Leveraging Interest in Reading in the Context of Reading Comprehension Instruction With Multilingual Adolescents

• In Event: Cognitive and Motivational Factors in Multilingual Learners' Reading: Findings Before and During the Pandemic

Abstract

This research aimed to explore how to best leverage multilingual adolescents’ interest in reading in the context of a reading comprehension intervention. Multilingual adolescents who have received English language development (ELD) support for 5-7+ years are typically designated Long Term English Learners (LTELs). While this population is not monolithic (Brooks, 2018), LTELS are often characterized by strong oral English skills with less well-developed English reading and writing skills. They may also may demonstrate more discouragement and be at higher risk of dropping out of school (Clark-Gareca, et al., 2020). As such, attending to interest in reading, as part of reading comprehension support, may be particularly important for them. As Alexander and Grossnickle (2016) explain, interest can be dispositional or situational. Dispositional interest is enduring and linked to identity and experience, while situational interest is triggered by contextual or environmental features of a particular situation.

This correlational study investigated students’ situational interest, as one component of reading motivation, in the reading materials in a reading comprehension intervention, as well as relationships to reading comprehension performance, foundational reading skills, and demographic data. The broader study was a within-subjects experimental study (N = 58) which explored impacts of different types of reading comprehension instruction. Across all instruction conditions, students’ interest in the readings and instructional activities was documented via survey.

To inform the intervention design, students completed a survey ranking their interest in 35 articles from mainstream periodicals, such as Teen Vogue and Sports Illustrated. The nine articles students consistently ranked as high-interest were the target readings for the intervention. Throughout the eight-week intervention, surveys measuring student interest in each intervention article and corresponding instructional scaffolding activities were administered. The five-item Likert scale survey consisted of three items administered before reading related to interest, personal experience, and background knowledge about the reading topic. Two items were administered after students completed the instructional scaffolding and readings which asked about students’ interest in the instructional activities and how challenging they were. Reading comprehension outcomes were modified MAZE tasks for each intervention reading, given advantages of MAZE tasks for secondary readers (Hale et al., 2011).

Preliminary findings suggest that, overall, the students were somewhat or very interested in the reading topics before reading (means ranged from 3.42–4.19 on a five-point scale), but initial interest did not significantly correlate with reading comprehension performance. Their initial interest in the readings did correlate with their interest in the corresponding instructional scaffolding for the readings, with significant correlations across eight of the nine articles ranging from .32 to .71.

Recognizing identity and agency in older multilingual students designated as LTELs may be a critical part of their literacy growth. Indeed, for all readers, engagement is typically enhanced when readers have choice and interest in their readings (Guthrie, 2008). The current research suggests that attending to initial interest in readings may relate to more interest in instructional activities. Future research is needed to better measure and identify potential impacts of interest on achievement with this population.

Authors

• Dianna R. Townsend, University of Nevada - Reno

• Rachel Knecht, University of Nevada - Reno