

-Environmental support or

-Classroom reward and goal

hindrance

structure (e.g., competitive or
cooperative)
-Influence of the learner group
-Knowledge and use of selfregulatory strategies (e.g. goal
setting, learning and selfmotivating strategies)

Figure 3: A process model of learning motivation in the L2 classroom
(Dornyei, 2001)

As can be seen clearly from Figure 3, pre-actional stage starts with choice
motivation, which leads to learners‟ selection of goals and tasks. Following-up is
the actional stage which is in charge of maintaining and protecting the generated
motivation in the first stage from other distracting influences including off-tasks

thoughts, irrelevant comments from others or unfavorable physical conditions.
Lastly, the post-actional stage refers to learners‟ retrospective evaluation to form
their motivational activities in the future (Dornyei, 2003).
2.3. Reading motivation
2.3.1. What is reading motivation
When defining “reading motivation”, actually, it is answering questions
such as What makes people read? Why some people become engaged readers?
Why someone wants to continue their reading experience and others just want to
quit? (Pirih, p.19, 2017). Guthrie and Wigfield (1999) define reading motivation
as a multidimensional construct including individual‟ beliefs and goals which

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