Validating Locus of Control Questionnaire and Examining its Relation to General English (GE) Achievement

Locus of control is said to affect learner's academic achievement. This effect has scarcely been examined within general English context. This study is concerned with examining the differences in General English (GE) course achievement among university students of humanities, sciences, and engineering. It also explores the effect of locus of control (LOC) in GE course achievement among these three groups of university students. The results of the study indicate that: 1. There is a significantly positive relationship between the university student's LOC and their GE achievement course, 2. There are significant differences in GE course achievement among the three groups of students, and 3. There are significant differences in LOC among the three groups of university students. The results of the participant's interviews were also in agreement with those of the questionnaires. The findings of this study postulate that encouraging students to seek ways to improve their self-efficacy can be really helpful for them to achieve higher scores in GE course.