Learners’ attitudes towards learning have been found to influence second language (L2) development. It has been suggested that affective factors such as first language (L1) reading attitude can be transferred to the L2 along with L1 skills. In English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts, research has shown that the role that reading attitude plays in reading comprehension is as important as the nature of the reading strategies used. Therefore, it becomes necessary to understand the relationship between L1 and L2 reading attitudes in EFL contexts and evaluate how demographic and cognitive variables can mediate that relationship. To this end, the present quantitative study sought to contribute to this area by investigating the relationship between L1 and L2 reading attitudes in 65 EFL elementary school learners and by assessing the impact of gender, age, and L2 proficiency on these attitudes. Main results revealed that age and L2 proficiency did not correlate with either L1 or L2 reading attitude components, L1 and L2 reading attitudes correlated weakly, and older female learners displayed stronger attitudes toward L1 reading recreational aspects. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of affective components in understanding L1 and L2 reading attitudes.
