Curious Readers and Interesting Reads

Developing a positive L2 reading self and motivation through extensive reading

Abstract

This study describes and explains reading motivation at different levels of specificity. A brief historical overview of the concept of reading interest is given and updated through insights from the field of positive psychology. An overview of the practice of extensive reading shows how it is well suited to develop curious readers from the frequent reading of many interesting books. This study explains the benefits of developing reader motivational characteristics and empirically demonstrates how gains in reading fluency, motivation, and a positive second language (L2) reading self can improve over the course of a semester based on a program of extensive reading. Increases in L2 reading interest, L2 reading self-efficacy, and reading speed were found for students in classes reading at least a book a week. The positive L2 reading self borrows constructs developed from the relatively new field of positive psychology and applies them to the field of foreign and second language reading, thus serving as a potential bridge between these fields.