Gender and good language learners Alex Malfitano

Why Gender? Contributes to factors influencing language and learning Literary practices, tests, self-esteem, styles and strategies all shown to be gendered Teachers all carry socialized views of gender that impact teaching and judgements Influences how we help parents cope and support children

Biological Gender Females possess more nerve cells in left half of the brain (language center) Females have richer connections between both sides of the brain Females use more of their brain when listening and speaking Female language centers mature earlier than male

Social Constructs of Gender Culturally and environmentally formed roles Parents talk more often and with more complexity to baby girls Parents encourage more and longer responses from daughters Qualities women and men should possess in society and classroom influenced by culture Learning styles in tune with socialized learning style

Giving Women the Upper Hand Encourage conversational partners Remember more details Higher consciousness regarding politeness Value social connection and communicative competence More likely to form groups and connections Interactive learning, authentic language use, communicating meaning Socialized to believe language use will benefit personal and professional life

Academic Culture Separate study cultures Female: study-oriented, group focused, emotional support, internal motivation… flexible learning strategies, communicative strategies Male: independent, career-oriented, next-test focus… memorization, repetition, translation Female teachers catering to female students

Implications for Teaching Sensitivity to learning preferences/cultures Males need: Kinetic, hands-on experiences Clear and goal-oriented assignments Consistent reminders of advantages for language study Encouragement and fostered study groups Students need: Goals and activities to discover and enhance language learning strategies best for them

Important to Note Much of this data is self-reported and filtered through gendered sense of self-perception Gendered data exists, but does not have great magnitude in variation Variation may be attributed to personality types before gender Role of gender in language still not well understood Both females and males can be good language learners

Questions and Discussion References: Nyikos, M. (2008). Gender in good language learners. In C. Griffiths (Ed.), Lessons from Good Language Learners (pp.73-82). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press