The aim of the essay is to analyse and compare Swedish upper secondary students’ reading habits inside and outside of school, while also identifying the motivational factors that influence their interest in reading and English literature. To reach said aim, three specific research questions are formulated: (1) To what extent do upper secondary school students engage with English literature? (2) What is upper secondary students’ motivation to read English in school? (3) How can teachers increase upper secondary students’ motivation to read more English literature in school?

The study is conducted via a questionnaire administered to 139 first and second-year students from two Swedish upper secondary schools. The questionnaire is composed of 20 questions, five of which are open-ended and aimed at elucidating students’ reading habits, reading interests, and what factors motivate them to read. Additionally, two questions sought to gain insight into what the students believe could make reading more interesting in school. The results extracted from the questionnaire are analysed using the self-determination theory presented by Ryan and Deci (2000; 2006; 2020), alongside other relevant research.

The findings in this paper show that Swedish students are significantly more interested in reading English fiction outside of school and are dissatisfied with school reading. Reasons given behind their dissatisfied school literature reading experiences include a lack of autonomy and relatedness, citing choice to be an important motivational factor behind reading. The study concludes with recommendations for future research, emphasizing a focus on gender-based differences in student reading habits and the impact of social media on reading motivation.