Motivation and discourse in a literate environment: A case study of a Young Adult library.

摘要

This case study of the Young Adult section of a public library employed the Self-Determination Theory and discourse analysis to determine the elements of the social context that contribute to adolescents' motivation to read and write, and how the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are met as expressed through three adolescents' literate identities. The two key elements for motivation were found---access to preferred genre and social interaction--while the adolescents demonstrated different needs satisfaction independently and in relationship to the Young Adult section and school contexts. Adolescents' use of online text was dominated by three types of text---social networking, gaming, and other sites. Teens were found to use the text in their live discourse in five ways: reference, authority, experience, expression, and instrument. This discourse at the computers built friendships and explored sexual identities. The author questions whether incorporation of out-of-school literacies is possible on a broad scale if they are to maintain their attached discourses and meet the teens' expectations to be prepared for the workplace.