MOTIVATION AND CRITICAL READING IN EFL CLASSROOMS: A CASE OF ELT PREPARATORY STUDENTS
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama 2009, 5 (2):123-147
Journal of Theory and Practice in Education Articles /Makaleler
ISSN: 1304-9496 http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Education. All rights reserved.
© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, Eğitim Fakültesi. Bütün hakları saklıdır.
(İNGİLİZCE ÖĞRETMENLİĞİ HAZIRLIK SINIFI ÖĞRENCİLERİNDE
İNGİLİZCE ELEŞTİREL OKUMA DERSLERİ VE MOTİVASYON)
Simla İÇMEZ
1
ABSTRACT
This study explores the ways in which Critical Reading (CR) practices can be adapted to traditional
EFL reading lessons to increase student motivation. More specifically, this research aims at
identifying the role of three main features of CR courses in increasing motivation, decreased external
control, giving room for the students’ own realities in classroom procedures, and optimal arousal. The
study was conducted with ELT preparatory year students. The findings point out that adapting these
three features into EFL reading lessons enhances student motivation. However, the results also show
that for students with high self-efficacy and high English proficiency, traditional reading lessons will
lack the essential novelty of CR courses, which is mastering a new skill, within the adaptation. Thus,
this study suggests that for students with high levels of English proficiency, provided that the former
two features are supported through tasks designed to raise optimal arousal to compensate for the lack
of novelty in traditional reading classroom, students’ intrinsic motivation will be increased for EFL
reading lessons.
Keywords: EFL Reading, motivation, critical reading
ÖZ
Bu çalışma eleştirel okuma dersleri pratiklerinin, öğrenci motivasyonunu arttırmak için geleneksel
okuma derslerine adapte edilmesinin yollarını araştırmaktadır. Temelde bu çalışma, eleştirel okuma
derslerinde içsel motivasyonu arttırdığı gözlenen üç temel noktanın geleneksel okuma derslerinde
oynayabileceği potansiyel rolü incelemektedir, öğrencilerin kendi öğrenim süreçleri üzerindeki
kontrollerinin artması, öğrencilerin kendi deneyimleri ve yaşamlarının sınıf içi kolektif bilgi
yaratımında yer bulması, ve yeni, merak uyandıran beceri geliştirme. Bu çalışma İngilizce
öğretmenliği hazırlık sınıfı öğrencileriyle yapılmıştır. Bulgular, bu üç temel noktayı geleneksel okuma
beceri derslerine adapte etmenin öğrenci motivasyonunu arttırdığını göstermektedir. Ancak sonuçlar
ayrıca, yüksek öz-yeterlilik ve İngilizce yeterliliğe sahip olan öğrencilerde, sınıf içi faaliyetlerde
yapılan bu uyarlamada eleştirel okuma derslerinin sunduğu yeni, merak uyandıran beceri geliştirme
hususunun eksik kaldığını göstermektedir. Bu doğrultuda, bu çalışma öğrenci kontrolünün artması ve
sınıf içi faaliyetlerle öğrencilerin yaşamları arasındaki bağı kuvvetlendirmenin, yeni ve merak
uyandıracak aktivitelerle desteklenmesi halinde öğrencilerin içsel motivasyonlarının artacağını öne
sürmektedir.
Anahtar Sözcükler: İngilizce okuma, motivasyon, eleştirel okuma
1
Intructor Dr., Çukurova University, Faculty of Education, Department of English Language
Teaching. E-mail: simlaicmez@hotmail.com Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
124
INTRODUCTION
As in many educational settings, EFL classroom procedures also bear
the risk of alienating students from learning experience. The relatively
artificial nature of language classroom where language skills are broken into
their components can cause frustration due to the possible discrepancy
between real language use outside the classroom and language learning
practice inside the EFL classroom. Thus, it leaves the students in a context
where “learning becomes abstract and removed from reality” (Ushioda,
1996:42). In the Turkish context, this is perhaps most evident, ironically, in
the case of foreign language department students in high schools. These
students have high levels of motivation to study the language, however, their
motivation gets lost in classroom practices (Icmez, 2005).
These students have high self-efficacy, clear goals, and strong extrinsic
motivation, i.e. university education and job prospects; as well as an interest in
the language itself. Thus, it is very surprising to see that their expectations
from and interest towards the language learning classroom in formal education
is much lower than their motivation to study the language. On the other hand,
it should be considered that high school education in Turkey has essentially
been shaped by the backwash effect of the university exam in recent years.
The influence of school education having alienating effects on students can
also manifest itself in the early stages of preparatory year ELT students.
Although in some cases the correlation between the CR course and
student motivation is negative (Kramer-Dahl, 2001; Granville, 2003) and
manifests itself as student resistance to the course, in other studies the
correlation proves to be positive and results in an increase in student
motivation for the reading lessons, especially in contexts where students report
alienation from the educational practices (Leal, 1998; Icmez, 2005). These
studies show CR procedures offer a potential for classroom practices to help
increase students’ intrinsic motivation through a) helping strengthen the link
between students’ own realities and reading lessons, b) decreasing external
control while increasing student control, and c) providing optimal arousal.
Thus it is the aim of this research to investigate whether adopting the CR
procedures above in a traditional reading classroom will increase student
motivation.
MOTIVATION
The literature on motivation reflects different understandings of people,
shifting from the conception of people as subjects in a structure to the
conception of people as active agents. In the earliest studies, human beings are
seen as relatively predictable beings, who are assumed to react in certain ways
to their environment given that the conditions are equal, as in ‘reinforcement İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
2009, 5 (2): 123-147
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125
theory’ (Stipek, 2002: 19). These theories not only fail to provide an
explanation for the highly complex and at times unpredictable nature of
human behavior, but also disregard human agency.
The reductionist approach of this understanding gave way to research
suggesting an alternative understanding of motivation. One of the most well
known of such research studies is integrative versus instrumental motivation
(Gardner, 1985). Integrative motivation refers to an interest in the language,
the culture, and the people who speak that language, whereas instrumental
motivation refers to the motive to learn a language for practical and economic
advantages (Gardner, 1985), for example, finding a job. Although Gardner’s
studies (1985) suggest that the integrative – instrumental dichotomy provides
valuable insight for the immersion contexts, recent research presents
contradicting results both in EFL contexts (Brown, 1994), and in immersion
contexts (Kouritzin, Piquemal, and Renaud 2009). The results of this study
also challenge the initial research findings that integrative motivation is likely
to result in persistence in the task as opposed to instrumental motivation.
Cognitive Approaches to Motivation
With the shift in understanding human beings to a more conscious,
agency oriented one, the theories in motivation also shift to an understanding
where people are regarded as active beings that chose to engage in a task
consciously. Cognitive approaches to motivation is a result of this
understanding; that human beings are conscious, and that the same stimuli
may result in different outcomes in different individuals, as these individuals
will have different thoughts and beliefs.
Cognitive approaches to motivation are valuable to understand how different
motives to learn a language result in persistence in the task for different
individuals. This aspect gains more importance for EFL contexts, where the
instrumental – integrative dichotomy, reviewed above, is absent by nature and
where all language learners have instrumental motivation, yet, only some
persist in learning the language. In some cases, for example, self-respect is
“valued more highly” than any external, “material reward” (Stipek, 2002: 40-
41). Thus, these theories provide valuable insight on understanding the
motivation of the participants of this study, as will be discussed below.
Social Cognitive Theory claims three interactive motivational factors:
1) people’s own “cognitive/emotional factors”, like beliefs of capabilities, 2)
“environmental factors”, and 3) “behaviour or performance” of people
(Alderman, 1999: 16). This theory proposes that encouraging individuals to set
goals for themselves will provide effort for the goal without the need to be
reinforced externally on a regular basis (Stipek, 2002: 41). It will be discussed
in 3.2 below that the learners participating in this study also had clear extrinsic
goals, which resulted in their persistence of learning the language. Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
126
Self-efficacy, perceptions of one’s own capabilities, is another
important factor in motivation (Dornyei, 2001; Alderman, 1999). Similar to
Social Cognitive Theory, Achievement Theory proposes that motivation is
determined by the learner’s expectancy of success (Dornyei, 2001). However,
he proposes a linear model where the tendencies to achieve and avoid failure
exist as opposite poles (Atkinson, 1966; Stipek, 2002). Yet, self-efficacy is
built upon more than the expectancy of success or avoidance of failure, where
interpersonal and social interactions play an equally essential role (Gu, 2009).
Although, the linear model of Achievement Theory risks failing to
capture the complex nature of human beings, and indeed has been subject to
criticism (Stipek, 2002), Rotter’s addition of the locus of control, i.e. an
individual’s beliefs and values, to Achievement Theory is important for this
study as it helps account for the individual differences in motivation and has
reportedly played an important role in increasing student motivation in CR
practices (Icmez, 2005; Leal, 1998).
Learners’ beliefs and values operate on the dimensions of “internal/
contingent”, or “external/ not contingent” (in Weiner, 1974: 5). Attribution
Theory takes the contingent – non-contingent distinction further. Emphasising
people being conscious, it claims that people analyse their past experiences to
figure out what caused success or failure (Ushioda, 1996). That is, it brings the
role of past experiences into the construct in addition to “people’s expectations
related to future events” (Stipek, 2002: 63). Weiner proposes two more
categories for distinction: “stability” and “controllability” (Weiner, 1974: 6).
While effort is contingent / internal, unstable, and controllable; ability is
contingent, stable, uncontrollable; and luck is non-contingent / external,
unstable, and uncontrollable. As Ushioda points out, such an approach offers a
recursive pattern; motivation can be the “cause or product of learning success”
(Ushioda, 1996: 9). Ushioda’s insight finds its place in this study, as will be
analysed in more detail in 3.2, where the participants express success both as
result and cause of their motivation.
