Reading Attitude

Reading attitude is a complex theoretical construct. It is defined in various ways, for example, "a system of feelings related to reading which causes the learner to approach or avoid a reading situation" or "a state of mind, accompanied by feelings and emotions, that make reading more or less probable".

According to an extensive and in-depth review of literature by Reeves, there is considerable agreement among contemporary researchers that reading attitude is defined by three components: cognitive (personal, evaluative beliefs), affective (feelings and emotions), and conative (action readiness and behavioral intentions). This tri-component view is most explicitly stated by Mathewson, and these components can also be identified in other major models dealing with reading attitude, such as those of McKenna and Ruddell and Unrau. Attempts to understand students' reactions to reading by using this tri-component model have now been reported.

The present study focuses on two of the three components of reading attitude: cognitive and affective. The reason for not including the conative component is due to the difficulty of operationalising it in the context in which the study was conducted, where, even if L2 (English) books and texts have become widely available, their availability cannot compete with L1 (Japanese) books and texts. The conative component pertains to actions and behaviors which may promote or hinder reading. For example, "going to a library frequently", which is one of the possible statements representing the conative component, would represent the L1 conative component, but it would not represent the L2 component, because not all libraries have English books, or even if some do, the collection is likely to be relatively small.

As mentioned above, the present study intends to investigate both L1 and L2 reading attitudes, and for this purpose, it attempts to construct an instrument that measures both L1 and L2 reading attitudes in a similar manner. Due to this constraint, the study focuses on cognitive and affective components, two of the components that are regarded as constituting reading attitude.