Investigating EFL Learners' Reading Self-Efficacy and Reading Strategy Use: A Correlational Study

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the level of Saudi EFL female senior high school students' reading self-efficacy beliefs and perceived use of reading strategies, and assess the correlational relationship between the two study variables. Using a quantitative research design, the study data were collected by administering two questionnaires: The Reader Self-Perception Scale (RSPS) questionnaire adapted from Henk and Melnick (1995), and the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) adapted from Li and Wang (2010). The two instruments were administered to 90 Saudi senior high school female students randomly selected from three different public schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis to determine the relationship between self-efficacy and EFL learners' perceived use of reading strategies. The study findings revealed that Saudi senior high school students achieved more than moderate levels than high levels of reading self-efficacy, and that metacognitive processes were the most frequently used strategies among cognitive and compensation strategies. In addition, a positive relationship between students' reading self-efficacy and perceived use of reading strategies was detected in the data analysis. Pedagogical implications of the study findings and its recommendations were presented and discussed.