On the relationship between learner autonomy and reading comprehension

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between MA students’ autonomy and their reading comprehension ability. To this end, a 32-item questionnaire and a 20-item multiple-choice reading comprehension test were given to a sample of 68 participants. The collected data were analyzed using the Correlation procedure, one way ANOVA and Regression analysis. Results of the correlation procedure indicated that there was a positive relationship between learners’ autonomy and the reading comprehension ability but the one-way ANOVA showed that the differences among the scores of low, mid and high autonomy-level students on the reading comprehension test were not statistically significant. Regression analysis showed that, of the factors considered in the questionnaire, only the Nature of Language Learning was a reliable predictor of reading comprehension ability of the participants.