Abstract
This study examined literacy motivation among middle-school students in English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) classes by using a 20-question survey and semi-structured interview. The survey results identified similarities among students of different genders, but differences between the beginning ESOL group and the more advanced groups, with the beginning group exhibiting higher motivation in the subsection of “valuing” of reading. Multiple linear regression with gender, ESOL group, and self-concept as reader predicted value of reading, with ESOL group having the highest prediction power. The eight students interviewed generally reported a strong interest in reading and writing, particularly outside of school, and a wide array of literacy activities within the family in which the students were both learners and teachers.