Promoting reading 1
skills reduces the motivation to read, and a low
level of motivation leads to less reading, and so on. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation In reading research and in educational contexts there is an overall distinction drawn between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation means being motivated by something for its own sake. Extrinsic motivation means engaging in something on the basis of externally formulated values or requirements. For example, when a child reads to live up to a teacher’s or parent’s expectations, this is a case of extrinsic motivation. Reading to get good marks, be rewarded or win prizes are examples of extrinsic motivation. Both types of motivation are important for reading promotion among the young. However, there are indications that children who read for the external results that reading is expected to give them, tend to get less out of their reading. There is also evidence to show that externally motivated readers are more inclined to read at surface level than readers with an internal motivation. Generally, both types of motivation have come to be associated with different learning strategies and types of learning – internal motivation with “deep learning” and extrinsic motivation with “surface learning”. On the other hand, studies indicate that extrinsic motivation can serve as a means of achieving internal motivation (see for example Wang & Guthrie 2004). Main factors in reading motivation Based on research in the field of reading engagement, Linda Gambrell (2011) has compiled seven rules for stimulating reading motivation. These rules are intended for the teaching of literature in schools, but apply equally to reading outside school. They are reproduced here in abbreviated form. These rules acquire an additional degree of urgency when positioned in relation to the actual situation regarding the teaching of reading in Swedish schools according to a report from the Swedish National Agency for Education (2007). Gambrell’s rules are listed in the column to the left, and in the column to the right are some observations in summary from the report of the Swedish Agency for Education, in the form of verbatim quotations (translated here into English). 25