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Reading Is The Mother of Any Ability To Study

This document provides background information on reading comprehension and intrinsic motivation. It discusses how reading comprehension is an important skill that involves understanding what is read. Intrinsic motivation is important for reading comprehension, as it drives students to read for interest and pleasure rather than external rewards. The document also presents frameworks on self-determination theory and schema theory that are relevant to understanding reading comprehension and intrinsic motivation. There is concern that Filipino students have poor reading comprehension abilities that affect their academic performance. The study aims to investigate the role of intrinsic motivation in developing reading comprehension.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
159 views34 pages

Reading Is The Mother of Any Ability To Study

This document provides background information on reading comprehension and intrinsic motivation. It discusses how reading comprehension is an important skill that involves understanding what is read. Intrinsic motivation is important for reading comprehension, as it drives students to read for interest and pleasure rather than external rewards. The document also presents frameworks on self-determination theory and schema theory that are relevant to understanding reading comprehension and intrinsic motivation. There is concern that Filipino students have poor reading comprehension abilities that affect their academic performance. The study aims to investigate the role of intrinsic motivation in developing reading comprehension.

Uploaded by

CHR
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 1

Background of the Study

Reading is the mother of any ability to study. It is one in every of the foremost valuable skills

someone will acquire. It is a complex process involving knowledge, experience, thinking, and

teaching. It depends heavily on knowledge- both about the world at large and the worlds of

language and print; thus, it cannot be taught alone. Also, reading is not merely an ability to

recognize written or printed words, but it also refers to putting meaning to what you are reading

and drawing a unified thought of what you are reading (Tizon, as cited in Donaire, 2016).

About the statement mentioned above, (Al-Jarf, as cited in Takaloo and Ahmadi, 2017)

said that one of the essential skills of language is reading comprehension and the students should

comprehend reading passages when they are successful in their academic life.

Also, (Donaire, 2016), found out that teaching reading is an important activity that needs

significant preparation. How important is this undertaking can be observed in a classroom or

children who have difficulty learning to read in the pre-elementary grades can continue to have

this difficulty through elementary school, high school, and into college?

Furthermore, reading comprehension is the act of understanding what you are reading.

While the definition is often merely declared, the act is not easy to show, learn or apply. Reading

comprehension is an intentional, active, and interactive process that occurs before, during and

after a person reads a particular piece of writing.

Do students comprehend what they are reading? Are they able to express verbally or in

writing what they have read? Nowadays, in this fast-paced society, teachers need students who

are independently effective. To have this kind of students, there is a need and is essential for the
teacher to start developing the basic life skill of their students, and that skill is reading

comprehension.

Reading comprehension is the ability of the child to understand the text being read (Lea

and Street, 2006). Learners with reading problems will most likely experience poor

understanding because of their lack of being able to read and monitor their understanding of the

information. The contributory factors to a learner’s comprehension in a language are the ability

to decode words, poor vocabulary access, and fluency, as cited in Graham and Bellert (2004).

Tizon, as cited in Donaire (2016), stressed out that reading comprehension must be the

basic consideration of all readers. The ability of the readers to comprehend what they are

reading; read between the lines ideas and add meaning to printed words is comprehension.

Therefore, reading alone is not enough; it should be integrated with understanding so that

learners can focus not only on the text but also on interpreting its deeper meanings.

Hong-Nam and Leavell (2007) said that students who are not sufficiently equipped in

reading comprehension skills could struggle in many subject areas aside from reading and

literature, and that includes mathematics, science, and social studies, Hence, it is essential that

students are capable of reading along with comprehension in order to be successful in school.

Among the means that have been found out to help readers read with comprehension is

through the reinforcement of reading motivation among students. According to Anderson, and

others, (as cited in Knoll 2000), edifying motivation is an essential phase in the development of

children that will become readers. One cannot expect students to understand the printed text if

they have not read that material. It is even as unreasonable to expect them to need to scan with

none motivation. Reading motivation is very important for students, and it increases the students'

reading comprehension. It is vital for learners to read and understand texts easily and effectively.
Thus, all English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners needs to improve their reading motivation

for a better understanding of written texts (Grabe & Stoller 2002).

Motivation is one of the main factors which significantly influence language learning.

Reading with motivation is one of the most important factors which receive a special focus in

foreign language teaching. Research testifies that student motivation is the main reason in

successful reading. Some educators and politicians have suggested that making curricula more

demanding would increase student achievement, but a growing number of researchers and

educators agree that increasing student motivation is the key to enhancing learning and

performance in school (Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002). Bruner, as cited in Hesek (2004),

eloquently stated, "we have tended to overlook the question of what keeps learners interested in

the activity of learning, in the achievement of competence on the far side clean necessity and

initial payoff." Bruner succinctly described the heart of intrinsic motivation in education.

