TESOL Journal. 2019;e448. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/tesj | 1 of 14 https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.448 © 2019 TESOL International Association 1 | INTRODUCTION Speakers of other languages learning English are a widely heterogeneous group, with differing goals and purposes for learning English. Therefore, for effective instruction, it is important to understand both cognitive (such as particular language skills) as well as affective (such as motivation) charac- teristics of the learners. In this article we report a study that addresses both of these dimensions. We developed a survey to understand the motivational backgrounds of English learners that can be used by teachers to better understand their students. We discuss why this is important by showing how learners’ different motivational constructs are related to how deeply they read and comprehend a text. The ultimate goal of language teaching is to facilitate a deeper understanding of information, which goes beyond a literal understanding of the information, and to understand, analyze, and apply DOI: 10.1002/tesj.448 EMPIRICAL FEATURE ARTICLE Motivational factors underlying different levels of reading comprehension of English language learners Heng Xu 1 | Aydin Y. Durgunoğlu 2 1 Jinan University 2 University of Minnesota Duluth Funding information Guangdong Provincial Philosophy and Social Science 13th Five-Year Plan Disciplinary Co-construction Program, Grant/Award Number: GD16XWW26 Most research on the predictors of successful reading com- prehension in a second language (L2) has been focused on cognitive factors. Very few studies exist on how motiva- tional factors impact L2 reading comprehension. In this study, 179 Chinese college students read passages in English (their L2) and answered either literal, relatively superficial questions reflecting text-based comprehension (TBC) or deeper, inferential and critical questions reflecting higher order comprehension (HOC). The participants also com- pleted a survey on their reasons for studying English and perceptions of their abilities. Multiple regression analyses indicated that intrinsic motivation had more predictive power on HOC than TBC, whereas extrinsic motivation had more predictive power on TBC than HOC. The educational implications of these interrelationships between different components of motivation and L2 comprehension levels for English language learners are discussed.