Increase Motivation in Reading through Interest - Essay Example

Increase motivation in reading through interest Executive summary Learning, as a human activity, is described as a life-long and continuous process of acquiring new, or modifying and reinforcing the existing knowledge and skills of an individual. In living organisms, the ability to learn is bestowed to human beings, some animals as well as some machines. The progress that is made by humans towards acquiring new skills and knowledge follows certain learning curves. The process does not happen instantly; it builds upon the experiences that have been acquired over time. In this case, it can be viewed as a progressive journey and not a factual and procedural knowledge. Any learning by an individual or any party taking the process is reflected by changes in behavior, which are described as relatively permanent. Human beings attend school in order to learn and acquire new skills and knowledge, which they use to improve their welfare in life. One of the activities that they have to do often is reading, but unfortunately, many students do not fancy reading. Reading should be a personal initiative of discovering new knowledge, as well as way of applying it in different situations in life. This paper looks at the various ways in which reading can be enhanced not only in schools, but also in other areas of life. It examines various ways of creating the motivation to read among students and how effective the knowledge learnt can be used in life. These strategies include modeling, where the teacher becomes the role model, verbal persuasion and psychological arousal among other strategies that teachers apply when motivating their learners to read. Introduction Motivation has been cited as the most important factor that encourages a reading culture, not only among school going persons but also to all people in general. The motivation to read can be intrinsic as well as extrinsic, where intrinsic refers to an individual’s ability to do something for own satisfaction. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation is often because of rewards and gifts that a person receives after performing a certain task. Both of these tasks are important in the process of creating and nurturing a reading culture among learners in various levels of learning. As people grow and develop higher levels of reasoning, they often tend to read or do other things based on the intrinsic motivation. At this stage, adults set goals and achieve them knowing the value that such goals bring in their lives. For them reading is aimed at providing knowledge to manage certain tasks like effective business management, leadership among others. For learners, teachers have to create an environment that values and esteems reading to order to create a reading culture (Flynn, 2007). Many research reports and studies conducted have dwelt on the need to create a motivation to read among students. Several practical ideas that can be essential in creating a literacy-rich and motivating classroom can be sourced from these findings. Some of the methods that have been tested and used by teachers include sharing the excitement about reading books, creating a balanced boom collection practice among others. Reading motivation The motivation to read refers to the interest that a learner is expected to show towards reading different books for purposes of getting knowledge and skills (Jody, 2007). Learning is a life-long process that requires building on the knowledge and skills that have been acquiredbefore in life. Teachers and learners are expected to collaborate effectively in creating a culture that is conducive for learning, this way, succeeding generations can be guaranteed of quality lives that are coupled with increased levels of creativity and innovativeness. Discussion How is it possible to create a culture that that supports and nurtures the motivation to read among students in schools? This question constantly rings in the minds of teachers and educators as they undertake their daily duties and responsibilities in teaching learners at various stages of education and the learning process. The report that has been published by the National Research Centre has shown that the need for creating a culture that esteems reading is important for any society (Chism, 2002). The need for motivation in reading Every research that has taken time to explore the process of learning at all stages can attest to the fact that motivation is an essential component of learning. Motivation is the single factor that makes a clear distinction between learning that is characterised as being shallow and superficial, and that which is deep and highly internalised. It is from the influence that the motivation has on learning that teachers in schools have generated an intense desire to know the existing relationship between the motivation itself and the achievement of goals and objectives in education. The increased concern for the need for motivation to read means that by knowing how to motivate learners to read, they can achieve their goals in education and careers and end up becoming successful life-long readers. The resurgence of interest in motivation The resurgencein the interest for motivation in reading is said to be due to the out-growth of research of the 1980s that seemed to stress on the need for cognitive aspects of learning as well as strategic behaviors. Various schorlars that showed interest in this subject emphasized the need for students to develop into mature and effective readers. In