Motivation

LITERACY & MOTIVATION

1. Definition of process
Motivation can be identified as “an active process in which children construct ideas about language and literacy as they communicate” (Verhoeven & Snow, 2001, pg. 4).  Some motivation factors include: engagement, intrinsic motivation, and personal interest.

2. Developmental information of process
Motivation is an important aspect of the development of literacy and is developed by the child, parent, and teacher.  The child plays a role when he must acquire the skills necessary to function in  a literacy context. It is the responsibility of the teacher to promote intersubjectivity, or shared understanding between a child and teacher, in order to bring about literacy engagement and motivation to engage in a literacy activity. Parents support literacy development through their  responsiveness to children’s interests in books and their initiation of conversations about these topics. Teachers can support motivation and literacy development with an environment that focuses on meaningful experiences and constant inclusion of literacy in the classroom. Engaging the child in literacy and fostering the development of motivation can be achieved through a learner centered approach in which the teacher is the coach and the students share control. This requires a flexible environment for open discussion of strategies that students develop independently to use during reading and writing tasks. In this way, the program is directed to the ideas and interests of the students, an important factor in the development of literacy engagement and motivation.

3. Stage of reading impacted
“Literature has the power to enhance the intrinsic motivation of students to read because of its appeal to their natural curiosity and aesthetic involvement” (Verhoeven & Snow, 2001, pg. 9) and thus allows children to gain conceptual and cognitive knowledge/strategies.  For this reason, all stages of reading are impacted by motivation.  For example, reading is entertainment for young children. They enjoy reading books about animals, nature, and folk/fairy tales.  As children get older they start to show interest in adventures and real-life topics.  Reading becomes a way to extend one’s knowledge as they get even older.  Reading at this age includes informational and historical novels and biographies.  

4. Connections to oral language?
The transition from oral to written language is a critical and challenging process. The development of oral language is critical to the development of literacy. Oral interactions in the home that prepare children for literacy engagement play a large role in motivation. Interactive activities have a great impact on a child’s development of oral and written language. Written and oral language  require a different selection and organization of ideas. Written language requires logical and ideational functions, while oral language requires more informal and interpersonal functions. Oral communication allows the listener to have access to a wide range of contextual clues, while written language does not. Therefore, children who are learning to read and write must develop abilities in all modes of communication.

5. Connections to bilingual or culturally/linguistically diverse?
One should be aware that there is diversity in the distribution and extent of literacy in different places around the world. Therefore, literacy programs should recognize  the diverse realities of learners. Also, the learner-centered approach (not teacher-directed approach ) should be implemented to engage students (interactive learning, not passive learning). Different communities also have distinct motivations for writing which affects motivation for literacy and how literacy practices are carried out.

Cultural differences in literacy & motivation

• Black community: literacy as group activity (i.e. one person reads aloud and others interpret). Families did not really orient toward literate language use, but rather used oral language to further their social relationships.
• Middle-class White community: solitary reading is valued and children oriented toward reading and writing at an early age. Child rentaught to revere and not question the text.
• Low-income/rural populations: Poor living conditions, may not have access to materials in schools and are taught by teachers who are not as educated, resulting in lower levels of literacy
• Noticeably smaller number of girls being educated in poor and rural areas due to assignment of domestic role
• Controversy over whether to teach literacy in the mother tongue. This is further affected by the lack of standard language and orthography.
• Multicutural populations:
• Ex: Turkish immigrants in the Netherlands: can read and write Dutch, but prefer to use written Turkish for intragroup communication, and use Arabic for religious purposes.
• Different groups have different literacy needs--need to take these needs/realities into account.

6. Video or multimedia examples
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5YZ4T65m0k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03KpOqntxTg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pchBr13oCM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OckXMYIEy5w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppwa0Y-419g