In spite of the growing emphasis on reading in schools, teachers continue to grapple with the challenge of helping students overcome their reading difficulties. The growing racial and ethnic diversity in the student composition, along with the differences in their individual learning styles, further magnify the problem for teachers (Cole, 2002). However, the act of reading is more than just a cognitive process of decoding the words and interpreting the meanings. As Garrett (2002) pointed out in his article, affective factors also play a significant role in influencing the students' willingness to learn how to read. Thus, the literature that is reviewed in this paper will be focused on how teachers can motivate students, regardless of their racial and ethnic backgrounds, to read.
In recent years, Garrett (2002) stated that educators and researchers have begun to recognize that both cognitive and affective factors affect the reading attitudes of students and concomitantly their reading performance. Maudeville (1994) highlighted the fact that the cognitive and affective functions are interwoven together in the act of reading. Thus, motivation is an important factor that should be considered by educators when they are confronted with the challenge of teaching students how to read. According to Guthrie, Van Meter et al. (1996), students who are motivated to read tend to adopt positive attitudes towards reading.
Based on this argument, Tesser, Felson and Suls (2000) proposed that educators should be concerned with the cultivation of the self-concept of the students. Essentially, the development of their self-esteem, values and personal interests will be helpful in improving the students' attitudes towards reading.
In their work, Alexander and Filler (1976) identified several personal characteristics and environmental factors, which influence students' perceptions of reading: "achievement, parents and the home environ...