Students read for their interest or pleasure when they are intrinsically motivated. Students

can be seen lost in a book when reading for pleasure or lose track of time while reading Hilden

and Jones (undated). With intrinsic motivation, the scholars themselves create the selection to

apply positive reading behaviours. Bill (2010) said that when one is intrinsically motivated, one

is focused on the things one can control—one’s growth and learning, what one can find

meaningful, one’s sense of duty and service.

Arnold (2000) stated that intrinsic motivation is learning itself that has its reward.

Students willingly try to learn what is very significant for them. They have internal desires to

learn, and they do not need external results. There are not any negative effects of having intrinsic

motivation. Intrinsic motivation drives the learners to learn without rewards because the need is

innate and depends on their desire.


With the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results in examinations,

progress in reading comprehension is covering behind the improvement in mathematics over the

past two decades. Similar to mathematics, learning to read is a vital part of basic education.

Reading, after all, is an important entry to the other disciplines. Unfortunately, equated to

mathematics, students in the United States have not improved as much in reading comprehension

(“The Problem with the reading”, 2014).

In the national scene, the performance of the Filipino students in the national and

international mathematics and science tests for the last decade has also deteriorated, and this has

posed a foremost challenge to Philippine education which may also be attributed to poor reading

comprehension. The Department of Education (DepEd) attributed this problem to the student’s

poor reading comprehension ability (“Philippines-Educational System- an Overview,” as cited in

Donaire, 2016). Additionally, as reported by The Philippine Star in its March 18, 2011 issue,

student readiness for college-level reading has steadily declined since 1999 to its lowest point. In

twelve years, six million of the nation’s secondary school students are reading well below grade

level.

The number of Filipinos, aged 10-64 years old, who do not understand what they read,

has increased to 20.1 million. This is supported the most recent figures from the 2008 useful

acquisition, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS). Moreover, the number of

individuals lacking in counting and comprehension skills grew. This was due to a higher

population base of 67 million for 2008 compared to only 57.6 million for 2003. Nolasco

computed the number of non-numerate Filipinos in 2008 at 9.1 million, which was almost the
same as in 2003. However, those who lacked comprehension abilities increased from 19.6

million in 2003 to 20.1 million individuals in 2008 (MLE Philippines, 2010).

In the region, according to Leyte-Samar Daily's Norlanie Asis Cerena article, the

Department of Education (DepEd) is now implementing a new evaluation tool dubbed Philippine

Informal Reading (PHIL IRI) in Dulag, anchored from the K to 12 Basic Education This aims to

address the reading difficulties and to alleviate the reading performance of all students in English

and Filipino from grade 3 to grade 7. This new tool is now being implemented in all elementary

and secondary schools starting this school year.

Based on a casual and informal local interview, the researchers found out that Grade 7

students nowadays have low interest and lack of reading motivation which significantly affects

their reading comprehension due to the revolutionary impact of modernization.

Given this problem, the researchers would like to find out the role of intrinsic motivation

in reading comprehension and feel the need to look more closely into developing intrinsically

motivated students to read, thus, this research will be conducted.

Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

The research study was founded on the following related theories of reading

comprehension and intrinsic motivation: self-determination theory by Ryan & Deci (2009) and

Schema Theory of Bartlett (1932).

Self-determination theory (SDT) is a motivation theory. It is concerned with supporting

our natural or intrinsic tendencies to behave effectively and healthily. A network of researchers

around the world has researched and practised SDT (“Self-Determination Theory”, 2018).
Furthermore, in psychology, self-determination is an essential concept referring to the

ability of each person to make choices and to exercise control over their own lives. This ability

plays a significant role in health and well-being in psychology. Self-determination gives people a

sense of control over their choices and lives (Cherry, 2018).

Moreover, in self-determination theory, people need to feel the following to achieve

psychological growth: competence, connection or relatedness and autonomy. Deci and Ryan

suggested that they become self-determined when people experience these three things. These

three elements also allow people to be motivated intrinsically to pursue the things that interest

them, (“What is Self-Determination Theory?” 2018).

Some important insights about work motivation have also been generated by SDT. While

there are many theories about work motivation and commitment, SDT is unique in its focus on

the "relative strength of autonomous versus controlled motivation rather than overall motivation"

(Gagné and Deci, 2005).

Speaking of motivation, it was often grouped into two main types: extrinsic and intrinsic.

A person tends to perform a task or activity with extrinsic motivation, mainly because doing so

will yield some sort of reward or benefit upon completion. Intrinsic motivation, on the other

hand, is characterized by doing something simply because of pleasure or fun. (Deci and Ryan,

2014).

However, the researchers focus on intrinsic motivation for the reason that research has

shown that there is a negative effect on the learners when using extrinsic motivation. According

to Covington, as cited in Houghton (2015), when extrinsic motivation or rewards are not related

to the action, the activity typically becomes a means to an end. Also according to Marinak (2006)

and Ryan & Deci, as cited in Covington (2015), rewards, deadlines, and pressured evaluations to
weaken intrinsic motivation because they lead students into perceiving the success as the

outward, external reward.

