The relationship between grade 9 EFL students’ reading engagement and their reading achievement in EFL classrooms

Abstract

This study investigated the association between reading engagement and reading achievement of grade 9 EFL students of Debre Eba General Secondary school, North Shewa zone, Ethiopia. It also determined the predictive powers of reading engagement factors on reading achievement. The participants of the study were 120 grade 9 EFL students enrolled in 2021 academic year. While a correlational type of research design was employed, questionnaire and reading achievement test were used to collect data. Simple correlations, multiple regression and standardized regression coefficients were employed to perform data analyses. The findings of the study have revealed that there was a significant connection between each aspect of students' reading engagement and their reading achievement. Each of the three reading engagement aspects, namely, strategy, motivation and behavior had moderate, positive as well as significant correlations with reading achievement. The findings also indicated that the three aspects of reading engagement: reading strategy, reading motivation and reading behavior together were found to be statistically significant predictors of reading achievement. Among the three aspects, motivation and behavior were statistically significant predictors of reading achievement, while the influence of motivation is stronger. Thus, it can be concluded that students’ high reading engagement aspects are associated to their high reading achievement in reading classes. Hence, it is crucial to take in to account the reading engagement aspects: strategy, motivation and behavior in reading classes to enhance students’ reading achievement.