This study is an attempt to assess the influence of a number ofrnvariables on the English language proficiency of first year studentsrnat Addis Ababa University . The selected variables were thernexposure to the English language formally or informally , the readingrnresources , the reading background , and the quality of instruction.rnTo achi eve this goal, a questionnaire entirely devoted to thernstudents ' senior high school English background was distributed torn140 Freshmen , out of which 106 were taken as full participants in thernstudy .rnThe subjects were given two language t ests :rn(i) The ~Ii chigan Test of English Language Proficiency (offered byrnthe English Language Institute of the University of Michigan), andrn(ii) The Addis Ababa University Freshman English lOl-A Course Test.rnThe students' responses t o the questionnaire were tallied, codedrnand computed to see the correlation between the responses to the selectedrnvariabl es, and the subjects' performance in both t ests.rnOn the average , the group with the highest positive responsesrnto the selected variables was found to be the "A" students in the J: ests .rnThose who had the l east positive r esponses were the "F" students.rnThe differences among the "All , Hn" I and "e" , and nDUstudentsrnwere also significant: the study r evealed that as the amount of positivernresponses to the selected variables increased. performance alsornincreased . The reverse was also true.rnThe multiple regression analyses showed a positive correlationrnbetween the selected variables , and the tests' results. Moreover , thernvariation in the students' performance in the tests was accounted forrnby the coefficient of determination.rnOn the basis of these findings. recommendations are made to providernthe senior high school students with what they lack . Thesernrecommendations are worth considering if Freshmen are to do b e tterrnat university level.