The contribution of reading emotions to reading comprehension: the mediating effect of reading engagement using a structural equation modeling approach

Given the fact that reading is considered as a crucial language skill through which the reader can interact with the author to obtain the required information for the higher communication and participation in the current literary society (Walker in Diagnostic teaching of reading: techniques for instruction and assessment, Merril, Columbus, 2000), the present study contributes to the important, yet, a small body of research on the impact of reading emotions and reading engagement on reading comprehension. In so doing, a sample of 220 Iranian English as a Foreign Language learners from different language institutes were requested to complete English Language Learners' Reading Emotions Scale, English Language Learner's Reading Engagement Inventory as well as taking three tests of reading comprehension. The findings disclosed the mediating role of reading engagement in the relation between reading emotions and reading comprehension. Moreover, the results revealed that reading emotions and reading engagement can significantly predict reading comprehension. In the end, to assist the policymakers and material developers in meeting the operational challenges of reforming the prevalent materials, the results and the implications of the study for research and educational practices are discussed.