Abstract

This study’s primary goals are to find out which reading strategies EFL students use most and least, as well as to investigate the relationship between reading comprehension performance and reading strategy use. A descriptive correlational approach was used in the study. The participants are about 267 grade 12 students from five different high schools in Addis Ababa in in 2016 E.C (2024 G.C) academic year. A five-point likert scale questionnaire that was modified from Oxford’s (1990), Strategy Inventory for Language Learners (SILL) was one of the tools used. The questionnaire data were analyzed using version 25 of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The most, moderate, and least used reading strategies among the students were ascertained by utilizing the mean reading strategy. Oxford’s learning strategy rating scale was used to identify the most, moderate, and least used reading strategies. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to ascertain the overall correlation between the students' performance in reading comprehension and their use of reading strategies. According to the study the majority of reading strategies were used at moderate to higher levels. The correlation is weakly negative (r = -0.113) between the students’ reading comprehension performance and their use of reading strategies. Finally, it is recommended that if students wish to improve their reading comprehension skills, they should employ reading strategies more frequently than employing them at a moderate level. Students should also receive training sessions and awareness of reading strategies.

Keywords: Comprehension, Correlation, Language learning strategies, Reading strategies