Intrinsic Motivation
The motivation theories reviewed above, naturally, are affected by the
epistemological paradigms that view people either as passive recipients of
external forces or as active conscious beings. What all the theories reviewed
so far have in common, however, is that they view learning as an external
force being imposed on people. Intrinsic motivation, on the other hand, finds
its basic principles on the assumption that human beings are active beings in
need of being autonomous and with an innate curiosity (Deci and Ryan, 1985;
Deci and Ryan, 1992; Ushioda, 1996; Ushioda, 2003). Thus, developing
mastery and arousal in the face of novelty are key concepts for intrinsic
motivation, which will be reviewed below.
İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
2009, 5 (2): 123-147
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127
Mastering Competency and Optimal Arousal
Intrinsic motivation argues that developing competency is a
fundamental component of motivation and is the reward itself, which is selfsustaining (Deci and Ryan, 1895). However, the learners report a feeling of
boredom once the competency is mastered in that specific task (Deci and
Ryan, 1985).
Thus, there is also a need for an optimal challenge/ arousal (Deci and
Ryan, 1992). Optimal arousal and achieving mastery manifest themselves
commonly via feelings of pleasure, which is associated with intrinsic
motivation (Deci and Ryan, 1985; Ushioda, 1996). Stipek, for example, points
out that most students do not enjoy schoolwork due to its failure to promote
competence and mastery (2002). Stimuli that are not at all discrepant or novel
will not arouse interest and stimuli that are too discrepant from the
individual’s expectations will be ignored and will cause anxiety (Berlyne,
1966: 30). It should be noted here that, in this study, the incompetence of
school procedures in providing optimal arousal for the students in their later
years of school education play an important role in their low motivation for
classroom procedures, which will be discussed below.
External Control
Deci and Ryan (1985) argue that to be intrinsically motivated, people
must feel free of external rewards or pressures. It is important that people feel
that the locus of control is within themselves rather than an external factor
(Deci and Ryan, 1985). Thus, students who feel that they have control over
school settings and their own learning experiences are more likely to be
intrinsically motivated (Ushioda, 2003).
The Self-Determination Approach suggests that although in the short
term extrinsic rewards result in an increased involvement with the activity;
they have a negative effect on the intrinsic motivation in the long term (Deci
and Ryan, 1985). Furthermore, when the extrinsic reward is withdrawn, the
involvement of those who had extrinsic reward previously decreases to a
lower degree than those who were never offered an extrinsic reward (Deci and
Ryan, 1985). Yet, it must be stated here that these suggestions contradict the
findings of this study as well as a study conducted with foreign language
students in the Turkish Anatolian High School context (Icmez, 2005), both of
which suggest that extrinsic rewards can sustain motivation even after the
reward is attained since, being dynamic, conscious beings, people can mould
the extrinsic reward into their value systems.
Intrinsic motivation is usually measured by “whether people voluntarily
choose to engage or persist in an activity or by their ratings of their interest in
or enjoyment of a particular activity” (Stipek, 2002: 134).
Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
128
Intrinsic motivation in language classrooms
School learning is usually separated from personal life where any
formal education is involved. Besides, the longer the learners are in formal
education, the greater this separation is (Corpus, McClintic-Gilbert, and
Hayenga, 2009). Yet, in the Turkish context, the backwash effect of the
university exam on school education causes even more alienation from school
practices. In the context of this study, typically, the demands of the university
exam shapes the school practices due to the vast importance attached to this
exam, a very strong external control. Thus finding ways to build meaningful
links with school practices and students’ lives is essential.
The implications of the theories above on language classrooms in this
respect are numerous. One important aspect of motivation based on the
theories reviewed above is “communicative success” (Ushioda, 1996:
32).Communicative success can provide a sense of “self-confidence,
satisfaction and a sense of real progress in one’s own learning” (Ushioda,
1996: 33). Provided that language is used in these tasks as means to a
meaningful end rather than an end in itself, they can help students relate to the
learning experience (Ushioda, 1996; Dornyei, 1997). Similarly, Nikolov’s
study draws attention to the role of meaningful classroom tasks, which
encourage student communication, on student motivation to learn a foreign
language as opposed to distant integrative or instrumental motives (1999).
The use of real-life materials in the classroom is an effective way to
help relate students’ life outside the classroom with the classroom procedures
(Ushioda, 1996). It is not surprising that Tercanlioglu’s results point out the
role of “curiosity, involvement, recognition” as well as “efficacy” and
“grades” in school reading frequency (2001).
Critical Reading Practices and Motivation
Studies on CR and writing suggest two main fundamental principles in
relation to motivation. The first one is the use of authentic materials (Wallace,
1999). Although authentic materials are also used in traditional reading
classrooms, CR approaches these authentic texts in a different way, by
problematising these texts in ways relating to the students’ own realities.
Secondly, related to the point above, CR practices typically give more
control to the students in classroom practices (Wallace, 2003; Leal, 1998). In
other words, the students are expected to contribute with their own
experiences, opinions, criticisms, while in the context of this study, student
contribution is limited to language practice in traditional reading classes.
Although there is a scarcity of research on critical language awareness
(CLA) and motivation, Leal’s study (1998) provides insight on the value of
CLA in increasing student motivation through building a link between the
classroom and students’ own realities. The context of her study, grammar
lessons in Brazil, bears similarities to that of this study in that the students are İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
2009, 5 (2): 123-147
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129
alienated from the classroom procedures and lack motivation. However, CLA
procedures, which involve asking the students to decide on the texts to be
analysed and encouraging them to express their positions related to the texts
analysed, results in an increase in student motivation. One student remarks,
That is it folks. That boring stuff... texts like “The cat jumped off the roof” ...
the text's got to be up-to-date and directly related to our reality
(Leal, 1998: 4)
Based on these points, CR suggests relating the learning experience to
the students’ own realities, which affects text selection, student involvement
and classroom communication. In other words, CR aims at providing an
environment for genuine two-way communication in the classroom, where the
students can teach the teacher as much as the opposite.
THE STUDY
Purpose of the Study
This study was conducted with 24 preparatory year students, eight
males and sixteen females, in the ELT department at Cukurova University.
The students were anticipated to have high levels of motivation to study
English as they had chosen to study in an ELT department. However, a group
interview with the class at the beginning of the year inquiring about the
students’ expectations from the reading course revealed low levels of
motivation for reading classroom procedures. The students were asked what
they aimed to achieve at the end of the course as language learners and how
they planned to achieve it. Surprisingly, the students’ responses demonstrated
a lack of motivation for the reading course with high alienation from high
school reading practices, which entailed intensive practice for the university
exam.
Thus, based on research on the relationship between CR and student
motivation, reading procedures were adapted from CR to help minimize the
alienation the students reported and to increase intrinsic motivation for the
course.
Method of Study
Upon diagnosis of the above mentioned alienation by the
teacher/researcher, adjustments based on CR practices were made in the
course to overcome this problem. Thus, the methodology used was action
research. Although action research essentially aims at improving practice, it
offers generalisability of small-scale research into wider educational settings
(Cohen et al. 2000). Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
130
planning
reflecting acting
observing
(McNiff, 1988: 22)
Figure 1: Action Research Cycle
Figure 1 shows that although the very first stage of action research is
planning, it follows a recursive pattern, where acting upon planning is
followed by observing and reflecting upon the outcome, which in turn leads to
more planning. Hence, as action research has recursive cycles, and requires
constant interaction between the teacher and the students throughout the study,
the teacher/researcher made adjustments throughout the course and used
questionnaires and interviews to maintain the interaction.
It should also be noted here that the students were ensured throughout
the course that their responses to the questionnaires and interviews would
under no circumstances influence their grades for the course. It can be argued
that the fact that the reading course conducted for this study constitutes only
25% of their grades, besides other compulsory courses, i.e. grammar, writing,
and listening and speaking. However, the students were ensured throughout
the course that their honest responses were required to make the course more
beneficial to both the participants as language learners and to the researcher as
the teacher of the course. Furthermore, to avoid students’ possible biased
responses to please the teacher, the questionnaire was given after they took
their exams.
Procedure
Reading practices were adapted from CR practices that foster
motivation. These are, relating students’ own realities into classroom
procedures, giving more control of L2 procedures to students, use of authentic
texts from a wide variety of genres, and raising optimal arousal helping the
students to master competency, that is CR skills.
Upon the diagnosis of the lack of motivation for the reading course, the
students were asked to, 1) bring authentic texts of their own choices to the
classroom; 2) express their opinion as readers of the texts through class
discussions following reading the texts; and 3) make a five week-long research
on global warming. İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
2009, 5 (2): 123-147
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131
The first step was to have a class discussion on what kind of texts the
students would like to read in the course, where the class decided that they all
had different preferences ranging from short stories to news reports. At the
end of the discussion the students and the teacher/researcher reached an
agreement which entailed the students bringing authentic texts of their own
choice to be collected in a folder, from which the class would choose which
texts to read in the following lessons. This practice aimed to decrease external
control, giving more control to the students on the choice of texts to read in the
course, as well as to build a relationship between the students’ realities and
that of the classroom procedures. Although the aim was to decrease external
control, the teacher/researcher played a role in the choice of the texts
considering the requirements of the course. In this respect, the external control
was still present, though to a lesser extent compared to the traditional course.
The students were also encouraged to express their opinions both as
individuals and as EFL learners on the texts both before and after reading a
text. As Wallace (2003) points out, EFL learners are usually outsiders to
authentic texts, not sharing the historical and socio-cultural background that
plays a role in the production and interpretation of the text. Thus, encouraging
the students to generate their own statements and express their perspectives on
the text aimed to help build a link between the text and their own realities.
In traditional reading courses, one problem with raising optimal arousal
and helping students to master competency in such contexts is that the students
are already successful language learners with high levels of language
proficiency and self-efficacy. Therefore, their improvement in reading is less
likely to raise optimal arousal compared to helping them develop a novel skill.