Simply put, self-determination theory can be helpful in understanding the things that

might motivate behaviours. Being self-determined, feeling like one has the autonomy and

freedom to make choices that shape one’s destiny, is important for each person's well-being.

One's going to feel happier and more able to make good choices. (“What is Self-Determination

Theory” 2018).

In this study, the researchers use self-determination theory to understand and find out the

things that will and might motivate the students to be self-determined that will help them to

improve and affect their behaviors towards reading. About this, the researchers also looked at the

schema theory, which has a great impact on the reading comprehension of the students.

According to Meyer, as cited in Cataraja (2018), previous knowledge must be activated

to aid one’s existing abilities to understand and learn. Teachers cannot expect students to form

information from their experiences.

Another theory that supports this study is Frederick Barlett’s Schema Theory, which

gives details on how readers use their background knowledge to comprehend and learn from the

text (Rumelheart, 1980). Bartlett (1932) first used the term "schema" in psychology as "an active

organization of past reactions or experiences," then Rumelhalt (1980), Carrell (1981) and

Hudson (1982) introduced schema when discussing the important role of background knowledge

in understanding reading (cited in An, 2013). The schema theory's fundamental principle

assumes that written text has no meaning on its own. Rather, a text-only provides readers with
directions as to how their own previously acquired knowledge should retrieve or construct

meaning (An, 2013).

According to Stott (2001), schema theory describes the process by which readers

combine their background knowledge with the information in a text to comprehend that text. All

readers carry different schemata (background information), and these are also often culture-

specific. 

According to Richard Anderson, as cited in “Learning Theory - Schema Theory” (2018),

a schema provided a form of representation for complex knowledge and that the construction, for

the first time, provided a principled account of how old knowledge could influence new

knowledge acquisition. Schema theory was applied to understanding the reading process

immediately, where it served as an important counterweight to purely bottom-up reading

approaches. The schema theory approaches to reading emphasize that reading involves both the

bottom-up information coming into the eye from the perceived letters and the use of top-down

knowledge to build a meaningful representation of the text content.

Additionally, a schema can be perceived as a structure consisting of several spaces, some filled

and others empty. For the empty slots, when faced with a situation or trying to understand something

new, the appropriate schema is activated and used to infer, produce or accommodate new information. If

the input is assimilated into the existing schema without making any changes, it is called "accretion," on

the other hand, "tuning" occurs when the existing schema is inadequate and needs to be modified while

"restructuring" is the process of creating a new schema. (Schema Theory, 2015 as cited in Donaire, 2016).

Moreover, prior knowledge should be discussed before reading the text to help set the

stage for what is coming. During the reading, from their experience, students should be

encouraged to connect to the text, and the teacher should model this process using his or her
connections. After reading, the discussion should focus on how the connections helped the

students understand the text better and how the text helped them build their pre-knowledge

foundation.

The importance of schema theory for understanding reading also lies in how schemas are

used by the reader. If teachers fail to create a sufficient number of schemas when reading a text,

then reading comprehension will become difficult (Schema Theory, as cited in Donaire, 2016).

Simply put, the theory of schema states that all knowledge is organized into units.

Information is stored within these units of knowledge or schema. A schema, then, is a

generalized description or conceptual system for understanding knowledge, how knowledge is

represented, and how it is used (Schema Theory, as cited in Donaire, 2016). According to this

theory, schema represents knowledge of concepts that are objects and the relationships that they

have with other objects, situations, events, sequences of events, actions, and action sequences.

Based on the given theories, the rationale of this study is to determine the vital role that

intrinsic motivation plays in improving the student’s reading comprehension. It will examine the

reading motivation for its potential to explain students’ reading comprehension and to predict

students’ growth in comprehension over time (Stipek, as cited in Guthrie et al. 2007). Thus, in

the conceptual framework of the study, there are two variables which are intrinsic motivation and

reading comprehension. In short, as shown in figure 1, intrinsic motivation is the independent

variable, and it assumes to have beneficial effects on the students’ reading comprehension

performance, which is the dependent variable.


INTRINSIC
MOTIVATION
RECOMMENDATIONS

Reading
Strategies
Instruction
Support for
Student
Motivation
READING
COMPREHENSION

Figure 1. Schematic Diagram of the Conceptual Framework

Statement of the Problem

The objective of the study was to determine the relationship between intrinsic motivation

and reading comprehension of the Grade 7 students at the Palompon Institute of Technology-

Laboratory High School, Palompon, Leyte, in the school year 2018-2019.

More specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:

1. What is the level of intrinsic motivation of the Grade 7 students?

2. What is the reading comprehension level of the respondents?


3. Is there a significant relationship between intrinsic motivation and reading

comprehension of the students based on the identified skills?

Research Hypothesis

There is a significant relationship between intrinsic motivation and reading

comprehension of the students.

Significance of the study

The result of this study may be significantly beneficial to the following:

Students. As the ultimate beneficiaries of the study, this study may help students to be

intrinsically motivated to read not only to help them successfully understand what they read, but

also to become better readers, and thus fulfil their academic needs.

