ABSTRACT
Reading processes vary in complexity from the simplest decoding of one-syllable words to a reader's own interpretations of discourse. Reading is affectively loaded with feelings of wonder, surprise, admiration, or dismay. Far too many students have suffered the difficulties of initial reading without the magic that efficient reading releases. When the relationship of pleasurable experience and motivation to read are clear, the cognitive progression from decoding to enjoying literature will seem less formidable to teachers and pupils alike. Learning changes the individual as a person and thus changes his or her perception of the world. At the same time, the change in the person makes further learning of the same kind more likely. The basis for motivation to read or to avoid reading is found in the pleasure or punishment loadings of the reading situation. Human beings are born with a biological necessity to make sense out of the cognitive messages they receive from the environment.