order to grow and achieve this status, they have to possess both skill and will and make a practical application of the knowledge and skills they learn. Researchers and theorists have placed emphasis on the need for balancing betweenaffective and cognitive aspects of reading development (Moore, 2013). In this regard, research activities that have been conducted in the recent decades have emphasized on the need for motivation as well as social interaction, cognition and the process of acquisition of knowledge. The elementary years in school are important in enhancing subsequent reading motivations as well as achievement of goals and objectives in reading and learning in general. During this time, children are supposed to receive a lot of motivation in affective and cognitive aspects of literacy development. The importance of studying the need for interest in the motivation is preceded by three main reasons, first, children that exhibit great levels of motivation to read end up becoming better readers in the future. This way, they are better-placed to provide guidance and advice on important aspects of the society as well as in their careers. Secondly, children in schools originate from various backgrounds, somearrive in school with a much higher experience with print, books as well as several other supportive materials for learning than others, for this reason, there is a need to balance the reading and use of techniques that enhance the same process in all the students in schools. Thirdly, the process of nurturing and supporting reading and motivation is essential towards creating and improving students educational prospects, especially for those children who find reading to be difficult (Vicars & Senior, 2013). Much of the research that has been conducted on the need for motivation in reading has been based on the theories of motivation, knowledge acquisition, cognition as well as social development that were carried out prior to this researches. According to these perspectives, an engaged reader is one who is highly motivated, knowledgeable, strategic as well as socially interactive in his particular environment. The engaged reader In schools, teachers are usually guided in their work and decision making over literacy curriculum by the views and perspectives that they hold about an idealized reader, who in this case is described as being highly motivated, knowledgeable and strategic, at the same time, he is socially interactive in his environment. In terms of motivation, an engaged reader can effectively choose what to read and for certain reasons, for instance, he can decide to read for purposes of gaining new knowledge and skills, doing a certainassignment in school or performing a certain task effectively. By being knowledgeable, he can apply the knowledge that he gets from reading as well as other experiences in real life situations. In addition, he can apply the knowledge he gets from reading texts in various personal, intellectual as well as in the social context. By being strategic, the engaged reader can employ various cognitive strategies and techniques in the process of decoding, interpreting, comprehending, monitoring as well as regulating the process of reading to achieve set goals and objectives. Finally, in being socially interactive, the engaged reader is always in a position to share his experiences in the reading of certain texts. He can influence his friends and other people in the immediate environment, this by the application of the knowledge and skills that have been acquired in the process of reading. Adapted from: Coles (2013).  The fact that motivation is often mentioned in the description of an engaged learner is not a coincidence, this is because, teachers have come to the realization that motivation is a central agenda as far as educating children in modern times is concerned. In this understanding, the question that most teachers ask themselves is how to motivate their students in order to love and enjoy reading. However, research has shown that perhaps a good question that should be asked is how to create an environment that nurtures a reading culture in children Strengths and limitations of this research One of the main areas of strengths as far as this research is concerned is that it provides a comprehensive analysis of the need for creating a strong reading culture among students in schools. It is important that teachers put emphasis on enhncing a reading atmosphere in the classroom so that students can grow while adopting those practises that influence their reading patterns. At the same time, a research in reading motivation is essential in creating an intrinsic motivation in students so that they can perpetuate the culture in their future careers and other studying endeavors. It is important for teachers to emphasise to students that learning is a life-long activity that is essential in many areas like careers and personal development. They should complement these efforts by helping to establish and to nurture an effective reading culture. However, this research is devoid of the steps and strategies that are essential in establishing a reading culture in the classroom and society. In as much as it has explained in detail about the need for having both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations towards reading, it ought to provide practical ways of how teachers can create this environment in the classroom and any other learning environment. From one culture to another, there are various perspectives that are held about learning and