In a CR course, optimal arousal is more readily available. Thus, to provide
optimal arousal for the students and to help use reading as a means and not an
end, as Ushioda (2003) suggests, the students were asked to do a five weeklong research on global warming, hoping the research itself would stimulate
curiosity and optimal arousal. The topic was decided upon by the students
themselves.
Research Instruments
As mentioned earlier, the students were given a group interview at the
beginning of the academic year, which signalled low levels of motivation for
reading class procedures. Next, to inquire further about the students’
motivation levels as language learners, they were given a questionnaire
adapted from Icmez (2005). This questionnaire inquired about students’
reasons for studying English and ELT and their reading course practices prior
to research, i..e. at high school (see Appendix 1).
At the end of the course the students were given the second
questionnaire to investigate their motivation for reading lessons, any changes
in their approach to reading lessons, and reasons for a possible change. Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
132
Finally, a follow-up interview was given to students asking them to elaborate
on their answers to Questionnaire 2.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Students’ Motivation for Reading Lessons: At the Beginning of the
Course
In the first week of the academic year, the students were asked about
their past experiences as readers in L2 educational settings, school and
language courses.
Table 1. High School In-Class Reading Practices
Reading Practices Frequency
Practising for university exam by reading short paragraphs
with multiple choice questions
24
Reading texts from texts books with true/false, multiple
choice, and open ended comprehension questions
24
Translating short texts into Turkish 11
Summarising short stories 7
They reported a sense of boredom related to reading procedures. Their
reported reading practices were: reading short paragraphs with comprehension
questions as preparation for the university exam, translating texts and
summarising short stories, all of which were chosen by the course teacher, and
answering comprehension and vocabulary questions at the end of reading texts
in their course books. They also reported that authentic texts were not a part of
their reading courses at high school.
The students reported boredom particularly in relation to paragraph
questions, “Even when we don’t really understand what the paragraph was
about, we could answer the questions by simply eliminating the multiple
choices”, one student stated. Paragraph questions were referred to as “boring”,
“easy”, and “monotonous”.
These responses suggest that these practices lack the element of
optimal arousal. Due to the lack of a direct relationship between these
activities and the students’ lives and increased degree of external control, after
the mastery is achieved in these reading tasks, the motivation fails to selfsustain itself and decreases, as the intrinsic motivation theory suggests (Deci
and Ryan, 1985; Ushioda 1996).
When asked what kind of reading practices they would prefer, they
stated that they would prefer texts and activities that would enable them to
contribute through “expressing themselves” and reading texts that would be
“interesting”. İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
2009, 5 (2): 123-147
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133
Students’ Motivation for Studying English
These students already chose to study in an ELT programme; therefore
they had high self-efficacy and persistence in studying English. Similar to the
findings in previous research conducted with Anatolian High School foreign
language students (Icmez, 2005), these students also expressed high
perception of past experiences resulting in high perception of future
expectations. To investigate further, the participants were asked to state why
they chose to study English and ELT in Questionnaire 1.
Table 2. Reasons for Studying English
Student response Frequency
Good job prospects 20
Enjoyment of learning a foreign language 20
Communication with people from other countries 20
Travelling 15
To study abroad 12
Perception of self as good at English 10
Following technological developments 8
To be an English teacher 8
Interest in British/American culture 3
Interest in the people and culture of the English speaking countries 2
To live abroad 2
Interest in English literature 1
Other:
“To be a respected member of the society”
“It was easier than other subjects in high school”
“I was bad at science subjects”
3
Table 3. Reasons for Studying ELT
Student Response Frequency
I enjoy studying English and I want to have a good job 8
I enjoy studying English 5
I want to have a good job 4
I have always been good at English 2
I am better at English compared to other academic subjects 2
I want to get a good job and English helps me communicate with anyone in
the world
2
I am not good at science and I want a good job 1
The responses in Tables 2 and 3 show that the most important reasons
for studying English and ELT are feelings of enjoyment and the prospect of
jobs that English offers to them. Although motivation theories suggest a
dichotomy between intrinsic motivation and an extrinsic reward as reviewed
above, these responses point to the dynamic nature of human beings and to the Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
134
complex nature of people’s belief and value systems. Even if we assume these
students started to study English for purely an extrinsic reward at the very
beginning, it resulted in persistence, i.e. 17 of these students had been studying
English for 7 years or more at the time of this study, which typically is
attributed to intrinsic motivation. Although an interest in the language itself
signals intrinsic motivation (Williams and Burden, 1997), which is selfsustaining, this motivation does not necessarily manifest itself in academic
tasks, as the students’ responses in the interview indicate.
Although the second most common reason reported is travelling and
living abroad, the low number of responses indicating an interest in the target
culture(s) show that the students value English as an international language.
Similarly, 20 students out of 24 report that they study English to be able to
communicate with others, however, only two of these twenty students report
an interest exclusive to the culture or people of English speaking countries.
Students’ motivation to study English as an international language bears
additional importance since the students also reported a lack of the
communicative aspect of language in language courses in their high schools.
Another important point that should be noted here is that although
students report a very high interest in communication in the first question
where they are asked to tick all relevant statements, only two students mention
the role of English as an international language in communication when they
were asked to write down their reasons for studying ELT. It is possible to
argue that this is an indication of the students’ priorities, which involves an
interest in the language and job opportunities.
Students’ responses noting their academic success as language learners
reveal high self-efficacy, i.e. their performance outcomes are perceived as
internal and stable as a result of high ability. Ability is more likely to attain
persistence in effort since it is internal, stable, and uncontrollable, hence
promises success (Ushioda, 1996). These responses indicate that these
students’ high-efficacy is a result of their past experiences. However, at the
same time, it shapes the students’ expectations about future success,
confirming Rotter and Skinner’s theories as well (Stipek, 2002). Thus, as
Ushioda suggests, results of performance outcomes are usually recursive, as is
the case in this study (1996).
While these responses show high self-efficacy, the responses stating
those students were bad at science subjects report low self-efficacy in that
field, referring to Atkinson’s Achievement Theory (Dornyei, 2001). These
students’ choices are shaped to a great extent by the motive to avoid failure
rather than high self-efficacy as language learners or the achievement motive
(Atkinson 1966).
One final point that is worth mentioning is the role of integrative vs.
instrumental motivation. Although the role of this distinction has been
questioned in EFL contexts for some time now (e.g. Lukmani in Brown 1994, İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
2009, 5 (2): 123-147
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135
Williams and Burden 1997), it is worth risking the repetition that instrumental
motivation can result in persistence in task in EFL contexts, such as the
context of this study, where being a part of the target culture is not a priority in
the participants’ lives whereas instrumental rewards are.
To sum up, an interest in the language and a strong extrinsic reward,
such as prospective job opportunities, are the most common reasons the
participants reported for choosing and sustaining effort in studying English.
Students’ Motivation for the Reading Lessons
The students were given a questionnaire at the end of the course to
learn about any change in their motivation for the reading lessons (see
Appendix 2). Responses in this questionnaire generate two main categories, as
can be seen in Table 4.
Table 4. Differences in the Ways Students Approach Reading Lessons
Students’ response
Frequency
I am more confident
Discussing the text makes it easier for me to read
Now I think it is fun and easier to read
I used to find vocabulary items in the text and move on but
now I inspect the text (read in detail)
8
The lessons were more effective
I used to read texts for grammar but now I can talk about
them
I think the reading lessons are more advanced
Competence
I can make research
Now, just because the text looks long, I don’t stop reading.
I read more, attend reading classes more, and enjoy
reading long texts now
I am more active in reading lessons now
I read more
We are more active 11
I work more regularly
I talk about the text
The activities make us participate more
I try to understand the text more
I am more careful and attentive
Participation
and
Persistence
We are more active
The lessons are not boring 2 Enjoyment
It is not boring
Not specified Positive 1
No response - 1
Negative Negative, it is stressful 1 Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
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136
Twenty-two students report a positive change in their approach to
reading lessons. The majority of the responses fall into under two main
categories, competence and participation and persistence.
The responses that indicate competence development mention
developing confidence as a reader, reading in detail, reading more carefully,
being able to research in L2, and finding it easier to read in L2. Furthermore,
two students stated that they enjoyed reading lessons more. As reviewed
previously, intrinsic motivation is measured with the feeling of enjoyment
(Stipek, 2002). One student remarked that there was a positive change in their
approach to reading lessons but did not give the reasons why.
The answers stating increased participation and persistence include
persisting in reading longer texts, an increase in the amount of extra-tuition
reading, being more active in reading lessons, studying more regularly, talking
about the text, and increased participation due to activities.
The students were also asked to compare their reading lessons with the
reading lessons they had before.
Table 5. Comparison of Reading Lessons with Previous Reading Lessons
Beneficial and enjoyable in prep year Frequency of these categories in answers
Competence 8
Communication 12
Competence related to real life 10
Participation 1
Place of real life in classroom 1
When asked to compare previous reading lessons with the current one
and state what they thought was beneficial and enjoyable from either of these
courses, the students’ answers focus on communication and developing
competence through the link to their daily lives in their reading course in
preparatory year at university. The answers to this question fall into three main
categories, competence, communication, and competence through inclusion of
daily life in classroom practices. While one student remarks on increased
participation, another student states the place of real life in classroom.
However, this student’s answer does not connect the role of real life in
classroom to competence.
The answers indicating increased competence include improved
competence in reading. One response states learning to make research and
writing a report on it while the other responses in this category refer to
developing better reading strategies, such as discussions about the text helping
them to read the text more effectively. İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
2009, 5 (2): 123-147
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137
All the answers in the next category, communication, include group
work and classroom discussions about the texts. And the final category,
competence through a link to students’ daily lives, includes responses about
the use of texts from a variety of genres on various subjects. Two responses
state that the texts were about their lives and one response states that the
research they made was about a problem he finds important. One student
answers that the texts were related to her life but makes no further comments
about whether or not she values this as a means to develop competence.
