Attitude Toward Reading: L1 or L2 or Both

• Main Authors: Hadi Akbari, Behzad Ghonsooly, Mohammad Ghazanfari, Hesamodin Shahriari
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2017-07-01
• Series: SAGE Open
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244017717303

L2 reading attitude has been the subject of more recent studies in English as a Foreign Language (EFL), and many have attempted to define this construct and find its correlates such as gender and L1 and L2 proficiency level. This study builds on the previous studies and aims at highlighting the connection between L2 and L1 reading attitudes and the degree L2 reading attitude contributes to L2 reading achievement in Iranian EFL context. Participants of the study included 230 male and female Iranian language learners roughly at intermediate level of English reading proficiency. L2 and L1 reading attitudes were measured using reading attitude questionnaires, and data were analyzed by employing descriptive statistics, correlation coefficient, and regression analysis. Results showed that L1 and L2 reading attitudes were highly correlated ( r = .71); L1 reading attitude significantly explained 51% of the variance in L2 reading attitude, but between the L1 and L2 reading attitudes, only L2 reading attitude made unique significant contribution to L2 reading achievement. Findings suggest the importance of developing positive attitude among L2 learners generally and L2 readers particularly.