its advantages. Thess researches ought to have made an analysis of these perspectives as well as some of the possible intervention mechanisms in creating a successful and effective reading culture. In addition, there is a need to analyse the strategies that have been applied successfully in other places to create and nurture a reading culture. This way, it is easy for other people to adopt models that can work in creating create reading cultures in their schools and reading environments. Creating a reading culture in the classroom Creating a motivation for reading among students can be done by teachers differently depending on various factors including resources and cultural setting. However, there are some activities that apply across all cultures. Creating the motivation to read among students is something that respective teachers can apply their creativity and expertise. Students, especially in the process of learning can easily take instructions and follow into a culture that is being created in the classroom or school in general. In this case, it is possible for a teacher to use systems and approaches that can be conducive for learners, as well as aid in enhancing the motivation that is needed for the reading culture, the following are examples of approaches that can be adopted. Self-Selection: “Honoring” books Research and study reports on the impact ofa teacher’s behavioral patterns have indicated that whatever teachers do in the classroom to make a book special are usually taken into full consideration by learners (Coles, 2013). It may be a simple thing as even placing the book upright on the table, in this case; students become curious about it and would prefer to have and read it, just because the teacher showed interest in it (Goslin, 2003). In this case, teachers can select some of the books that they feel are important, relevant and equal to the intellectual level of their learners. They should talk about them, giving learners their reviews and making them available for eading reading, this way, students will pick intrinsic motivations to search and read books, and after successive trials, they will be motivatedto search and read other books on their own.Teachers can complement their efforts by putting certain books on displays and in strategic locations and positions to be seen by students in order to arouse their interest to read them. Book collection exercise The teacher can plan a system where learners can take part in an exercise of collecting books in various subjects and disciplines. The teacher needs to play an active role in explaining the kinds of books that are appropriate for reading, he has to ensure the library or resource centre being created in the classroom has books that are fun, full of information and easy to read according to the learners’ level of intellect (Styles, 2010). At the same time, the teacher should always involve the students in selecting and arranging books in the class and school library, in doing so, he should take time to explain and preview the information in certain books and encourage them to pick and read on their own (Young, Terrell & Barbara 2006).It is important for teacher to understand that the process of creating a class reading culture is slow and progressive; it is not an instant success. The teacher has to emphasize on strategies the arouse the attention and interest of learners in all his attempts, failure to do so; the learners will always find it hard to inculcate the values being created. Conclusion Reading is an important activity that is part of the learning process;the student has to stick to a good reading culture in order to excel in his studies. A good reading culture has to be preceded by an intrinsic motivation to learn and acquire new knowledge, skills and behavior to tackle new challenges in life. Teachers have a central role to play as far as creating a reading culture in the live’s of learners is concerned. Though the process can be slow at times, the teacher should not relent in his approaches; he has to be creative enough to ensure this goal is attained. A good motivation plan to create a reading culture should havean intrinsic motivation, enabling students to take part in the exercise for their personal fulfilment. References Chism, N. (2002). The importance of physical space in creating supportive learning environments. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Coles, A. (2013). Being alongside for the teaching and learning of mathematics. Rotterdam: Sense. Flynn N. (2007). What do effective teachers of literacy do? Subject knowledge and pedagogical choices for literacy. Literacy, 41(3), 137-146. Gardner, S. F &Yaacob A. (2009). CD-Rom multimodal perspectives in the Malaysian English Literacy Hour. Language and Education, 23(5), 1-16. Goslin, D. (2003). Engaging minds: Motivation and learning in Americas schools. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press. Jody S. (2007). Chocolate: reading across the five Cs. Learning Languages, 13(1), 13-17. Moore C. D. (2013). Bringing the world to school: integrating news and media literacy in elementary classrooms Journal of media literacy education, 5(1), 1-19. Styles M. (2010). Learning through Literature: the case of "The Arabian Nights." Oxford Review of Education, 32(2), 157-169. Vicars M & Senior K. (2013). Making a visible difference: overcoming barriers using arts-based learning. Educational Action Research, 21(3), 59-71. Young, Terrell A & Barbara M. (2006).Nonfiction in the Classroom Library. A Literacy Necessity, 82(4), 207. Read More