Measurement invariance of the English reading motivational structure of bilingual and multilingual university students

Helta Anggia; Andrea Magyar; Anita Habók

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22884

Measurement invariance of the English reading motivational structure of bilingual and multilingual university students

Heliyon. 2023 Nov 29;9(12):e22884. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22884. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Authors

Helta Anggia¹, Andrea Magyar², Anita Habók³

Affiliations

¹ Doctoral School of Education, University of Szeged, Hungary.
² Center for Research on Learning and Instruction, MTA-SZTE Digital Learning Technologies Research Group, University of Szeged, Hungary.
³ Institute of Education, University of Szeged, MTA-SZTE Digital Learning Technologies Research Group, Hungary.

Abstract

Self-related beliefs can influence language learning motivation. In turn, reading motivation can facilitate self-related beliefs in influencing English reading comprehension (ERC). Additionally, past language learning experience affects future language learning. Thus, this study examined the motivational structure in English reading of 1170 first-year students of 13 universities from nine Indonesian provinces (M_age = 19.3, SD = 0.85). Data were collected at one measurement point using the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire to measure reading self-efficacy, extrinsic motivation, and intrinsic motivation (IM); a four-item self-concept questionnaire; the English Reading Behavior Questionnaire, and an ERC. The study developed and evaluated two hypothesized models on the moderating role of past second language (L2) learning experience. The results of structural equation modeling corroborated the moderating influence of being bilingual and multilingual learners on the motivational variables, although not each of the expected paths fit the model. Among the variables, intrinsic motivation exerted the highest effect on the ERC of Indonesian university students. A difference analysis using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) on the motivational variables between the two groups demonstrated that multilingual groups outperformed the bilingual group in nearly all motivational variables. The results implied that categorizing students according to their previous learning experience with a foreign language can help teachers to prioritize their teaching to improve the reading comprehension achievement of students.

Keywords: Bilingual; English reading behavior; English reading comprehension; Multilingual; Reading motivation; Self-related beliefs.