Finally, one student refers to being active in the classroom, and participating,
however, she does not refer to discussions or group/pair work.
Students were asked if they found reading different texts from a variety
of genres beneficial. The answers state that they experience a sense of
confidence, “(Now) I know that I can read any text. The kind of texts we read
normally are not always essays or texts about people’s lives. We read
brochures, advertisements, poems, short stories…”, drawing attention to the
effect of these texts in her reading outside the EFL classroom. Another student
commented, “If it is the same type of text in the lessons, even if the topic is
interesting, it can get boring after a while. But reading different kinds of texts
was enjoyable for me”, referring to the role of optimal arousal in text
selection.
Table 6. Practices that Make a Reading Lesson Good
Beneficial and enjoyable in prep year Frequency of these categories in answers
Competence 11
Communication 10
Competence related to real life 8
None 1
Next, the students were asked to recall a good reading lesson and state
what they thought was good in that lesson to elicit information about what
classroom practices within the course they found motivating. Similar to the
responses to the other questions, the answers fall in three main categories,
communication, competence and real-life text/activities. One response refers
to increased student control in classroom practices. Although responses related
to communication also arguably are about increased student control, this
response makes an explicit reference to control, “I could choose the text (to be
read in the classroom)”.
Other responses on communication include group work, discussion and
expressing their ideas about the texts. The responses about competence can be
divided into three subcategories here, their research and questioning the text
through discussing it in groups and as a class and the texts.
Following Questionnaire 2, the students were given an interview where
they were asked to elaborate on their responses to Questionnaire 2. In the Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
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138
follow-up interview the participants expressed that the discussions about the
text before reading to find out about their opinions on that topic helped them
to find out about other students’ opinions, which added to their own
understanding, and ability to express themselves. One student commented, “…
and it is not just learning from friends. I also was able to show them something
by telling my ideas”, remarking about the collective knowledge they produced
in these discussions in relation to the texts. The responses mentioning real-life
competence refer to texts from a variety of genres and on different subjects
and the research they made.
In the follow-up interview, the students were also asked to elaborate
further on what they thought of their research and their answers indicate that
they found it beneficial to make their own research, to suggest changes in their
own environment, that is, the university campus, and to learn more about
global warming, which was their research subject. However, their responses to
this question, as well as their answers referring to research to other questions,
indicate optimal arousal for the activity itself and not for the whole course,
unlike developing CR skills, which prove to provide an optimal arousal for the
course affecting all the classroom practices and activities. Considering that the
research was focusing on providing reading for the students and not
developing research skills, the responses are not surprising. Student responses
to the question about the research project focus on two main areas; learning
about global warming and being aware of a real life problem. One student
responded that he didn’t enjoy the activity nor did he found it useful and two
students said that although they learned about global warming in the process
of the research, they did not really like the research topic as it made them feel
helpless, thinking they could not change anything. After the questionnaires
were returned, one student voiced these concerns and the researcher took the
opportunity to ask the other students whether or not they had similar concerns.
Although three more students stated they had experienced similar worries,
after a brief discussion with their classmates, they concluded that even if they
could not make a difference on a large scale, the differences in their own
habits and understanding could be considered important.
CONCLUSION
Perhaps the most important issue rising from this study is the
discrepancy between the students’ motivation for studying the language and
for the reading lessons. Although the students are highly motivated due to a
number of reasons as discussed above, their motivation and expectations from
reading courses are surprisingly low due to the inadequacy of school practices
to provide optimal arousal for students with high levels of English proficiency İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
2009, 5 (2): 123-147
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© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, Eğitim Fakültesi. Bütün hakları saklıdır.
139
and the alienating effect of the university exam on students in school
education.
CR practices, and studies on intrinsic motivation such as increased
student control, including increase in student communication (Ushioda, 1996),
asking students to decide on course materials and projects (Leal, 1998);
creating an environment where students’ own realities can find place in the
language classroom (Dornyei, 1997), and so on; and providing a wide range of
authentic texts from various genres to provide optimal arousal (Deci and Ryan,
1985; Deci and Ryan 1992; Wallace, 1999; Wallace, 2003) have proven to
enhance student motivation for the reading lessons in this study.
Students reported increased competence in reading skills, increased
participation, communication and the competence they need outside the
reading classroom, as the studies by Deci and Ryan (1985) and Ushioda
(1996) suggest. The authentic texts from different genres served to provoke
optimal arousal and create a sense of competency; and the practice of
involving the students in the process of text selection provided an increased
sense of student control in the EFL classroom (Wallace, 1999; Wallace, 2003;
Leal 1998). Similarly, asking students to involve their own realities in relation
to the reading texts served to increase student control. As a result, the student
responses indicate an increase in participation in the classroom practices as
well as persistence in reading as students, both of which are features of
intrinsic motivation as discussed above.
Based on these findings, it is possible to suggest that adaptation of CR
practices promise the much needed sense of student control on classroom
practices, relating to students’ own realities through the use of real-life,
authentic texts from a variety of genres in contexts similar to that of this study;
together with encouraging the students to express their opinion as readers of
the text both prior and after reading the text.
However, optimal arousal for the reading procedures was still missing
in this study, unlike in a CR course, where developing a competence in CR
skills evokes curiosity and the novelty essential for students with high levels
of proficiency. Although asking students to do research on global warming as
a continuing project aimed to provide this novelty, this project served more
like an extension of the traditional reading practices. Hence, the need to
incorporate a novelty element in these courses remains. Therefore, further
research on finding ways to raise optimal arousal as a fundamental component
of reading practices in ELT classroom is essential.
Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
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140
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Kassim A., Shaaban, K. A. & Ghaith, G. (2000). Student motivation to learn
English as a foreign language. Foreign Language Annals, 33(6): 632-
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Kouritzin, S. G., Piquemal, N. A., & Renaud, R. D. (2009). An international
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Leal, M. C. D. (1998). Critical language awareness in the teaching of
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Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
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142
APPENDIX 1
Questionnaire 1
Name:
Age:
SECTION A: ABOUT YOU
1. Please tick the appropriate box
Male Female
2. How long have you been studying English? Please tick the
appropriate box
1-3 years 4-6 years 7-10 years more
3. How many hours do you spend studying English out of class (i.e. extra-tuition)?
Daily__________________ hours
Weekly________________ hours
4. Please tick the appropriate box(es)
I’m learning English because:
• I want to get a good job.
• I enjoy learning a foreign language.
• I want to study abroad.
• I’m interested in British/ American culture.
• I’m interested in English literature.
• I want to travel and see other countries.
• I want to pursue my career in future.
• I want to be able to communicate with people from other countries.
• I like the culture and people of the English speaking countries.
• I want to live abroad.
• I want to use Internet more efficiently.
• I need English to follow the technological developments.
• Other.
Please specify_____________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
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2009, 5 (2): 123-147
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143
5. Why did you choose to study ELT? Please write below
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
6. Please tick the appropriate box according to how often you read the following
items (in English and/ or in Turkish).
daily weekly occasionally never
books
magazines
newspapers
comics
poems
other
Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
144
SECTION B: ABOUT THE ENGLISH LESSONS
1. Which of the following areas of English, i.e. speaking, listening, reading,
writing, grammar, do you find enjoyable? Please tick the appropriate box(es)
I enjoy very
much
I enjoy I’m not sure I don’t enjoy
very much
I don’t enjoy at
all
a) speaking
b) listening
c) reading
d) writing
e) grammar
2. How many hours do you spend studying in each of the following areas of
English weekly (e.g. homework or extra-tuition)?
speaking ____ hours listening _____ hours reading _____ hours
writing _____ hours grammar _____ hours
3 . Which of the following areas of English, i.e. speaking, listening, writing,
grammar, do you find beneficial? Please tick the appropriate box(es)
Very
beneficial
beneficial I’m not sure Not very
beneficial
Not beneficial at
all
a) speaking
b) listening
c) reading
d) writing
e) grammar
İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
2009, 5 (2): 123-147
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145
APPENDIX 2
Questionnaire 2
Name:
Age:
SECTION A: ABOUT YOU
1. How many hours do you spend studying English out of class
(e.g. homework, extra-tuition)?
Daily__________________ hours
Weekly________________ hours
SECTION B: ABOUT THE READING LESSONS
1. What do you find the purpose of the reading lessons to be? Do you find
them beneficial? If yes, please write how you find them beneficial.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
2. What kind of texts did you read in reading lessons?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
3. Which ones did you enjoy?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
4. Think of a good reading lesson you had in this course. Why was it good?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
5. Please compare your reading lessons in this course with the reading lessons
you had before. Are your reading lessons in any way different from the
previous reading lessons you had? If yes, please explain in what way(s).
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
146
6. Is there any difference in the way you approach reading lessons? If yes,
please explain in what way(s).
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
7. If you find your reading lessons to be different from your previous reading
lessons, please state if the difference is positive or negative and explain
WHY.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
8. Please write your opinions on the following components of the reading
course. Did you find them beneficial? Did you find them enjoyable?
i. Selection of texts
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
ii. Discussions about the texts before and after reading the texts
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
iii. Group work
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
iv. Research project on global warming
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
9. Please circle either YES or NO and explain why.
i. I feel more confident as a reader YES NO
Because_______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
ii. I feel that I have benefited from this course as a reader YES NO
Because____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
2009, 5 (2): 123-147
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147
10. Please write two things you liked and two things you didn’t like about
the course.
• What I liked:
a)________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
b)________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
••• What I didn’t like:
a)________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
b)________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Please use this space for any additional comments
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Journal of Theory and Practice in Education Articles /Makaleler
ISSN: 1304-9496 http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
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© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, Eğitim Fakültesi. Bütün hakları saklıdır.
