English language proficiency of students in relation to reading comprehension

This research sought to assess students’ proficiency in the English language and examine how it correlates with their ability to comprehend written texts. To assess the English language proficiency of 86 junior Liberal Arts students, the study utilized a researcher-developed survey questionnaire comprising ten items for each of the four core skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The questionnaire’s validity was affirmed with a mean score of 4.27. Additionally, a reliability test using Cronbach's Alpha yielded a high-reliability index of 0.94, ensuring the consistency of the measurements. The second part of the questionnaire, adapted from Vibal (2017), assessed students' reading comprehension levels with 25 items. The mean was used to measure these levels, while the relationship between the two variables was analyzed using the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient. The study revealed that junior Liberal Arts students exhibited high levels of English language proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, with means of 3.70, 3.72, 3.72, and 3.61, respectively, and an overall mean of 3.69. However, their reading comprehension level was moderate, with a mean of 13.91, suggesting a disparity between their proficiency and comprehension skills. The analysis revealed a significant correlation between students' English language proficiency and their reading comprehension levels. This suggests that enhancing English language proficiency could improve reading comprehension skills, underlining the importance of integrated language learning approaches and targeted interventions to address areas of weakness.