Reading motivation in modern representatives of various social groups

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READING MOTIVATION IN MODERN REPRESENTATIVES OF VARIOUS SOCIAL GROUPS

O.V. Akimova

Those teaching any subject have to be aware of `who our students are, what world they are part of and what their expectations of communications and text-related practices might be' [1, p. 163]. It is also true while dealing with `readership' which is defined as `an abstract notion arising not only from the process of reading but from attitudes towards reading matter, relations with other readers and critical engagement with a range of related concepts such as authorship, publishing and so on...it suggests creative agency on the part of the reader, something needing to be worked at, not a fixed state' [2, p. 183].

The aim of this paper is to explore how problems of reading motivation in modern representatives of various social groups are contemplated in articles published in 2007-2012 on the pages of the `English in Education' journal.

In M. Lockwood's article [8], the author reports on a two- year research project investigating attitudes to reading held by teachers and pupils in a sample of English primary schools. This research is related to a large body of theoretical literature on motivation - both reading motivation and motivation considered more generally.

The former is linked to reading for pleasure, reading widely and attitude to reading. It is pointed out that in almost all countries students who enjoy reading are significantly more likely to be good readers. The author also emphasizes that the voluntarily reading remains a very significant leisure time activity for children, as well as the importance of motivational factors in the development of children's reading. And, because the association between motivation and reading attainment, or, on other words, the attitude-achievement relationship is stronger in elementary school (5-11 years), it becomes more important to model appropriate behaviors for children in their pre-education and early formal educational years.

In a broader sense, there are differentiated (1) extrinsic motivation, where the only reason for doing a thing is to get something outside the activity itself, and (2) intrinsic motivation, where rewards consist of a direct experience, a state of consciousness that is so enjoyable as to be auto telic (`having its goal within itself). Hence pleasure and enjoyment are the names given to these auto telic activities that are their own rewards.

In the paper, there is presented a list of factors which a number of researches think to be crucial for classroom practice associated with increased motivation to read. This includes: a teacher who is a reading model; access to a book-rich classroom environment; being able to choose books oneself; being familiar with books; social interactions with others about books; incentives that reflect the value of reading; students' autonomy in choice of topic, books, peers; explicit teaching of reading strategies, problem solving, composing; involving social construction of meaning; interesting texts, real world interaction (making links between reading inside and outside the classroom, showing how readers in the world beyond the school also read for pleasure as well as for the variety of other purposes in their daily lives).

According to the pupils' responses on their perceptions of the value of reading, the latter is characterized by (1) absorption - `I read to help myself sleep and for pure pleasure', (2) immersion - `I read to dive into a different world', and (3) escape - `I read to get away from this world'. The idea of `losing yourself in a book' was referred to by some respondents in reporting a sensation of partial loss of self when the reading `flow' (as in motivational theory) came to an end. Reading was also valued as a form of relaxation and de-stressing (as distinguished from the experience of `flow' in the theory mentioned). It was seen more functionally by other children as related to extrinsic rewards - passing tests and succeeding at school. Many others saw reading as important to get a good job and being able to carry out the functions of that job. Extrinsic, as well as intrinsic, motivation resulted in positive attitudes for some children who valued what reading could do for them rather than the experience of reading itself.

The author concludes: 'Now seems an opportune time...to seek to generate a virtuous circle in reading teaching for increased attention to be paid to what we know about developing the `will' to read alongside efforts to improve the `skill', since the evidence increasingly shows that each feeds into the other' [8, p.241].

In the article by a group of authors [3], the latter report on the primary teachers' personal reading, the frequency of this reading and the sources they use to select their reading material. They also consider the teachers' favorite childhood texts and the books they identified as highly significant to them as highly significant to them as well as their perceptions of the importance of literature, their knowledge of children's literature and how primary teachers decide which literature to work with in the classroom.

The starting point is the statement that teachers' confidence in knowing and using children's literature may be limited, particularly by lack of time to read personally for pleasure. Still most of them are evidently readers who choose to make time for their own reading and find pleasure in settling down with a book.

In terms of what these teachers had read recently for pleasure, popular fiction was the most frequent choice (40%). Autobiography and biography were also very popular (14%), particular those of people who had triumphed over adversity, although there were some of celebrities and sports stars.