Teachers. This study may help the teacher to include the development of intrinsic

motivation of the students in reading and to better guide the teachers by applying research that

correlates intrinsic motivation with comprehension.

Administrators/Supervisors/Principals. The study may enable them to understand the

significant role of intrinsic motivation in successful learning and help them to implement

motivational strategies which will enable them to help the students to increase their level of

reading comprehension skills.

Curriculum planners. Curriculum planners may have a sound basis for the inclusion of

teaching reading motivation more specifically on the intrinsic motivation in all levels of the

curriculum.

Future Researchers. The study may supplement the literature review for other

researchers who want to conduct the study in the same field of interest. The results of this study
can also be used as a reference to compare and support the results of other related studies. Lastly,

it could be used as a basis for the conduct of a similar but more enhanced study.

Scope and Delimitation

This study determined the relationship between intrinsic motivation and the reading

comprehension performance of the Grade 7 students who were officially enrolled at Palompon

Institute of Technology- Laboratory High School in the school year 2018-2019.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined in the study context:

Intrinsic Motivation. Operationally, it refers to the level of willingness of the learners to

read and how intrinsically motivated the learners to understand what they are reading.

Reading. It is the act of constructing meaning while transacting with text. The reader makes

meaning through the combination of prior knowledge and previous experience, information

available in text, the stance he/she takes in the relationship to the text, and immediate,

remembered or anticipated social interaction and communication.

Reading comprehension performance. It refers to the scores of the students in their

reading comprehension test.


Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

This chapter consists of concepts and related studies from different researchers.

Conceptual Literature

The following review focuses on reading comprehension, as well as intrinsic motivation.

Reading Comprehension. Reading comprehension is defined as the meaning-making

process by coordinating several complex processes involving language, word reading, word

knowledge, and fluency (Paris, 2005).

Then, to achieve true understanding, readers must go beyond the text's basic decoding.

They have to think about what they have read at a deeper level than the simple perception of the

words' meaning. The processes of understanding interpret language, transforming it from

linguistic symbols into a more abstract symbolic representation — that is, from language to

thinking (Dechant, 1991). This leads to a discussion of what is in the text that deeper meaning.

Early grade failure can also affect the ability to understand what is being read in later school

years. Rarely catch up with students who fail to read well early in their school careers (Madden,

and others, 1997). This means that what began as a problem of achievement can develop into

problems of "low self-esteem, anxiety, poor motivation and avoidance at the secondary level of

education, (Madden and others, 1997)".


Since reading comprehension in terms of academic success is so critical, it can be argued

that motivating a student to read is equally crucial. To understand what is being read, one has to

be a critical reader. Critical readers can "move forward or backwards through the text ..." and can

"relate to different parts of the text to get a better grip on understanding." If this is a critical

reader's sign, why does this study focus on the high school student in general, and the 10th

grader in particular? Partly because this study is not so much about reading mechanics (or the

ability to read itself), but rather about the process behind understanding. Also, it is easier to learn

certain elements of critical reading in different subject areas at the high school level than before

(Chapman, 1993, as cited in Knoll, 2000).

According to Wendling (2010), reading comprehension includes processing at various

levels, (as cited in Ahmadi, 2017)

Ahmadi and Pourhosein (2012) also expressed that reading comprehension is a

cooperative mental practice between a reader’s linguistic knowledge (knowledge of the world)

and knowledge about a given subject. Reading comprehension is a communicating procedure in

which readers interact with the text as their background knowledge is activated. Of course, much

of what a high school student brings to the text, prior experience with the topic, familiarity with

the vocabulary, knowledge of syntax, etc. all combine to increase the knowledge of the subject of

that reader (as cited in Ahmadi, 2017).

According to Adelman (2013), in addition to various learning disorders, many children

and young people with learning disabilities manifest behavioral problems. Historically, the main

focus in the field of learning disability has been on behavioral change while largely ignoring the

intrinsic motivation construct. The innate need of the student to feel competent and self-

determination is a basic assumption of intrinsic motivation. The underlying basic constructs of


intrinsic motivation and their implications in learning disabilities for evaluation, intervention and

research activities are significant.

Intrinsic Motivation. Reading motivation includes self-efficacy, goals of reading, social

motivation, and intrinsic and extrinsic influences (Aarnoutse & Schellings, 2003). These

influences stimulate and guide the behavior of reading. Reading strategies further influence

reading motivation by exchanging ideas with peers who are intrinsically motivated to read (i.e.,

engaged readers) (Guthrie and others, 2007). Not every student is equally motivated (Gambrell,

2011). The most important skill that students will acquire in their academic careers is learning to

read. Those who read often become knowledgeable readers (Morgan & Fuchs, 2007). Using

frequent reading aids increases recognition of sight words, vocabulary, fluency, and

understanding. Typically, the frequency with which children read depends on the reading skills

they have acquired and their motivation. For students who do not acquire the skills to read early

on, the reading may become an arduous task, causing them to fall further behind as they avoid

practising opportunities (as cited in Houghton, 2015).