(İNGİLİZCE ÖĞRETMENLİĞİ HAZIRLIK SINIFI ÖĞRENCİLERİNDE
İNGİLİZCE ELEŞTİREL OKUMA DERSLERİ VE MOTİVASYON)
Simla İÇMEZ
1
ABSTRACT
This study explores the ways in which Critical Reading (CR) practices can be adapted to traditional
EFL reading lessons to increase student motivation. More specifically, this research aims at
identifying the role of three main features of CR courses in increasing motivation, decreased external
control, giving room for the students’ own realities in classroom procedures, and optimal arousal. The
study was conducted with ELT preparatory year students. The findings point out that adapting these
three features into EFL reading lessons enhances student motivation. However, the results also show
that for students with high self-efficacy and high English proficiency, traditional reading lessons will
lack the essential novelty of CR courses, which is mastering a new skill, within the adaptation. Thus,
this study suggests that for students with high levels of English proficiency, provided that the former
two features are supported through tasks designed to raise optimal arousal to compensate for the lack
of novelty in traditional reading classroom, students’ intrinsic motivation will be increased for EFL
reading lessons.
Keywords: EFL Reading, motivation, critical reading
ÖZ
Bu çalışma eleştirel okuma dersleri pratiklerinin, öğrenci motivasyonunu arttırmak için geleneksel
okuma derslerine adapte edilmesinin yollarını araştırmaktadır. Temelde bu çalışma, eleştirel okuma
derslerinde içsel motivasyonu arttırdığı gözlenen üç temel noktanın geleneksel okuma derslerinde
oynayabileceği potansiyel rolü incelemektedir, öğrencilerin kendi öğrenim süreçleri üzerindeki
kontrollerinin artması, öğrencilerin kendi deneyimleri ve yaşamlarının sınıf içi kolektif bilgi
yaratımında yer bulması, ve yeni, merak uyandıran beceri geliştirme. Bu çalışma İngilizce
öğretmenliği hazırlık sınıfı öğrencileriyle yapılmıştır. Bulgular, bu üç temel noktayı geleneksel okuma
beceri derslerine adapte etmenin öğrenci motivasyonunu arttırdığını göstermektedir. Ancak sonuçlar
ayrıca, yüksek öz-yeterlilik ve İngilizce yeterliliğe sahip olan öğrencilerde, sınıf içi faaliyetlerde
yapılan bu uyarlamada eleştirel okuma derslerinin sunduğu yeni, merak uyandıran beceri geliştirme
hususunun eksik kaldığını göstermektedir. Bu doğrultuda, bu çalışma öğrenci kontrolünün artması ve
sınıf içi faaliyetlerle öğrencilerin yaşamları arasındaki bağı kuvvetlendirmenin, yeni ve merak
uyandıracak aktivitelerle desteklenmesi halinde öğrencilerin içsel motivasyonlarının artacağını öne
sürmektedir.
Anahtar Sözcükler: İngilizce okuma, motivasyon, eleştirel okuma
1
Intructor Dr., Çukurova University, Faculty of Education, Department of English Language
Teaching. E-mail: simlaicmez@hotmail.com Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
124
INTRODUCTION
As in many educational settings, EFL classroom procedures also bear
the risk of alienating students from learning experience. The relatively
artificial nature of language classroom where language skills are broken into
their components can cause frustration due to the possible discrepancy
between real language use outside the classroom and language learning
practice inside the EFL classroom. Thus, it leaves the students in a context
where “learning becomes abstract and removed from reality” (Ushioda,
1996:42). In the Turkish context, this is perhaps most evident, ironically, in
the case of foreign language department students in high schools. These
students have high levels of motivation to study the language, however, their
motivation gets lost in classroom practices (Icmez, 2005).
These students have high self-efficacy, clear goals, and strong extrinsic
motivation, i.e. university education and job prospects; as well as an interest in
the language itself. Thus, it is very surprising to see that their expectations
from and interest towards the language learning classroom in formal education
is much lower than their motivation to study the language. On the other hand,
it should be considered that high school education in Turkey has essentially
been shaped by the backwash effect of the university exam in recent years.
The influence of school education having alienating effects on students can
also manifest itself in the early stages of preparatory year ELT students.
Although in some cases the correlation between the CR course and
student motivation is negative (Kramer-Dahl, 2001; Granville, 2003) and
manifests itself as student resistance to the course, in other studies the
correlation proves to be positive and results in an increase in student
motivation for the reading lessons, especially in contexts where students report
alienation from the educational practices (Leal, 1998; Icmez, 2005). These
studies show CR procedures offer a potential for classroom practices to help
increase students’ intrinsic motivation through a) helping strengthen the link
between students’ own realities and reading lessons, b) decreasing external
control while increasing student control, and c) providing optimal arousal.
Thus it is the aim of this research to investigate whether adopting the CR
procedures above in a traditional reading classroom will increase student
motivation.
MOTIVATION
The literature on motivation reflects different understandings of people,
shifting from the conception of people as subjects in a structure to the
conception of people as active agents. In the earliest studies, human beings are
seen as relatively predictable beings, who are assumed to react in certain ways
to their environment given that the conditions are equal, as in ‘reinforcement İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
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theory’ (Stipek, 2002: 19). These theories not only fail to provide an
explanation for the highly complex and at times unpredictable nature of
human behavior, but also disregard human agency.
The reductionist approach of this understanding gave way to research
suggesting an alternative understanding of motivation. One of the most well
known of such research studies is integrative versus instrumental motivation
(Gardner, 1985). Integrative motivation refers to an interest in the language,
the culture, and the people who speak that language, whereas instrumental
motivation refers to the motive to learn a language for practical and economic
advantages (Gardner, 1985), for example, finding a job. Although Gardner’s
studies (1985) suggest that the integrative – instrumental dichotomy provides
valuable insight for the immersion contexts, recent research presents
contradicting results both in EFL contexts (Brown, 1994), and in immersion
contexts (Kouritzin, Piquemal, and Renaud 2009). The results of this study
also challenge the initial research findings that integrative motivation is likely
to result in persistence in the task as opposed to instrumental motivation.
Cognitive Approaches to Motivation
With the shift in understanding human beings to a more conscious,
agency oriented one, the theories in motivation also shift to an understanding
where people are regarded as active beings that chose to engage in a task
consciously. Cognitive approaches to motivation is a result of this
understanding; that human beings are conscious, and that the same stimuli
may result in different outcomes in different individuals, as these individuals
will have different thoughts and beliefs.
Cognitive approaches to motivation are valuable to understand how different
motives to learn a language result in persistence in the task for different
individuals. This aspect gains more importance for EFL contexts, where the
instrumental – integrative dichotomy, reviewed above, is absent by nature and
where all language learners have instrumental motivation, yet, only some
persist in learning the language. In some cases, for example, self-respect is
“valued more highly” than any external, “material reward” (Stipek, 2002: 40-
41). Thus, these theories provide valuable insight on understanding the
motivation of the participants of this study, as will be discussed below.
Social Cognitive Theory claims three interactive motivational factors:
1) people’s own “cognitive/emotional factors”, like beliefs of capabilities, 2)
“environmental factors”, and 3) “behaviour or performance” of people
(Alderman, 1999: 16). This theory proposes that encouraging individuals to set
goals for themselves will provide effort for the goal without the need to be
reinforced externally on a regular basis (Stipek, 2002: 41). It will be discussed
in 3.2 below that the learners participating in this study also had clear extrinsic
goals, which resulted in their persistence of learning the language. Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
126
Self-efficacy, perceptions of one’s own capabilities, is another
important factor in motivation (Dornyei, 2001; Alderman, 1999). Similar to
Social Cognitive Theory, Achievement Theory proposes that motivation is
determined by the learner’s expectancy of success (Dornyei, 2001). However,
he proposes a linear model where the tendencies to achieve and avoid failure
exist as opposite poles (Atkinson, 1966; Stipek, 2002). Yet, self-efficacy is
built upon more than the expectancy of success or avoidance of failure, where
interpersonal and social interactions play an equally essential role (Gu, 2009).
Although, the linear model of Achievement Theory risks failing to
capture the complex nature of human beings, and indeed has been subject to
criticism (Stipek, 2002), Rotter’s addition of the locus of control, i.e. an
individual’s beliefs and values, to Achievement Theory is important for this
study as it helps account for the individual differences in motivation and has
reportedly played an important role in increasing student motivation in CR
practices (Icmez, 2005; Leal, 1998).
Learners’ beliefs and values operate on the dimensions of “internal/
contingent”, or “external/ not contingent” (in Weiner, 1974: 5). Attribution
Theory takes the contingent – non-contingent distinction further. Emphasising
people being conscious, it claims that people analyse their past experiences to
figure out what caused success or failure (Ushioda, 1996). That is, it brings the
role of past experiences into the construct in addition to “people’s expectations
related to future events” (Stipek, 2002: 63). Weiner proposes two more
categories for distinction: “stability” and “controllability” (Weiner, 1974: 6).
While effort is contingent / internal, unstable, and controllable; ability is
contingent, stable, uncontrollable; and luck is non-contingent / external,
unstable, and uncontrollable. As Ushioda points out, such an approach offers a
recursive pattern; motivation can be the “cause or product of learning success”
(Ushioda, 1996: 9). Ushioda’s insight finds its place in this study, as will be
analysed in more detail in 3.2, where the participants express success both as
result and cause of their motivation.
