Students’ Reading Motivation in Relation to Their Reading Comprehension Skills

Students’ motivation to read texts can become a factor that improves their comprehension skills. This study examines students' reading motivation in relation to their reading comprehension skills. The descriptive-correlational research design was employed in this study. It was conducted in one of the institutions in Misamis Occidental offering Junior High School. The respondents are the 129 Grade 9 & 10 Junior High School students who were chosen through simple random sampling. The researcher-made Reading Motivation Questionnaire and Reading Comprehension test were used to gather the data. Mean, Standard Deviation, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient were the statistical tools used in the study. Results revealed that the student's motivation level in terms of personal desires was very high. They were also highly motivated in terms of personal preference, getting a reward, and avoiding punishment. On the other hand, the students' reading comprehension was very satisfactory in terms of literal and application levels and satisfactory in inferential and critical levels. The level of motivation in terms of personal desires was highly correlated with students' reading comprehension skills in terms of critical level. Moreover, personal desires and avoiding punishment significantly correlated with the inferential reading comprehension level. Hence, students' motivation level can directly influence their comprehension skills development.