GENDER DIFFERENCES IN LEARNING LANGUAGES

Abstract

Gender differences between male and female language learners have recently attracted the attention of researchers, especially in terms of how these differences impact learning achievements. Hence, this study examines gender differences in language learning without representing a specific sample area or population. It investigates previous studies by extracting the theories applied, sampling methods, data collection methods, and data analysis tools. The findings revealed that most studies employed simple random sampling techniques, and quantitative data collection methods were vastly more common than qualitative methods. Questionnaires and interviews played an important role in data collection, while SPSS was the most used data analysis tool. The findings from previous studies hold divergent views; while some studies agreed that gender does not have a significant impact on learning languages, other studies hold different views and reported that motivation, self-efficacy, cognitive load, and learning styles, among others, could be gender differences between males and females with respect to learning languages. These findings will be beneficial to language teachers and instructors regarding possible techniques to employ to enhance comprehensive and effective learning among both males and females.

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