Behzad Ghonsooly - Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad
Majid Elahi - Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad

Locus of control is said to affect learners' 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: ۱. There is a significantly positive relationship between the university students' LOC and their GE achievement course, ۲. There are significant differences in GE course achievement among the three groups of students, and ۳. There are significant differences in LOC among the three groups of university students. The results of the participants' 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.

۱. Locus of Control ۲. Internal ۳. External ۴. General English ۵. Validity