An examination of self-efficacy in English, learning-studying approaches and reading comprehension achievement in English

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship of preparatory school students' English self-efficacy beliefs and approaches to learning and studying with their reading comprehension achievement in English at tertiary level. To this end, this quantitative study employed the corrrelational survey method among descriptive research methods. The study sample consisted of 483 elementary level students attending the English Preparoratory class at Ege University School of Foreign Languages during the 2015-2016 academic year. The participants were selected using cluster sampling method. Students' self-efficacy beliefs were determined using the "English Self-efficacy Scale" developed by Hancı Yanar and Bümen (2012) and their approaches to learning and studying were examined with the "Approaches to Learning and Studying Inventory (ALSI- short version)" which was designed by Hounsell, Enwistle, Anderson et al. (2002) and adapted into Turkish by Yaka and Öğretmen (2011). English reading comprehension achievement was tested through the reading comprehension test developed by the researcher. The multiple linear regression analysis results of the study indicate that students' reading, writing and speaking self-efficacy perceptions in English and deep and strategic approaches to learning predict their reading comprehension achievement in English significantly. It was also found that the strongest predictor among these is the reading self-efficacy while listening self-efficacy and a surface approach to learning are not statistically significant predictors of reading comprehension achievement in English.