Intrinsic motivation is a behavior energizing that comes from within an individual, out of

will and interest in the activity at hand. There is no need for external rewards to encourage the

intrinsically motivated person to take action. The reward is the conduct itself. This appears to be

an ideal, logically, for people to act as "origins" of their behavior rather than "pewns." It is

certainly not the case, however, that all real-world behavior comes from intrinsic energy

(deCharms, 1968).

On the other hand, Gottfried (1990) pointed out that intrinsic reading motivation could be

defined as enjoying reading activities for their own sake, which is consistent with the self-

determination theory formulation. Intrinsically motivated reading consists of text interaction for
enjoyment, stimulating curiosity, and winning the prizes or acquiring new knowledge that might

change for readers.

In the Psyche study (2017), intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is in complete contrast to

each other in the way they work. In short, intrinsic motivation refers to being motivated from

within or motivated by oneself. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation refers to the motivation

of external factors.

Intrinsic motivation to read in the fourth grade predicted reading literacy in the sixth

grade, and reading frequency mediated this relationship. A negative correlation between extrinsic

motivation and reading literacy was also found (Becker et al., 2010).

Ahmadi and Pourhosein (2012) explained that intrinsic motivation refers to behavior

driven by internal rewards, according to Hairul. This is different from extrinsic motivation,

which includes engaging in behavior to receive external rewards or avoid punishment (as cited in

Ahmadi, 2017).

Cherry (2018) said he was fascinated by intrinsic motivation. Probably there are many

things that fall into this category in one's own life, and these are important elements for a well-

balanced life. For example, if we spend all our time working to make money, we might miss out

on life's simple pleasures. It can be quite rewarding to realize our own intrinsic and extrinsic

motivations and to balance them.

Research Literature

Numerous research studies were conducted on the positive effects of intrinsic motivation

on reading performance.
Reading Comprehension. The decline of motivation to read in educational

environments have left educators puzzled at what can be done to make a shift towards an

increase in the motivation to read for their student body (Baker & Wigfield as cited in

Amundson, 2015).

Guthrie et al., as cited in Amundson (2015) implemented the following techniques in

efforts to increase intrinsic motivation: using focus goals for reading instructions-Students focus

on specific goals they establish with the educator and self-review the mastery thereof, student

book selection-Students select their texts and may perform with peers the text roles, student

ownership of book collection increase-An increase of student’s book ownership, and peer

reading students read with peers in book clubs.

After the four described techniques were implemented, comprehension ability and

intrinsic motivation did increase in the student body. Classrooms were randomly assigned

lengthy passages for the student to review and comprehend. Comprehension examinations were

Running head: Increasing Intrinsic Motivation and Reading Comprehension in Children

administered and results showed an increase of intrinsic motivation to read and examine material

(Guthrie et al. as cited in Amundson, 2015).

In many classrooms, students read passages aloud and can easily compare their ability to

peers. If students see themselves as capable readers, they will be motivated to read. Students,

however, will not be motivated to read if they do not see themselves as reading as competently as

others (Guthrie, et al. 2007, as cited in Houghton 2015).

Becker et al. (2008) stated that findings in a sample of German fourth-grade students

were less positive and revealed only a marginally significant positive effect of reading amount on

summer changes in reading comprehension. Thus, in this case, the effects of reading amount on
summer changes in reading comprehension are likely to be less strong, as cited in (Schaffner and

Schiefele, 2016).

In the reading levels of Anderson and Hunt as cited by Temporada (2006), it was

revealed that the reading ability of the students feels under the instructional= level. At this level,

a student has difficulty reading and processing meanings due to unfamiliar vocabulary, semantic

and syntactic difficulty and complex concepts in the reading material.

Akbaşlı et al. (2016) indicated that There was a correlation between the results of reading

comprehension and student success in math or science classes. It also indicates that reading

comprehension contributes positively or negatively to successful outcomes in math or science

classes.

Bonganciso (2016) studied students ' reading comprehension performance from pretest to

posttest. He found out that contextualizing the learners ' reading tasks has positive effects on

their performance of understanding. Contextualized teaching and learning is recommended to

help students improve their reading performance.

Cunha and Capellini (2016) showed in this study that the students presented fewer

mistakes according to their academic progress, indicating that the experience in reading during

the years at school contributed to improving comprehension. Also, some students presented a

better performance in their answers after reading the texts for the second time.

Intrinsic Motivation. Tsujimoto (2015) examined the influence of self-efficacy on

reading achievement; moderation analyses showed stronger relationships for typical readers.

Moreover, when moderated by age, stronger relationships were found for younger participants.

Additional regression analyzes identified positive relationships between two intrinsic motivation

and reading value measurements.


The implementation of the motivational techniques, participants’ demonstrated a

significant increase in motivation to read. Also, the comprehension exam scores increased

steadily throughout the study. The motivational techniques have improved the participants’

overall intrinsic motivation to read (Amundson 2015).

