DILAFRUZ SARIMSAKOVA (NAMANGAN STATE UNIVERSITY)

HOME ASSIGNED READING? HOW TO MOTIVATE STUDENTS TO READ MORE? : ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC/SPECIFIC PURPOSES

Undeniably, home assigned reading is an integral part of students’ academic learning as it provides great insights on topics or provides additional ideas for completing written assignments. However, teacher-educators express frustration when students do not read the assigned texts, novels, etc. According to Starcher and Proffitt (2011), students do not complete required readings due to reasons such as struggling with comprehension, lack of motivation, misperception on the importance of reading materials, and challenges in finding time to read. Hoeft (2012) characterises five reasons based on students’ survey results “schedules didn’t allow for reading, social life that comes before reading, dislike of reading of any kinds of materials, lack of interest in topic, and laziness. This exploratory action research attempts to address this issue often met at pre-service English teacher education programs by exploring the reasons why students show less interest in reading. This study shows the effective interventions of how to improve students' reading habits and interest in home reading assignments. Some of the interventions in this study were to apply rhetorical reading strategies to develop students’ academic reading habits and practices and restructure class time to focus time on assigned readings. Attendees to the presentation will have a clear perception of how to create appropriate learning conditions that can actually foster and reward the behaviour that we seek from students and give them a sense of ownership of the reading process so that students can be motivated to prepare the readings we assign them.

Dr.Dilafruz Sarimsakova, PhD, Associate Professor at Namangan State University in Uzbekistan. Her interests include student centred teaching methodologies, language assessment, and classroom research.