The Effect of Syrian Secondary School Students' Reading Habits on Their Vocabulary Learning Motivations

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to reveal the effect of the reading habits of Syrian students studying at secondary schools on their vocabulary learning motivation. The mixed research model was used in the study. The universe of the study consists of Syrian secondary school students studying in Kilis. The sample consists of 164 Syrian secondary school students studying at Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Imam Hatip Secondary School. Research data were collected using the "Book Reading Habit Attitude Scale" and "Word Learning Motivation Scale." In addition, a semi-structured interview form was used to identify students' ways of learning vocabulary. In the analysis of quantitative data, SPSS was used and independent groups t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation analysis were used. Content analysis was used in the analysis of qualitative data. As a result, appeared that Syrian secondary school students had a moderate reading habit, gender did not have an effect on their attitudes towards reading habits and their motivation to learn vocabulary, but grade level was effective in both their attitudes towards book reading habits and their motivation to learn vocabulary. In addition, it was found that students mostly used audio-visual tools and reading materials while learning vocabulary.