The teachers were also invited to comment on what they thought was the most important book they had ever read. Choosing their most important book, the respondents discovered popular fiction in favor of religious, spiritual, allegorical and exemplary books.

The overwhelming majority of respondents (over 60%) recorded popular fiction as their favorite childhood reading. This response is in line with the limited mentioning of poetry in the question on recently recorded reading, and is reinforced by the extremely limited knowledge of children's poets known to these teachers.

The authors conclude that a mixed picture of teachers' habits and pleasures, preferences and practices emerges from the data. Memories of favorite reading as children and current reading for pleasure are dominated by popular fiction, although the sample as a whole reflects a wide range of types of reading, including children's and `crossover' fiction. There is an emphasis on affective content, as evidenced by choices of autobiography and biography, many of which were about people who had suffered indignation, emotional, political and physical deprivation, and triumphed over adversity.

Primary teachers are keen readers themselves, enjoying fast-paced, engaging narrative. Small wonder, as teachers need to focus on the `maximum entitlement' of every child: to become a reader for life. That is why the best teachers of literature are those for whom reading is important in their own lives, and who read more than the texts they teach.

The article by G. Cliff Hodges [2] arises from a study of 12-13 year-old habitual and committed readers in terms of the sociocultural and spatial dimensions of their reading. It explores how encounters with other readers and different reading practices contribute to their reading. The article focuses on critical incident collages of reading histories created by adolescent readers. This research method generates valuable data which allow a more intricate view of the complexity of reading, particularly in relation to young people who do read for a variety of purposes and pleasures and who do count reading as a worthwhile pursuit. The author uses the phrase `habitual and commitment readers' to refer to those who consciously include reading amongst the range of activities with which they voluntarily occupy their time. A broad definition of reading matter is also used to explore whatever Наукові записки Вінницького державного педагогічного університету імені Михайла Коцюбинського. Серія: педагогіка і психологія. Випуск 44 * 2015 young people choose to read and want to discuss.

Through their collages, the respondents:

- map their progress from earliest memories of picture book anthropomorphism, magic and fantasy to developing a taste for more adult reading such as J.R.R. Tolkien's `The Hobbit' and a selection of popular spy fiction;

- point out their close relatives' influence upon their reading choice, including those who are alive (mother's love for books; father's reading bedtime story; reading in companionship with parents and grandparents, uncles and aunts, cousins, brothers and sisters) and dead - (reading books brought the grandmother who is not alive anymore; reading and books here seem to form another legacy, a way of continuing a relationship beyond the here-and-now);

- construct their readership by shuttling back and forth between the real world and the world of imagination, enjoying the space thereby created;

- display their coming into contact with the trajectories of the fictional heroes/heroines.

A group of authors [1] argue in their article that much can be learned about the teaching of both print and digital literacies from examining computer games and young people's engagement on online digital literacies from examining computer games and young people's engagement in online digital culture in the world beyond school

Computer games are considered in the broadest sense of this term: they are cultural objects which both reflect and provide the meanings and ideologies of the settings in which they are produced and received. They are hybrid forms that combine visual, narrative and game elements while engaging players in energetic action and (in many cases) interpersonal and social processes.

Students who self-identify as games players underline games and game play as an integral part of their everyday lives. They are linked to friendships and family relationships, the development of perceptions and understandings of themselves, and their location within youth culture, globalization and contemporary life. They enable to 'do something that you can't really do in real life'. They resonate with adolescents' life worlds, in ways many school-based texts do not and therefore need to be included within the literacy curriculum.

The article by F. Richards-Kamal [9] explores how exam criteria require pupils to engage with texts at once `personally and critically'. The author believes pupils make meaning in the texts they read by approaching them through their own histories and experiences. She also emphasizes that a text is not a stable artifact always containing the same story, but actualized only in the reading moment. Each reading experience is unique because each reading is unique.

In his article, D. Storie [10], examines how readers choose books when reading for pleasure, explores the possibilities that literary blogs offer as a form of reader guidance, and identifies features of these blogs that may be valuable to avid readers. Tackling the question of how readers choose what they are going to read for personal and leisure reading, the author stresses that reading novels, poems, short stories, and non-fiction (not to mention media other than books, such as newspapers, magazines, and now electronic material) are all a significant personal investment of time. The next questions are:

When given a choice between billions of texts, how do readers successfully navigate this mess of materials and identify a select handful of works that appeal to their tastes, values and mood?

