Abstract:

Reading is often considered the most essential of the four language skills when learning a second or foreign language (Carell, 1988, cited in Carell, Devine and Eskey, 1988). This is because reading is considered the main reason students learn a language. If learners do not possess effective reading skills and strategies, they will not be able to excel academically. Research has proven that reading skills can be mastered if learners are motivated to read. Motivation is defined as personal characteristics which influence the activities and achievements of individuals in the forms of objectives, convictions and needs (Guthrie et.al, 1999). In ensuring that learners are constantly driven with the motivation to read and keep themselves abreast with the latest knowledge, schools in Malaysia have taken concerted efforts to organize a variety of reading programmes for learners. This paper describes some of the programmes that are in place in ensuring that the love and passion for reading and life-long learning are instilled in learners. This article also discusses the factors that motivate second language learners to read as well as barriers that hinder them from acquiring and developing reading motivation. When these factors are identified, school administrators, language teachers and language instructors as well as parents will be more informed on the role that they could play in motivating the students to read. Language and reading programmes which are organized at schools could also be improvised so that they would perfectly cater to learners’ needs, preferences and interests.

Keywords:

reading motivation, second language learners , reading skills, reading strategies.