<![CDATA[Affective factors influence how learners cope with reading in a foreign language, yet the link between self-esteem and reading outcomes is still reported inconsistently. This study examined whether self-esteem is related to reading achievement among eleventh-grade students at MAN 3 Agam, West Sumatra, Indonesia, and identified the direction and strength of the relationship. A quantitative correlational design was applied to all 55 students of two classes (XI F3 and XI F4), who were selected through total sampling. Self-esteem was measured with a 28-item, four-point Likert questionnaire built on Plummer’s seven foundations of healthy self-esteem (Aiken’s V = 0.93; Cronbach’s alpha = .943), while reading achievement was taken from daily reading test scores recorded by the English teacher. Because both variables departed from normal distribution, Spearman’s rank correlation was used. The analysis produced ρ = .301 (p = .026, N = 55), showing a positive, statistically significant, but low association: students with higher self-esteem tended to obtain higher reading scores, although self-esteem alone accounts for only a small share of the variation. The results imply that English teachers should nurture learners’ confidence while continuing systematic reading instruction, and that future studies should add predictors such as motivation, vocabulary, and reading anxiety.]]>
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