Furthermore, Castle (2015), students are motivated by the self-selection of the literature

of interest, guidance from teachers and adults with reading skills, having personal confidence in

their reading ability, and extrinsic factors. McGeown, Norgrate, and Warhurst (2012) claimed

that intrinsically motivated children engage in activities like reading, for example because of

personal interest or enjoyment.

Takaloo and Ahmadi (2017) indicated that motivation has an influential role in learners’

reading comprehension.

Moreover, the findings of Schaffner, and Schiefele, (2016) suggested that intrinsic

reading motivation facilitates students’ development of reading comprehension over Summer

Vacation (SV).

As cited in the study of Ayub (2014), (Elliot & Dweck, 2005), Motivation has a

significantly important factor for academic learning and achievement across childhood through

adolescence.

Additionally, Baek and others (2015) investigated the effects of students’ intrinsic

motivation and prior knowledge on student achievement in learning Chinese in a game-based

learning environment that both students’ prior knowledge and intrinsic motivation affect their

achievements in learning Chinese.


Karbalaei and Sanati (2015) indicated that there is a positive relationship between the

level of students' reading comprehension and their emotional intelligence. There is also a positive

relationship between emotional intelligence and motivation for reading. Finally, there is a

negative relationship between reading anxiety and reading comprehension.

A cross-sectional study examined the relationship between intrinsic motivation to learn,

extrinsic motivation and academic achievement in third through eighth-grade students (Lepper,

Iyengar, & Corpus, 2005). There is a significant positive correlation between intrinsic motivation

and academic outcomes (reading performance, math achievement, and GPA). Extrinsic

motivation, however, had a significant negative correlation with GPA and achievement scores.

Unrau and Schlackman (2006), found a significant positive relationship between intrinsic

motivation and reading achievement among Asian American middle school students, as cited in

Froiland and Oros (2016).

There was a significant relationship between motivation and reading comprehension,

particularly intrinsic motivation that could improve reading comprehension (Taboada & Buehl,

2012). Researchers indicated that variables of cognitive and motivation affect the reading

comprehension of students (Pressley and Harris, 2006). Previous research advocated that reading

motivation has a connection to the progress of students' comprehension because reading

comprehension allows students to analyze information that they have a piece of prior knowledge

about it to enhance their comprehension (Duke, and others 2011) as cited in the study of Takaloo

and Ahmadi (2017).

Moreover, as cited in Takaloo and Ahmadi (2017), Morgan and Fuchs, 2007 argued that

motivation is one of the most important factors that can influence reading comprehension. The
correlation between reading motivation and reading comprehension is more than reading

activities and reading behavior. There has been a lot of research that has examined the

relationship between motivation and reading comprehension, and it looks like there is a direct

relationship between reading comprehension and reading motivation.

In the study of Admundson (2017), Whittingham and Huffman (2009) concluded that a

classroom environment which contains a huge array of literature selections that increased

students’ intrinsic motivation to read.

Ahmadi (2017), explains the terms were reading motivation, different types of

motivation, reading comprehension, and different models of reading comprehension. The review

of this study showed that reading motivation had a considerably positive effect on reading

comprehension activities.

Marsela (2017), reading motivation and reading comprehension showed that there is a

significant correlation between the two variables. Besides, there was also a significant influence

on reading motivation and reading comprehension achievement.

However, in the study of McGeown, and others (2012), found out that motivation does

not correlate with their reading skills of the poor readers. Also, poor readers appear to have a less

differentiated view of reading motivation compared with good readers. The groups differed

significantly in their intrinsic reading motivation but not in their extrinsic reading motivation.

Interestingly, among the good readers, extrinsic motivation (in particular grades and

competition) correlated with variation in reading skills.

Wigfield, and others (2016), they found out in their study that over the last 20 years, we

have learned much about the nature of children’s motivation to read and how it relates to the

amount and types of reading children do, and their reading comprehension. We also have learned
much about effective instructional practices that lead to improvements in elementary and middle

school children’s motivation to read. Much research remains to be done on the development of

children’s reading motivation and what kinds of interventions improve it. For example, most of

the work on reading motivation has involved self-report measures that have limits, especially

when used with young children. One alternative is for teachers to rate their students’ motivation

and engagement; such ratings are reliable and relate to different outcomes.

The above-cited studies are related to the present study in that they all indicate the

important role of intrinsic motivation in reading comprehension performance.


Chapter 3

Methodology

This chapter presents the research method and procedure to be used in this study. It

includes the research design, the research environment, research respondents of this study, the

research instrument to be used, the data gathering procedure and the statistical treatment of data.

Research Design

This study utilized descriptive-correlational research design. It was used to describe if

there was a significant relationship between intrinsic motivation and reading comprehension of

the students.

Research Environment

The researchers conducted the study in at the classroom (Room 101) of Palompon

Institute of Technology-Laboratory High School, Evangelista Street Palompon, Leyte. The

classroom was adequately well ventilated and was conducive to learning.

