Influence of the teacher's interpretative reading on the reading motivation of 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade elementary school students

The interpretation of a literary text is a key method in teaching literature. It is comprised of multiple phases, one of which is the teacher’s interpretative reading aloud in class. This is a complex speech act, during which the teacher’s own interpretation of the text encourages the students to interpret and communicate with the text themselves. In this case, the teacher takes on the role of a reading model, motivating the students to read literature. This can only be achieved by the teacher’s high-quality speaking skill, which cannot be a result of improvisation but rather of a meticulous, knowledge-based pre-class preparation. Thus, it is of crucial importance that the teachers acquire sufficient knowledge and receive enough training on how to deliver a high-quality interpretative reading in class. The theoretical part of this master’s thesis defines the act of reading, reading motivation, modern class planning, the interpretation of a literary text, and interpretative reading. The empirical part explores what effects the teacher’s interpretative reading has on the students’ reading motivation. To measure this, online questionnaires were distributed to first, second and fifth-grade students and their teachers. The main focus was on the importance of interpretative reading in class as well as its frequency and quality. The study was quantitative. The sample used was non-probable and purposive. It included 113 students and 118 teachers on the primary education level, namely grades 1, 3 and 5 of the Slovene education system, enrolled in class in the 2020/21 school year. The respondents study or work at various Slovene primary schools. The results show that teachers use interpretative reading as a means of motivating their students. However, they also exhibited a lack of knowledge on interpretative reading aloud in class and on how to prepare for it. The findings of this master’s thesis help raise awareness on the status of interpretative reading in class as a teaching method. They will thus aid teachers and other educational workers, as well as increase the frequency and the quality of interpretive reading in class and improve the students’ reading motivation