THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION TO READ AND THEIR READING COMPREHENSION ACHIEVEMENT

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the relationship between students’ reading motivation and their reading comprehension achievement in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction. This quantitative study with a correlational design involved 80 students from Muhammadiyah 1 Kotabumi High School, selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a reading motivation questionnaire adapted from the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ) and a multiple-choice objective reading comprehension test. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics and the Pearson Product-Moment correlation test. The results of the descriptive analysis showed that the students’ average reading motivation fell into the moderate to high category (???????????????? = 74,8), while their reading comprehension achievement was in the adequate category (???????????????? = 71,50). The results of the hypothesis testing indicated a significant positive relationship with a strong correlation coefficient between the two variables (???? = 0,624; ???? = 0,000 < 0,05). The dimensional analysis revealed that extrinsic motivation plays a more dominant role in promoting literal comprehension, while intrinsic motivation plays a significant role in inferential and evaluative comprehension. From a pedagogical perspective, the results of this study imply the importance of the English teacher’s role in designing interactive reading materials to stimulate students’ intrinsic motivation in the classroom.