Intrinsic Motivation
The motivation theories reviewed above, naturally, are affected by the
epistemological paradigms that view people either as passive recipients of
external forces or as active conscious beings. What all the theories reviewed
so far have in common, however, is that they view learning as an external
force being imposed on people. Intrinsic motivation, on the other hand, finds
its basic principles on the assumption that human beings are active beings in
need of being autonomous and with an innate curiosity (Deci and Ryan, 1985;
Deci and Ryan, 1992; Ushioda, 1996; Ushioda, 2003). Thus, developing
mastery and arousal in the face of novelty are key concepts for intrinsic
motivation, which will be reviewed below.
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Mastering Competency and Optimal Arousal
Intrinsic motivation argues that developing competency is a
fundamental component of motivation and is the reward itself, which is selfsustaining (Deci and Ryan, 1895). However, the learners report a feeling of
boredom once the competency is mastered in that specific task (Deci and
Ryan, 1985).
Thus, there is also a need for an optimal challenge/ arousal (Deci and
Ryan, 1992). Optimal arousal and achieving mastery manifest themselves
commonly via feelings of pleasure, which is associated with intrinsic
motivation (Deci and Ryan, 1985; Ushioda, 1996). Stipek, for example, points
out that most students do not enjoy schoolwork due to its failure to promote
competence and mastery (2002). Stimuli that are not at all discrepant or novel
will not arouse interest and stimuli that are too discrepant from the
individual’s expectations will be ignored and will cause anxiety (Berlyne,
1966: 30). It should be noted here that, in this study, the incompetence of
school procedures in providing optimal arousal for the students in their later
years of school education play an important role in their low motivation for
classroom procedures, which will be discussed below.
External Control
Deci and Ryan (1985) argue that to be intrinsically motivated, people
must feel free of external rewards or pressures. It is important that people feel
that the locus of control is within themselves rather than an external factor
(Deci and Ryan, 1985). Thus, students who feel that they have control over
school settings and their own learning experiences are more likely to be
intrinsically motivated (Ushioda, 2003).
The Self-Determination Approach suggests that although in the short
term extrinsic rewards result in an increased involvement with the activity;
they have a negative effect on the intrinsic motivation in the long term (Deci
and Ryan, 1985). Furthermore, when the extrinsic reward is withdrawn, the
involvement of those who had extrinsic reward previously decreases to a
lower degree than those who were never offered an extrinsic reward (Deci and
Ryan, 1985). Yet, it must be stated here that these suggestions contradict the
findings of this study as well as a study conducted with foreign language
students in the Turkish Anatolian High School context (Icmez, 2005), both of
which suggest that extrinsic rewards can sustain motivation even after the
reward is attained since, being dynamic, conscious beings, people can mould
the extrinsic reward into their value systems.
Intrinsic motivation is usually measured by “whether people voluntarily
choose to engage or persist in an activity or by their ratings of their interest in
or enjoyment of a particular activity” (Stipek, 2002: 134).
Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
128
Intrinsic motivation in language classrooms
School learning is usually separated from personal life where any
formal education is involved. Besides, the longer the learners are in formal
education, the greater this separation is (Corpus, McClintic-Gilbert, and
Hayenga, 2009). Yet, in the Turkish context, the backwash effect of the
university exam on school education causes even more alienation from school
practices. In the context of this study, typically, the demands of the university
exam shapes the school practices due to the vast importance attached to this
exam, a very strong external control. Thus finding ways to build meaningful
links with school practices and students’ lives is essential.
The implications of the theories above on language classrooms in this
respect are numerous. One important aspect of motivation based on the
theories reviewed above is “communicative success” (Ushioda, 1996:
32).Communicative success can provide a sense of “self-confidence,
satisfaction and a sense of real progress in one’s own learning” (Ushioda,
1996: 33). Provided that language is used in these tasks as means to a
meaningful end rather than an end in itself, they can help students relate to the
learning experience (Ushioda, 1996; Dornyei, 1997). Similarly, Nikolov’s
study draws attention to the role of meaningful classroom tasks, which
encourage student communication, on student motivation to learn a foreign
language as opposed to distant integrative or instrumental motives (1999).
The use of real-life materials in the classroom is an effective way to
help relate students’ life outside the classroom with the classroom procedures
(Ushioda, 1996). It is not surprising that Tercanlioglu’s results point out the
role of “curiosity, involvement, recognition” as well as “efficacy” and
“grades” in school reading frequency (2001).
Critical Reading Practices and Motivation
Studies on CR and writing suggest two main fundamental principles in
relation to motivation. The first one is the use of authentic materials (Wallace,
1999). Although authentic materials are also used in traditional reading
classrooms, CR approaches these authentic texts in a different way, by
problematising these texts in ways relating to the students’ own realities.
Secondly, related to the point above, CR practices typically give more
control to the students in classroom practices (Wallace, 2003; Leal, 1998). In
other words, the students are expected to contribute with their own
experiences, opinions, criticisms, while in the context of this study, student
contribution is limited to language practice in traditional reading classes.
Although there is a scarcity of research on critical language awareness
(CLA) and motivation, Leal’s study (1998) provides insight on the value of
CLA in increasing student motivation through building a link between the
classroom and students’ own realities. The context of her study, grammar
lessons in Brazil, bears similarities to that of this study in that the students are İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
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alienated from the classroom procedures and lack motivation. However, CLA
procedures, which involve asking the students to decide on the texts to be
analysed and encouraging them to express their positions related to the texts
analysed, results in an increase in student motivation. One student remarks,
That is it folks. That boring stuff... texts like “The cat jumped off the roof” ...
the text's got to be up-to-date and directly related to our reality
(Leal, 1998: 4)
Based on these points, CR suggests relating the learning experience to
the students’ own realities, which affects text selection, student involvement
and classroom communication. In other words, CR aims at providing an
environment for genuine two-way communication in the classroom, where the
students can teach the teacher as much as the opposite.
THE STUDY
Purpose of the Study
This study was conducted with 24 preparatory year students, eight
males and sixteen females, in the ELT department at Cukurova University.
The students were anticipated to have high levels of motivation to study
English as they had chosen to study in an ELT department. However, a group
interview with the class at the beginning of the year inquiring about the
students’ expectations from the reading course revealed low levels of
motivation for reading classroom procedures. The students were asked what
they aimed to achieve at the end of the course as language learners and how
they planned to achieve it. Surprisingly, the students’ responses demonstrated
a lack of motivation for the reading course with high alienation from high
school reading practices, which entailed intensive practice for the university
exam.
Thus, based on research on the relationship between CR and student
motivation, reading procedures were adapted from CR to help minimize the
alienation the students reported and to increase intrinsic motivation for the
course.
Method of Study
Upon diagnosis of the above mentioned alienation by the
teacher/researcher, adjustments based on CR practices were made in the
course to overcome this problem. Thus, the methodology used was action
research. Although action research essentially aims at improving practice, it
offers generalisability of small-scale research into wider educational settings
(Cohen et al. 2000). Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
130
planning
reflecting acting
observing
(McNiff, 1988: 22)
Figure 1: Action Research Cycle
Figure 1 shows that although the very first stage of action research is
planning, it follows a recursive pattern, where acting upon planning is
followed by observing and reflecting upon the outcome, which in turn leads to
more planning. Hence, as action research has recursive cycles, and requires
constant interaction between the teacher and the students throughout the study,
the teacher/researcher made adjustments throughout the course and used
questionnaires and interviews to maintain the interaction.
It should also be noted here that the students were ensured throughout
the course that their responses to the questionnaires and interviews would
under no circumstances influence their grades for the course. It can be argued
that the fact that the reading course conducted for this study constitutes only
25% of their grades, besides other compulsory courses, i.e. grammar, writing,
and listening and speaking. However, the students were ensured throughout
the course that their honest responses were required to make the course more
beneficial to both the participants as language learners and to the researcher as
the teacher of the course. Furthermore, to avoid students’ possible biased
responses to please the teacher, the questionnaire was given after they took
their exams.
Procedure
Reading practices were adapted from CR practices that foster
motivation. These are, relating students’ own realities into classroom
procedures, giving more control of L2 procedures to students, use of authentic
texts from a wide variety of genres, and raising optimal arousal helping the
students to master competency, that is CR skills.
Upon the diagnosis of the lack of motivation for the reading course, the
students were asked to, 1) bring authentic texts of their own choices to the
classroom; 2) express their opinion as readers of the texts through class
discussions following reading the texts; and 3) make a five week-long research
on global warming. İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
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The first step was to have a class discussion on what kind of texts the
students would like to read in the course, where the class decided that they all
had different preferences ranging from short stories to news reports. At the
end of the discussion the students and the teacher/researcher reached an
agreement which entailed the students bringing authentic texts of their own
choice to be collected in a folder, from which the class would choose which
texts to read in the following lessons. This practice aimed to decrease external
control, giving more control to the students on the choice of texts to read in the
course, as well as to build a relationship between the students’ realities and
that of the classroom procedures. Although the aim was to decrease external
control, the teacher/researcher played a role in the choice of the texts
considering the requirements of the course. In this respect, the external control
was still present, though to a lesser extent compared to the traditional course.
The students were also encouraged to express their opinions both as
individuals and as EFL learners on the texts both before and after reading a
text. As Wallace (2003) points out, EFL learners are usually outsiders to
authentic texts, not sharing the historical and socio-cultural background that
plays a role in the production and interpretation of the text. Thus, encouraging
the students to generate their own statements and express their perspectives on
the text aimed to help build a link between the text and their own realities.
In traditional reading courses, one problem with raising optimal arousal
and helping students to master competency in such contexts is that the students
are already successful language learners with high levels of language
proficiency and self-efficacy. Therefore, their improvement in reading is less
likely to raise optimal arousal compared to helping them develop a novel skill.
In a CR course, optimal arousal is more readily available. Thus, to provide
optimal arousal for the students and to help use reading as a means and not an
end, as Ushioda (2003) suggests, the students were asked to do a five weeklong research on global warming, hoping the research itself would stimulate
curiosity and optimal arousal. The topic was decided upon by the students
themselves.
