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

Bibliographic Data

ID22422352
AuthorsJiarui Li (0000-0003-3765-7172, Faculty of Education, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao, China), Wenhua Ma (Faculty of Education, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao, China), Zhenkun Gan (0000-0003-0600-745X, Faculty of Education, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao, China, corresponding author)
Year2026
Publication date2026-05-14
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLanguage Teaching Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1362-1688 • E-ISSN: 1477-0954
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/13621688261443730
OpenAlexW7161111107
LanguageEN
References cited110

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.

Confirmatory factor analysis · Construct validity · English as a foreign language · Exploratory factor analysis · Foreign language · Language acquisition · Multilevel model · Structural equation modeling · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Reading and Literacy Development · Second Language Acquisition and Learning

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