The Correlation between EFL University Students Critical Thinking and Reading Comprehension

Abstract

         Reading is useful for language acquisition. It provides that students have to comprehend what they read.Comprehending a reading text involves constructing and extracting meaning. Thus reading comprehension (henceforth, RC) depends on several cognitive processes.          Critical thinking (henceforth, CT) is a higher order thinking skill which includes a purposeful, self-regulatory judgment which ends in interpretation, analysis and evaluation. Critical thinking may help university students to improve their RC. The present study aims at finding: The average level of the students' CT. The average level of the students' achievement in RC. Whether there is any significant difference between the students’ achievement at the recognition level and that at the production level of RC. The possible correlation between students’ level of CT, on one hand and their achievement in RC, on the other hand. In order to achieve the aims of this study, the following questions are raised: Is the average level of the EFL students within the theoretical mean scores of CT? Is the average level of the EFL students’ achievement is within the theoretical mean scores of achievement, in RC? Is there any significant difference between students’ achievement at the recognition and production levels of RC? 4.Is there any significant correlation between students ‘level at CT and their level of achievement in RC ?          A sample of a hundred EFL second year students has been selected from the College of Education for Humanities, University of Tikrit and involved in the current study .  The involved sample represents 42.19%  of its original population .The study is conducted during the first semester of the academic year 2022-2023. The data gathered by using  a questionnaire and a diagnostic test to assess students‘ CT and RC .          Results of the study indicate that the EFL second year university students ’ average level in  each of CT and RC is above the theoretical level of CT and  RC.Results also show that there is a positive correlation between the students’ level of CT and their achievement in RC .