The students were seated accordingly with a seat apart set-up of 1 meter per student to

observe the reliability and validity of the result.

Research Respondents
The research respondents in this study consist of 61 Grade 7 students of Palompon

Institute of Technology-Laboratory High School Palompon, Leyte during the school year 2018-

2019.

Research Instruments

The study used two sets of research instruments. These are the Motivations for Reading

Questionnaire (MRQ) by Wigfield and Guthrie (1995) and Reading Test by Stephen C.

Temporada (2006).

Motivations for Reading Questionnaire. It is a student-

rated evaluation of how motivated each student to read. Wigfield and Guthrie (1995) originally d

eveloped it to evaluate various aspects of student reading motivation. In 1997, with the help of

motivational interviews with

students, classroom reading instruction observations, and alignment with motivational theory, Wi

gfield and Guthrie improved the MRQ by grouping questions into 11 reading motivation constru

cts. The original scale contained 82 items (Wigfield and Guthrie, 1995),

but Wigfield and Guthrie (1997) revised it, and now it contains only 53 items. For pre-and-post

CORI assessments, as shortened version (18 items) of the MRQ was also created (Guthrie et al.,

2004; Wigfield et al., 2004). As a group, students go through three practice questions with the

administrator(s) of the questionnaire and are then allowed to complete the rest of the

questionnaire by themselves. The revised MRQ has only two practical questions. Questionnaire

administrators are available during this time to answer questions. Typically, students can finish

the MRQ in a session of 15 to 20 minutes (Wigfield & Guthrie, 1997).


The revised MRQ contains 53 items designed to reflect 11 constructs of reading

motivation: 1. Reading Effectiveness (3 items); 2. Challenge Reading (5 items); 3. Curiosity

reading (6 items); 4. Involvement Reading (6 items); 5. Reading Importance (2 items); 6.

Reading Work Avoidance (4 items); 7. Competition in Reading (6 items); 8. Recognition for

Reading (5 items); 9. Reading for Grades (4 items); 10. Social Reasons for Reading (7 items);

and 11. Compliance (5 items).

Reading Test. The researchers used a questionnaire adapted from the study of

Readability of the Secondary Development and Improvement Project (SEDIP) Textbook in

Relation to the Students’ Reading Ability Level and Reading Comprehension Ability formulated

by Stephen C. Temporada (2006). The questionnaire consists of 50 items.

The research instruments were all adapted; thus, instruments were standardized but, to

ensure the readability of the instruments to the chosen respondents, the MRQ was examined as

well as the reading test. The researchers gave some samples of these instruments to the chosen

few students with the same level of the original respondents of the research which was Grade 7

students and along with the Grade 7 English teacher of the original respondents of the research.

Also, the researchers were advised by some of the faculty and staff of the College of Education,

Mr Leonard Arado and Mrs Maria Consuelo Ramirez to reduce the number of items of both

tests. From 53 items, the MRQ was reduced to 20 items and the 50-item reading test to 20 items

accordingly because the tests were too lengthy for Grade 7 respondents.

Data Gathering Procedure


The researchers asked permission from Ms. Delia G. Limpangog, the principal of

Palompon Institute of Technology-Laboratory High School in the form of a formal letter

containing the request of allowing them to administer questionnaires to the respondents. During

the conduct, the researchers gave the MRQ developed by Wigfield and Guthrie first followed by

the reading comprehension questionnaires adapted from Temporada’s study. They were

instructed to finish the reading comprehension test in one hour. To ensure that the students

followed the instruction, answers were strictly retrieved after the allotted time. After

administering, all the data were gathered and analyzed with the aid of the data analyst.

Statistical Tools

In getting the intrinsic motivation level of the students, the formula of getting the range of

scores was used, where the highest possible score was 4 and the lowest possible score was 1.

The frequency-distribution of student’s intrinsic motivation level scores was categorized

into four levels: highly motivated, moderately motivated, slightly motivated, and not motivated.

The distribution was calculated based on the Mi score and SDi.

The categorization of the students’ intrinsic motivation is presented below:

Range Interpretation

3.26-4.00 Highly motivated


2.51-3.25 Moderately motivated
1.76-2.5 Slightly motivated
1.00-1.75 Not motivated
The relative frequency or percentage of the students’ scores in the reading test was

computed to determine the level of their reading comprehension performance, based on

Temporada’s (2006) classification, as follows:

Scores Interpretation

12-20 Excellent

9-11 Good

0-8 Poor

This study used the following statistical tools:

a. The weighted mean was used to determine the level of intrinsic motivation and

reading comprehension of the students and;

b. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (Pearson r) was used to

determine if there is a significant relationship between intrinsic motivation and

reading comprehension and the level of significance was tested using ∝ = 0.05.
Chapter 4

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

The following are the consolidated analysis and interpretation data, its analysis and

interpretation based on the research questions as presented in Chapter 1. This chapter consists

of the following parts: intrinsic motivation level of the students, their reading comprehension

level, and the relationship between intrinsic motivation and reading comprehension of the

students.

