Situational interest during individual reading and peer reading activities using PALS: its relationship to students’ reading skills and reading motivations

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines how students’ situational interest changes across different segments of peer reading activities and identifies the relationship with personal traits like the students reading skills and motivation. The authors measured their levels of situational interest, reading skills, and reading motivation, based on their participation in individual and peer reading using PALS. The result revealed that situational interest was rather stable across different segments during peer reading activities. However, the change in situational interest differed between less competent readers and more competent readers across different reading tasks. The less proficient readers showed a significant increase in situational interest before and after peer reading. Furthermore, situational interest during peer reading activities did not correlate with reading motivations, contrary to the result of the individual reading task. The findings suggest that peer reading may be more beneficial than individual reading when teaching learners with low reading skills or motivation.