What litblogs have to offer an avid reader looking for the next good book?

It is then pointed out that avid readers employ a combination of strategies, using their mood and previous reading experiences in conjunction with conversations, book reviews, and browsing lists to deal with an overload of material. To aid them in the selection of reading materials, lit blogs as a special type of web resource, include features like book reviews, recommendations, reading journals, publishing news, poetry, creative writing, as well as a lot of semi- related miscellany.

When looking for help in choosing a book, avid readers are hungry for suggestions about new books and authors from people they trust but receiving advice from someone who wants to instruct, impose, or proselytize is unwelcome.

The reader-run blogs appear to have no agenda beyond a love books, and their intimate and honest nature allows readers to build a trust in their opinions and reading choices. These blogs are by readers, for readers, and in there lies the strengths of blogging for readers' advisory. Readers must actively seek out the blogs that reflect their own interests and tastes, those in which they find a shared voice, and advisors must be conscious that they recommend blog material that matches readers' expectations. Through these blogs readers can hopefully find future reading materials, and possibly even new communities of readers with whom they can share their interests.

The article by E. Hyder [7] deals with reading groups for visually impaired people as a relatively recent phenomenon. It focuses on reading autobiographies to explore ideas of reading and readers. In terms of visually impaired people's (VIPs') reading motivation, the author put forward the question: what makes them pursue reading as a hobby despite not being able to access print?

The author mentions the following relevant factors:

- developing embossed books to provide private relationship with the text (readers engage more with the text when reading is a personal, private activity than when it is mediated through a third party, a narrator);

- listening to engaging texts as a key player in developing an interest in reading (like weather forecasts from around the world);

- 8 parents' being keen readers;

- discussing books with family members;

- printed books' smelling and feeling lovely;

- the instant access of reading to be able to just absorb oneself in something that is just there on hand.

The author confesses that the particular combination of factors that makes one person a reader and others not remains a mystery. Still, whatever the reason, VIPs involved in research appeared to be committed readers.

The analysis has shown that modern humans read being driven by motives associated with seven levels of their consciousness: children's, everyday, social, artistic, scientific, philosophical, and spiritual (which is also can be considered as religious, mythological etc.). These motives, while taken properly into consideration, would be a guideline for the slogan `teachers need to be allowed to teach and assess each student based on his or her strengths and needs' [4 p. 126] to come true. At the same time, these motives, both every single and all together, are objects for further research.

reading motivation social group

References

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2. Cliff G.H. Rivers of reading: using critical incident collages to learn about adolescent readers and their readership / G. H. Cliff // English in Education. - 2010. - 44 (3). - Р. 181-200. Gabrielle Cliff Hodges EiE 2010-44-3).

3. Cremin T. Primary teachers as readers / T. Cremin, E. Bearne, M.Mottram, P. Goodwin // English in Education. - 2008. - 42 (1). - Р. 8-23.

4. Croce K.-A. Exploring assessment of students from different language backgrounds: A look at reading comprehension using informational texts / K.-A. Croce // English in Education. - 2010. - 44 (2). - Р. 126-145.

5. Giovanelli M. Pedagogical stylistics: A text world theory approach to the teaching of poetry / M. Giovanelli // English in Education. - 2010. - 44 (3). - Р. 214-231.

6. Hildrew C. Wallace and Gromit: the Curse of the Were-Rabbit - a study of modality / C. Hildrew. - 2007. - 41(2).

7. Hyder E. Readers are very important people / E. Hyder // English in Education. - 2009. - 43 (3). - Р. 226-239.

8. Lockwood M. Attitudes to reading in English primary schools / M. Lockwood // English in Education. - 2012. - 46 (3). - Р. 228-246.

9. Richards-Kamal F. Personal' and `critical'? Exam criteria, engagement with texts, and real readers' responses / F. Richards-Kamal // English in Education. - 2008. - 42 (1). - Р. 53-69.

10. Storie D. Exploring the litblog: how literary blogging can ve used to guide readers in the election of new books / D. Storie // English in Education. - 2007. - 41 (1). - Р.253-268. Dale Storie (EiE 2007-41-1).

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