Locus of Control and Receptive Skills in Second Language Acquisition

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between locus of control and achievement in second language learning, when using reading and listening as the measure of success of the learners. The study was conducted on a pilot group of 102 university students, enrolled in a master’s degree course at a university in Poland. The students were asked to complete the Drwal 29-question test of locus of control and a number of reading and listening tests to complete over an extended period of time in order to gain a reliable overview of their levels of achievement. The results, somewhat against the run of expectation, indicated that there was no apparent correlation – either positive or negative – between the orientation of locus of control of the participants and achievement. This goes against the conventional assumption that there should be some form of negative correlation, as previous research indicates that sucessful learners in an academic environment are more likely than not to have an inwardly orientated locus of control.