This experimental study investigated pre-intermediate level Turkish EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners‟ attitudes towards reading in English, the effect of their attitudes towards unknown words in reading texts on their attitudes towards reading in English in general and the effect of explicit strategy instruction in contextual inferencing strategies on pre-intermediate level EFL students‟ attitudes towards reading in English. The study was carried out at Zonguldak Karaelmas University Foreign Languages Compulsory Preparatory School, with the participation of 82 pre-intermediate level EFL learners and two instructors. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews in two phases: pre- and posttreatment. An “Attitudes towards Reading in English” questionnaire was used to find out the students‟ pre-training attitudes towards reading. Data from the prequestionnaire and pre-interviews provided information about the effect of the students‟ attitudes towards unknown words in reading texts on their attitudes to reading in English. After a three-week explicit strategy training period and a twoweek interval, the students were given the same questionnaire and interviews were held. The analyses of the pre-training data revealed that the students‟ attitudes towards reading in English were neutral, and their negative attitudes towards unknown words in reading texts had a negative impact on their attitudes towards reading in English. The comparison of the pre- and post-treatment data indicated that explicit instruction in contextual inferencing strategies had a positive effect on the low attitude students‟ attitudes towards reading.