Lexical Ability and Reading Comprehension among Senior High School Students

Students may struggle to fully comprehend reading materials due to a lack of familiarity with essential vocabulary, leading to misinterpretation of certain contexts or ideas. This study aimed to examine the relationship between students’ lexical ability and reading comprehension among 300 senior high school students. Utilizing a descriptive-correlational research design and simple random sampling, the study sought to determine whether lexical ability significantly influences reading comprehension. Contrary to expectations, the results revealed no significant correlation (r = .087, p = .389) between lexical ability and reading comprehension, indicating that vocabulary size, depth, and semantic processing were not strong predictors of reading comprehension. These findings suggest that other factors, such as background knowledge, critical thinking skills, and text structure familiarity, may play a more significant role in reading comprehension among senior high school students. Given these results, future research should adopt a mixed-methods approach to explore cognitive, metacognitive, and contextual influences on reading comprehension. Additionally, experimental research is recommended to examine the effects of targeted interventions on vocabulary instruction and its direct impact on reading comprehension. Educators should implement context-based learning, collaborative reading programs, and explicit vocabulary instruction to enhance students’ comprehension skills. By integrating interactive and contextualized learning experiences, curriculum developers can support students in developing stronger literacy skills, ultimately improving their academic performance and communication abilities.