Pre-Service Teachers’ EFL Reading Motivation and Its Connection to Teaching Practice in Chile

This exploratory, qualitative study examines the English as a foreign language (EFL) reading motivations and experiences of EFL reading engagement of 20 pre-service teachers (PSTs) enrolled in an EFL teaching education program in Chile. Its overall purpose is to examine whether their self-reported motivations for reading in EFL and reading engagement are linked to, or reflected in, their teaching practice in relation to literacy development, promoting reading motivation and habits in English. Data were gathered through seven focus groups and analyzed through thematic and discourse analyses. Their motivations for reading include improving language skills, accessing and learning information, relaxing, and keeping a private space. Their reading engagement is enhanced by socioemotional factors, reading environment, text style, and differences in construal between their first (L1) and second language (L2). Although participants show a stronger affective tie with English reading than in their L1, their reading engagement does not reflect a connection to their roles of promoting literacy, love for reading, and intercultural awareness. This study underscores the importance of bridging EFL PSTs’ reading motivation in English and personal reading habits with their teaching practices in the Chilean context, as this powerfully influences EFL learners’ positive attitudes and motivation to read in English.