Research Instruments
As mentioned earlier, the students were given a group interview at the
beginning of the academic year, which signalled low levels of motivation for
reading class procedures. Next, to inquire further about the students’
motivation levels as language learners, they were given a questionnaire
adapted from Icmez (2005). This questionnaire inquired about students’
reasons for studying English and ELT and their reading course practices prior
to research, i..e. at high school (see Appendix 1).
At the end of the course the students were given the second
questionnaire to investigate their motivation for reading lessons, any changes
in their approach to reading lessons, and reasons for a possible change. Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
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132
Finally, a follow-up interview was given to students asking them to elaborate
on their answers to Questionnaire 2.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Students’ Motivation for Reading Lessons: At the Beginning of the
Course
In the first week of the academic year, the students were asked about
their past experiences as readers in L2 educational settings, school and
language courses.
Table 1. High School In-Class Reading Practices
Reading Practices Frequency
Practising for university exam by reading short paragraphs
with multiple choice questions
24
Reading texts from texts books with true/false, multiple
choice, and open ended comprehension questions
24
Translating short texts into Turkish 11
Summarising short stories 7
They reported a sense of boredom related to reading procedures. Their
reported reading practices were: reading short paragraphs with comprehension
questions as preparation for the university exam, translating texts and
summarising short stories, all of which were chosen by the course teacher, and
answering comprehension and vocabulary questions at the end of reading texts
in their course books. They also reported that authentic texts were not a part of
their reading courses at high school.
The students reported boredom particularly in relation to paragraph
questions, “Even when we don’t really understand what the paragraph was
about, we could answer the questions by simply eliminating the multiple
choices”, one student stated. Paragraph questions were referred to as “boring”,
“easy”, and “monotonous”.
These responses suggest that these practices lack the element of
optimal arousal. Due to the lack of a direct relationship between these
activities and the students’ lives and increased degree of external control, after
the mastery is achieved in these reading tasks, the motivation fails to selfsustain itself and decreases, as the intrinsic motivation theory suggests (Deci
and Ryan, 1985; Ushioda 1996).
When asked what kind of reading practices they would prefer, they
stated that they would prefer texts and activities that would enable them to
contribute through “expressing themselves” and reading texts that would be
“interesting”. İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
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Students’ Motivation for Studying English
These students already chose to study in an ELT programme; therefore
they had high self-efficacy and persistence in studying English. Similar to the
findings in previous research conducted with Anatolian High School foreign
language students (Icmez, 2005), these students also expressed high
perception of past experiences resulting in high perception of future
expectations. To investigate further, the participants were asked to state why
they chose to study English and ELT in Questionnaire 1.
Table 2. Reasons for Studying English
Student response Frequency
Good job prospects 20
Enjoyment of learning a foreign language 20
Communication with people from other countries 20
Travelling 15
To study abroad 12
Perception of self as good at English 10
Following technological developments 8
To be an English teacher 8
Interest in British/American culture 3
Interest in the people and culture of the English speaking countries 2
To live abroad 2
Interest in English literature 1
Other:
“To be a respected member of the society”
“It was easier than other subjects in high school”
“I was bad at science subjects”
3
Table 3. Reasons for Studying ELT
Student Response Frequency
I enjoy studying English and I want to have a good job 8
I enjoy studying English 5
I want to have a good job 4
I have always been good at English 2
I am better at English compared to other academic subjects 2
I want to get a good job and English helps me communicate with anyone in
the world
2
I am not good at science and I want a good job 1
The responses in Tables 2 and 3 show that the most important reasons
for studying English and ELT are feelings of enjoyment and the prospect of
jobs that English offers to them. Although motivation theories suggest a
dichotomy between intrinsic motivation and an extrinsic reward as reviewed
above, these responses point to the dynamic nature of human beings and to the Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
134
complex nature of people’s belief and value systems. Even if we assume these
students started to study English for purely an extrinsic reward at the very
beginning, it resulted in persistence, i.e. 17 of these students had been studying
English for 7 years or more at the time of this study, which typically is
attributed to intrinsic motivation. Although an interest in the language itself
signals intrinsic motivation (Williams and Burden, 1997), which is selfsustaining, this motivation does not necessarily manifest itself in academic
tasks, as the students’ responses in the interview indicate.
Although the second most common reason reported is travelling and
living abroad, the low number of responses indicating an interest in the target
culture(s) show that the students value English as an international language.
Similarly, 20 students out of 24 report that they study English to be able to
communicate with others, however, only two of these twenty students report
an interest exclusive to the culture or people of English speaking countries.
Students’ motivation to study English as an international language bears
additional importance since the students also reported a lack of the
communicative aspect of language in language courses in their high schools.
Another important point that should be noted here is that although
students report a very high interest in communication in the first question
where they are asked to tick all relevant statements, only two students mention
the role of English as an international language in communication when they
were asked to write down their reasons for studying ELT. It is possible to
argue that this is an indication of the students’ priorities, which involves an
interest in the language and job opportunities.
Students’ responses noting their academic success as language learners
reveal high self-efficacy, i.e. their performance outcomes are perceived as
internal and stable as a result of high ability. Ability is more likely to attain
persistence in effort since it is internal, stable, and uncontrollable, hence
promises success (Ushioda, 1996). These responses indicate that these
students’ high-efficacy is a result of their past experiences. However, at the
same time, it shapes the students’ expectations about future success,
confirming Rotter and Skinner’s theories as well (Stipek, 2002). Thus, as
Ushioda suggests, results of performance outcomes are usually recursive, as is
the case in this study (1996).
While these responses show high self-efficacy, the responses stating
those students were bad at science subjects report low self-efficacy in that
field, referring to Atkinson’s Achievement Theory (Dornyei, 2001). These
students’ choices are shaped to a great extent by the motive to avoid failure
rather than high self-efficacy as language learners or the achievement motive
(Atkinson 1966).
One final point that is worth mentioning is the role of integrative vs.
instrumental motivation. Although the role of this distinction has been
questioned in EFL contexts for some time now (e.g. Lukmani in Brown 1994, İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
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135
Williams and Burden 1997), it is worth risking the repetition that instrumental
motivation can result in persistence in task in EFL contexts, such as the
context of this study, where being a part of the target culture is not a priority in
the participants’ lives whereas instrumental rewards are.
To sum up, an interest in the language and a strong extrinsic reward,
such as prospective job opportunities, are the most common reasons the
participants reported for choosing and sustaining effort in studying English.
Students’ Motivation for the Reading Lessons
The students were given a questionnaire at the end of the course to
learn about any change in their motivation for the reading lessons (see
Appendix 2). Responses in this questionnaire generate two main categories, as
can be seen in Table 4.
Table 4. Differences in the Ways Students Approach Reading Lessons
Students’ response
Frequency
I am more confident
Discussing the text makes it easier for me to read
Now I think it is fun and easier to read
I used to find vocabulary items in the text and move on but
now I inspect the text (read in detail)
8
The lessons were more effective
I used to read texts for grammar but now I can talk about
them
I think the reading lessons are more advanced
Competence
I can make research
Now, just because the text looks long, I don’t stop reading.
I read more, attend reading classes more, and enjoy
reading long texts now
I am more active in reading lessons now
I read more
We are more active 11
I work more regularly
I talk about the text
The activities make us participate more
I try to understand the text more
I am more careful and attentive
Participation
and
Persistence
We are more active
The lessons are not boring 2 Enjoyment
It is not boring
Not specified Positive 1
No response - 1
Negative Negative, it is stressful 1 Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
136
Twenty-two students report a positive change in their approach to
reading lessons. The majority of the responses fall into under two main
categories, competence and participation and persistence.
The responses that indicate competence development mention
developing confidence as a reader, reading in detail, reading more carefully,
being able to research in L2, and finding it easier to read in L2. Furthermore,
two students stated that they enjoyed reading lessons more. As reviewed
previously, intrinsic motivation is measured with the feeling of enjoyment
(Stipek, 2002). One student remarked that there was a positive change in their
approach to reading lessons but did not give the reasons why.
The answers stating increased participation and persistence include
persisting in reading longer texts, an increase in the amount of extra-tuition
reading, being more active in reading lessons, studying more regularly, talking
about the text, and increased participation due to activities.
The students were also asked to compare their reading lessons with the
reading lessons they had before.
Table 5. Comparison of Reading Lessons with Previous Reading Lessons
Beneficial and enjoyable in prep year Frequency of these categories in answers
Competence 8
Communication 12
Competence related to real life 10
Participation 1
Place of real life in classroom 1
When asked to compare previous reading lessons with the current one
and state what they thought was beneficial and enjoyable from either of these
courses, the students’ answers focus on communication and developing
competence through the link to their daily lives in their reading course in
preparatory year at university. The answers to this question fall into three main
categories, competence, communication, and competence through inclusion of
daily life in classroom practices. While one student remarks on increased
participation, another student states the place of real life in classroom.
However, this student’s answer does not connect the role of real life in
classroom to competence.
The answers indicating increased competence include improved
competence in reading. One response states learning to make research and
writing a report on it while the other responses in this category refer to
developing better reading strategies, such as discussions about the text helping
them to read the text more effectively. İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
2009, 5 (2): 123-147
© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Education. All rights reserved.
© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, Eğitim Fakültesi. Bütün hakları saklıdır.
137
All the answers in the next category, communication, include group
work and classroom discussions about the texts. And the final category,
competence through a link to students’ daily lives, includes responses about
the use of texts from a variety of genres on various subjects. Two responses
state that the texts were about their lives and one response states that the
research they made was about a problem he finds important. One student
answers that the texts were related to her life but makes no further comments
about whether or not she values this as a means to develop competence.
Finally, one student refers to being active in the classroom, and participating,
however, she does not refer to discussions or group/pair work.