Intrinsic Motivation Level

The first research problem investigated the intrinsic motivation level of the students.

Table 1
Level of Intrinsic Motivation of the Grade 7 Students

Interpretation f Weighted Mean

Highly Motivated 14 3.63


Moderately Motivated 29 3.5
Slightly Motivated 16 2.66
Not Motivated 2 1.5

Overall Mean 61 2.8225


(Moderately Motivated)
The result shows the intrinsic motivation level of Grade 7 students. Thus, based on the

table, it was shown that the students were moderately motivated. As reflected in Table 1, the

weighted mean score of the students is 2.82, with a standard deviation of 0.52.

This signifies that Grade 7 students’ intrinsic motivation was being influenced by

external forces. In other words, it can be explained that their devotion to reading was because of

their desire for rewards and fear of penalty from teachers and parents, and not based on their

inner aspirations. This result is coincides with the study of Gbollie and Keamu (2017).

Reading Comprehension Level

The second research problem investigated the reading comprehension level. As shown in

Table 2, the weighted mean score of the students is 52.87% with a standard deviation of 13.21.

Table 2
Reading Comprehension Level of Students

Interpretation f Weighted Mean

Excellent 21 13.33333

Good 31 9.83871

Poor 9 6.555556

Overall Mean 61 10.57 (Good)

From the table above, it was found that “good” was the level of the student’s reading

comprehension (52.87%). The results showed the same findings in the study of Amundson
(2015) which showed an increase of reading motivation for the students throughout the study.

Her research also indicated a slight increase in comprehension ability. The students demonstrated

great enthusiasm for reading together. This implies that if students were motivated to read they

would be most likely to have an increase in their reading comprehension ability.

Correlations between Intrinsic Motivation and Reading Comprehension

The last research problem was to know if there was a significant relationship between

intrinsic motivation and reading comprehension of the Grade 7 students. The result is shown in

Table 3.

Table 3
Correlation between Intrinsic Motivation and Reading Comprehension of the Students

Variables Pearson r Df p-value Remarks

Intrinsic Motivation 0.31

59 0.015044 Significant
(Low
Reading Comprehension
correlation)
∝ = 0.05

Based on the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficients, the results indicate a low

correlation between intrinsic motivation and reading comprehension. Then the level of p-value

was 0.015044, which means that p-value 0.015044 was lower than 0.05. Thus, the hypothesis

was accepted at 0.05 level of significance, meaning, there was a significant relationship between

intrinsic motivation and reading comprehension of the students.


This result then corroborates the findings of other research studies. It coincides with the

research findings of Marsela (2017) and Knoll (2000) that stated motivation positively

influenced the students’ reading comprehension achievement and a focus on improved

motivation would lead to improved reading comprehension. Additionally, Ahmadi and Takaloo

(2017) also testified that motivation was one of the essential factors that had a direct impact on

the development of reading comprehension. He recommended that teachers must know that

students are motivated differently. They should make the classroom an enjoyable space to

motivate them and increase their confidence, spontaneity, autonomy, and self-stimulation.

Chapter 5

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents the conclusions of the study and its recommendations.

Conclusions

Based on the given findings, the following conclusions were made:

1. Given the results of the MRQ of the students, it was concluded that there was a need to

implement support for students’ motivation in learning, especially in reading.

2. Based on Pearson's r results concerning intrinsic motivation and reading comprehension,

which was 0.31, there was a low correlation. It only means that there are still a lot of
factors which influenced students' reading comprehension aside from motivation, such as

intelligence, interest, attitudes, language-learning strategies, upbringing, etc.

3. Also, based on the results of Pearson’s r, it showed that there was a direct relationship

between the two variables, the intrinsic motivation and reading comprehension. This only

means that if the intrinsic motivation of the student is high, the reading comprehension

level of the students must also be high, and if the students have low intrinsic motivation

towards reading it will poorly affect their reading comprehension.

Recommendations

In terms of the conclusions arrived at, the following recommendations are given:

1. Based on the findings, which showed that intrinsic motivation was significantly related to

the students’ reading comprehension, the teacher should explicitly strengthen the support

of the development of students’ intrinsic motivation to read.

2. Reading strategies should be explicitly taught in the English classroom to enable the

students to know the appropriate strategies that will help them overcome difficulties in

understanding the academic texts they encounter across the curriculum.

3. Utilize other ways to build the students reading comprehension skills. One of these is

through the use of effective and research-based strategies in teaching reading, teaching

vocabulary explicitly, checking comprehension frequently, and teaching of scientific

concepts and inquiry skills.

4. Further studies should be conducted that will consider other factors that may contribute to

reading comprehension, such as language-learning strategies, interests, upbringing, etc.

Moreover, the researchers would like to recommend to her researchers to look upon other
language macro skills, e.g. listening, speaking and writing developing the holistic

language skills of the students.

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