Learners' Self-efficacy in Reading and its relation to Foreign Language Reading Anxiety and Reading Achievement*

It is well documented that language learning success or failure is influenced by the affective side of the learner. Self-efficacy and anxiety are among the affective factors influencing language learning. This study first explores the relationship between EFL learners' self-efficacy in reading comprehension and their reading anxiety. Secondly, it explores the relationship between EFL learners' self-efficacy and their reading achievement. It also investigates whether high self-efficacious EFL learners experience higher anxiety than low self-efficacious EFL learners and whether high self-efficacious EFL learners perform better in reading or not. 150 sophomores majoring in English literature at three universities participated in the present study. Two instruments were used in this study: a) an author-designed scale on EFL learners' self-efficacy in reading comprehension, b) the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) developed by Saito et al.,. The Pearson formula and an independent T-Test were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that there was a significant negative correlation between the participants' reading self- efficacy and their reading anxiety. The results also showed that high self-efficacious participants achieved higher scores in reading comprehension course than low self-efficacious participants. The findings of the study draw the attention of EFL teachers to encourage their learners seek ways to reduce their anxiety in reading L2 texts by improving their self-efficacy