Development and validation of the English as a foreign language reading engagement questionnaire

While the multidimensional nature of reading engagement has been widely acknowledged in the English as a first language context, the constructs of reading engagement have remained inadequately investigated empirically in the English as a foreign language context, and research on the predictive effects of these constructs on learning achievement is limited in the area of learning English as a foreign language. The first purpose of this study was therefore to develop the English as a Foreign Language Reading Engagement Questionnaire (EFL-REQ) and validate its psychometric properties among college EFL learners. The second purpose was to assess the predictive effects of the EFL-REQ dimensions on English learning achievement. A series of psychometric tests was conducted with a large sample of college EFL learners in China (n = 1, 341) who completed a survey questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis results provided support for the hypothesized four-factor structure of the EFL-REQ (i.e. behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and social reading engagement). Findings of confirmatory factor analyses and model comparisons revealed acceptable model fit (e.g. CFI = .952, TLI = .943, GFI = .904, NFI = .941, IFI = .953, RMSEA = .075), reliability, construct validity, and measurement invariance of the first-order four-factor EFL-REQ. Hierarchical regression analysis results also provided evidence that the EFL-REQ dimensions positively predict students’ English learning achievement, but with only a relatively weak effect size ( R 2 = .012-.034). Across the individual EFL-REQ dimensions, emotional reading engagement significantly and positively predicted learning achievement, while social reading engagement showed a significant negative predictive effect, and cognitive reading engagement did not significantly predict English learning performance. These results contribute to a nuanced understanding of the differential role of the EFL-REQ dimensions in English learning achievement in the Chinese EFL context. Implications of these results were discussed.