Motivational Factors Influencing L2 Reading among ESL Pre-University Students of Pakistan

Abstract

The study aims to identify the factors that motivate L2 learners to read in the target language, as reading motivation in L2 has been under-researched. The focus of the investigation is to find instrumental and integrative motivation for reading in terms of Gardner and his colleagues' suggestions for learning motivation. The study was quantitative in nature. The data were collected from 300 randomly selected ESL learners in two public-sector colleges in Pakistan. The Motivation for Reading in English Questionnaire (MREQ) was used to assess intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The results showed that novices were more extrinsically motivated (61%) than intrinsically (46%), but 57% were intrinsically motivated. The study suggests that understanding the multidimensional nature of L2 reading motivation can help improve the reading context of students' studies, benefiting teachers, parents, and others. The findings can help improve the reading context of students' studies.