Learners’ Factors in L2 Reading Comprehension

Abstract

Due to the existence of contrastive psychological and biological factors, learning processes vary from person to person. The awareness of the fact that dissimilarity exists among learners’ preferences in learning, determines teachers to accommodate learners needs accordingly. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between learning styles and reading performance of candidates who attended Teacher Recruitment Test in Iran Language Institute. Participants of the study were classified into either failed-group or succeeded-group. To achieve the objective of the study, Ehrman and Leaver’s Questionnaire (2003) was administered to the candidates. Then each participant was included in one of the two groups of ectenic or synoptic learners. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was calculated to find any significant correlation between participants’ scores in the reading tasks and their scores as an ectenic L2 learner or a synoptic L2 learner. The obtained value of R was 0.77, which is statistically significant and indicates that synoptic candidates were notably more successful than ectenic candidates in the reading tasks. While synoptic scores were positively correlated with participants’ scores in reading tasks, ectenic scores were negatively correlated with participants’ scores in the test. It was concluded that there is a significant correlation between learning styles and degree of success in reading tasks. A classification of successful learners at reading tests was consequently provided.