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Developmental Perspectives in Written Language and Literacy: In honor of Ludo Verhoeven
Edited by Eliane Segers and Paul van den Broek
[Not in series 206] 2017
► pp. 137–147

Motivation and engagement in language and literacy development

| | Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA

In this chapter, I argue that certain facts about early and later first language development, second language learning, and literacy development can only be understood if we acknowledge the role of motivation and engagement. Young children are naturally motivated to engage in the social interactions with adults that give them access to language, and develop language forms to satisfy their needs for attention and, ultimately information. Literacy development is much more likely to be successful among learners who have had positive affective experiences with books as young children, and among adolescents, access to engaging content and opportunities to debate and discuss are prime supports to ongoing literacy learning.

Keywords: motivation, engagement, language development, academic language, literacy development, second language learning
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Early and later language development
  • 3.Second language learning
  • 4.Early literacy development
  • 5.Later literacy development
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 21 December 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/z.206.09sno
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2024. A Person-Centered Approach to Understanding Adolescents’ Reading Motivation and Its Relation to Reading Outcomes. Reading Psychology 45:1 ► pp. 31 ff. DOI logo
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2020. A Meta-Analytic Review of the Relations Between Motivation and Reading Achievement for K–12 Students. Review of Educational Research 90:3 ► pp. 420 ff. DOI logo

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