Students were asked if they found reading different texts from a variety
of genres beneficial. The answers state that they experience a sense of
confidence, “(Now) I know that I can read any text. The kind of texts we read
normally are not always essays or texts about people’s lives. We read
brochures, advertisements, poems, short stories…”, drawing attention to the
effect of these texts in her reading outside the EFL classroom. Another student
commented, “If it is the same type of text in the lessons, even if the topic is
interesting, it can get boring after a while. But reading different kinds of texts
was enjoyable for me”, referring to the role of optimal arousal in text
selection.
Table 6. Practices that Make a Reading Lesson Good
Beneficial and enjoyable in prep year Frequency of these categories in answers
Competence 11
Communication 10
Competence related to real life 8
None 1
Next, the students were asked to recall a good reading lesson and state
what they thought was good in that lesson to elicit information about what
classroom practices within the course they found motivating. Similar to the
responses to the other questions, the answers fall in three main categories,
communication, competence and real-life text/activities. One response refers
to increased student control in classroom practices. Although responses related
to communication also arguably are about increased student control, this
response makes an explicit reference to control, “I could choose the text (to be
read in the classroom)”.
Other responses on communication include group work, discussion and
expressing their ideas about the texts. The responses about competence can be
divided into three subcategories here, their research and questioning the text
through discussing it in groups and as a class and the texts.
Following Questionnaire 2, the students were given an interview where
they were asked to elaborate on their responses to Questionnaire 2. In the Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
138
follow-up interview the participants expressed that the discussions about the
text before reading to find out about their opinions on that topic helped them
to find out about other students’ opinions, which added to their own
understanding, and ability to express themselves. One student commented, “…
and it is not just learning from friends. I also was able to show them something
by telling my ideas”, remarking about the collective knowledge they produced
in these discussions in relation to the texts. The responses mentioning real-life
competence refer to texts from a variety of genres and on different subjects
and the research they made.
In the follow-up interview, the students were also asked to elaborate
further on what they thought of their research and their answers indicate that
they found it beneficial to make their own research, to suggest changes in their
own environment, that is, the university campus, and to learn more about
global warming, which was their research subject. However, their responses to
this question, as well as their answers referring to research to other questions,
indicate optimal arousal for the activity itself and not for the whole course,
unlike developing CR skills, which prove to provide an optimal arousal for the
course affecting all the classroom practices and activities. Considering that the
research was focusing on providing reading for the students and not
developing research skills, the responses are not surprising. Student responses
to the question about the research project focus on two main areas; learning
about global warming and being aware of a real life problem. One student
responded that he didn’t enjoy the activity nor did he found it useful and two
students said that although they learned about global warming in the process
of the research, they did not really like the research topic as it made them feel
helpless, thinking they could not change anything. After the questionnaires
were returned, one student voiced these concerns and the researcher took the
opportunity to ask the other students whether or not they had similar concerns.
Although three more students stated they had experienced similar worries,
after a brief discussion with their classmates, they concluded that even if they
could not make a difference on a large scale, the differences in their own
habits and understanding could be considered important.
CONCLUSION
Perhaps the most important issue rising from this study is the
discrepancy between the students’ motivation for studying the language and
for the reading lessons. Although the students are highly motivated due to a
number of reasons as discussed above, their motivation and expectations from
reading courses are surprisingly low due to the inadequacy of school practices
to provide optimal arousal for students with high levels of English proficiency İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
2009, 5 (2): 123-147
© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Education. All rights reserved.
© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, Eğitim Fakültesi. Bütün hakları saklıdır.
139
and the alienating effect of the university exam on students in school
education.
CR practices, and studies on intrinsic motivation such as increased
student control, including increase in student communication (Ushioda, 1996),
asking students to decide on course materials and projects (Leal, 1998);
creating an environment where students’ own realities can find place in the
language classroom (Dornyei, 1997), and so on; and providing a wide range of
authentic texts from various genres to provide optimal arousal (Deci and Ryan,
1985; Deci and Ryan 1992; Wallace, 1999; Wallace, 2003) have proven to
enhance student motivation for the reading lessons in this study.
Students reported increased competence in reading skills, increased
participation, communication and the competence they need outside the
reading classroom, as the studies by Deci and Ryan (1985) and Ushioda
(1996) suggest. The authentic texts from different genres served to provoke
optimal arousal and create a sense of competency; and the practice of
involving the students in the process of text selection provided an increased
sense of student control in the EFL classroom (Wallace, 1999; Wallace, 2003;
Leal 1998). Similarly, asking students to involve their own realities in relation
to the reading texts served to increase student control. As a result, the student
responses indicate an increase in participation in the classroom practices as
well as persistence in reading as students, both of which are features of
intrinsic motivation as discussed above.
Based on these findings, it is possible to suggest that adaptation of CR
practices promise the much needed sense of student control on classroom
practices, relating to students’ own realities through the use of real-life,
authentic texts from a variety of genres in contexts similar to that of this study;
together with encouraging the students to express their opinion as readers of
the text both prior and after reading the text.
However, optimal arousal for the reading procedures was still missing
in this study, unlike in a CR course, where developing a competence in CR
skills evokes curiosity and the novelty essential for students with high levels
of proficiency. Although asking students to do research on global warming as
a continuing project aimed to provide this novelty, this project served more
like an extension of the traditional reading practices. Hence, the need to
incorporate a novelty element in these courses remains. Therefore, further
research on finding ways to raise optimal arousal as a fundamental component
of reading practices in ELT classroom is essential.
Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
140
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Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
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© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Education. All rights reserved.
© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, Eğitim Fakültesi. Bütün hakları saklıdır.
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Kouritzin, S. G., Piquemal, N. A., & Renaud, R. D. (2009). An international
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Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
142
APPENDIX 1
Questionnaire 1
Name:
Age:
SECTION A: ABOUT YOU
1. Please tick the appropriate box
Male Female
2. How long have you been studying English? Please tick the
appropriate box
1-3 years 4-6 years 7-10 years more
3. How many hours do you spend studying English out of class (i.e. extra-tuition)?
Daily__________________ hours
Weekly________________ hours
4. Please tick the appropriate box(es)
I’m learning English because:
• I want to get a good job.
• I enjoy learning a foreign language.
• I want to study abroad.
• I’m interested in British/ American culture.
• I’m interested in English literature.
• I want to travel and see other countries.
• I want to pursue my career in future.
• I want to be able to communicate with people from other countries.
• I like the culture and people of the English speaking countries.
• I want to live abroad.
• I want to use Internet more efficiently.
• I need English to follow the technological developments.
• Other.
Please specify_____________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
2009, 5 (2): 123-147
© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Education. All rights reserved.
© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, Eğitim Fakültesi. Bütün hakları saklıdır.
143
5. Why did you choose to study ELT? Please write below
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
6. Please tick the appropriate box according to how often you read the following
items (in English and/ or in Turkish).
daily weekly occasionally never
books
magazines
newspapers
comics
poems
other
Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
144
SECTION B: ABOUT THE ENGLISH LESSONS
1. Which of the following areas of English, i.e. speaking, listening, reading,
writing, grammar, do you find enjoyable? Please tick the appropriate box(es)
I enjoy very
much
I enjoy I’m not sure I don’t enjoy
very much
I don’t enjoy at
all
a) speaking
b) listening
c) reading
d) writing
e) grammar
2. How many hours do you spend studying in each of the following areas of
English weekly (e.g. homework or extra-tuition)?
speaking ____ hours listening _____ hours reading _____ hours
writing _____ hours grammar _____ hours
3 . Which of the following areas of English, i.e. speaking, listening, writing,
grammar, do you find beneficial? Please tick the appropriate box(es)
Very
beneficial
beneficial I’m not sure Not very
beneficial
Not beneficial at
all
a) speaking
b) listening
c) reading
d) writing
e) grammar
İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
2009, 5 (2): 123-147
© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Education. All rights reserved.
© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, Eğitim Fakültesi. Bütün hakları saklıdır.
145
APPENDIX 2
Questionnaire 2
Name:
Age:
SECTION A: ABOUT YOU
1. How many hours do you spend studying English out of class
(e.g. homework, extra-tuition)?
Daily__________________ hours
Weekly________________ hours
SECTION B: ABOUT THE READING LESSONS
1. What do you find the purpose of the reading lessons to be? Do you find
them beneficial? If yes, please write how you find them beneficial.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
2. What kind of texts did you read in reading lessons?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
3. Which ones did you enjoy?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
4. Think of a good reading lesson you had in this course. Why was it good?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
5. Please compare your reading lessons in this course with the reading lessons
you had before. Are your reading lessons in any way different from the
previous reading lessons you had? If yes, please explain in what way(s).
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Motivation and critical reading in EFL classrooms:
A case of ELT preparatory students
Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama / Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/5/2/sicmez.pdf
146
6. Is there any difference in the way you approach reading lessons? If yes,
please explain in what way(s).
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
7. If you find your reading lessons to be different from your previous reading
lessons, please state if the difference is positive or negative and explain
WHY.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
8. Please write your opinions on the following components of the reading
course. Did you find them beneficial? Did you find them enjoyable?
i. Selection of texts
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
ii. Discussions about the texts before and after reading the texts
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
iii. Group work
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
iv. Research project on global warming
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
9. Please circle either YES or NO and explain why.
i. I feel more confident as a reader YES NO
Because_______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
ii. I feel that I have benefited from this course as a reader YES NO
Because____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
İçmez Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama
Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
2009, 5 (2): 123-147
© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Education. All rights reserved.
© Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, Eğitim Fakültesi. Bütün hakları saklıdır.
147
10. Please write two things you liked and two things you didn’t like about
the course.
• What I liked:
a)________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
b)________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
••• What I didn’t like:
a)________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
b)________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Please use this space for any additional comments
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
diposting oleh maithel eliza pada
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