论文总字数：33388字

摘 要

本研究旨在探讨男女学生在二语习得方面的差异。影响二语习得的因素有很多, 例如学习动机、学习策略和自我效能感。这些影响因素存在性别差异。通过一系列相关分析, 找出男女学生在二语习得方面是否存在差异。结果表明, 在二语习得方面, 男性和女性存在显著差异。所以，他们的二语习得成就与学习动机、学习策略和学习者的自我效能有显著的关系。本文将更深一步探索学生二语习得与学习英语的动机、学习策略以及自我效能感之间的关系, 重点考察性别差异对二语习得的影响，并提出一些缩小男女性别差异在二语习得方面的具体方法。

关键词：性别差异；二语习得；学习动机；学习策略；自我效能感.

contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 2

2.1 The definition of second language acquisition 2

2.2 Previous researches on variables of second language acquisition 2

2.3 Previous researches on gender differences of these variables 3

3. Variables of Second Language Acquisition 4

3.1 Motivation of learning 4

3.2 Learning strategy of second language acquisition 5

3.3 Self-efficacy of learners 5

4. Gender Differences of Variables in Second Language Acquisition 6

4.1 Motivation differences between males and females 6

4.2 Learning strategy differences between males and females 7

4.3 Self-efficacy differences between males and females 8

5.Approaches to Narrowing Down Gender Differences in L2Acquisition 8

5.1 Approaches to narrowing down gender differences in motivation 8

5.2 Approaches to narrowing down gender differences in learning strategy 9

5.3 Approaches to narrowing down gender differences in self-efficacy 11

6. Conclusion 11

Works Cited 13

1. Introduction

Language is the way people employed to express their thoughts and emotions in the form of signs, which are used to convey the information. There are many languages spoken around the world. When a person is born, he will learn a language in the given environment, which is his first language, and any other language acquired later is his second language. There are many advantages of learning a second language. To begin with, learning a second language can help a person to understand and exchange ideas with other individuals who come from foreign countries. Second, compared with monolingual children, learning a second language can help learners achieve a greater level of divergent thinking, creativity, and cognitive development. A great number of studies have also shown that when it comes to the tests of nonverbal and verbal intelligence, students who learn a second language tend to outscore those who are proficient in only a single language. Last but not least, learning a second language also enables a person to adapt to various cultural backgrounds, enabling them to understand and absorb diverse cultures. Also, the ability of communicating in another language can contribute to the overall achievement of professional and personal career goals. The world is becoming smaller and smaller, by learning a second language, we can have a better understanding of each other and communicate with each other with more empathy and consideration. There are many factors accounting for the second language acquisition, such as motivation, learning strategy, and self-efficacy, and there exists gender differences in these variables. This paper will investigate more about second language acquisition and its variables and gender differences in these variables.

2. Literature Review

2.1 The definition of second language acquisition

In this fast-changing world, language plays an increasingly important role in this global context, which makes it necessary to acquire a second language. A person’s second language, or L2, is a language that is not the native language (first language or L1) of the speaker, but is learned later (usually as a foreign language）. Second-language acquisition assumes knowledge in a first language and encompasses the process an individual goes through as he or she learns the elements of a new language, such as vocabulary, phonological components, grammatical structures, and writing systems. In short, second language acquisition refers to the systematic study of how one person acquires a second language subsequent to his or her native language.

2.2 Previous researches on variables of second language acquisition

In the learning process, learners play an increasingly important role. Therefore, it is meaningful to explore the impact learner variables have in second language acquisition.

A number of studies have demonstrated motivation to be one of the main determinants of second language learning achievement (Gardner and Smythe, 1975; Oxford and Shearin, 1994). Motivation has been reported to influence the use of language learning strategies, frequency of interaction with speakers of the target language and general language proficiency (Oxford and Shearin, 1994).

Another variable which has an important role in learning a foreign language is language learning strategies. O’Malley, Chamot, Stewner-Manzanares, Russo amp; Kupper (1985) indicated that learning strategies of proficient language learners applied to less proficient learners could have a practical influence on facilitating the development of skills in learning a foreign language.

According to Bandura (1997), self-efficacy is a more consistent predictor of behavior and achievement than any other related variables. He noticed that self-efficacy is the most influential factor in human agency and has a powerful role in making decisions. Also, he claimed that learning new skills and performing them in authentic situations are much more related to self-efficacy beliefs than the other self-constructs, it is self-efficacy that helps us to explain the reason of why people’s behaviors are different when they have similar knowledge.

In recent years, Gardner regards motivation as a primary variable which plays an important role in the learner’s achievement in second language acquisition. According to Sciences amp; Wealth (2017), learning strategies have an impact on the learners" language acquisition. And Bian (2004) stressed that self-efficacy has an impact on learning. As a kind of subjective feeling and judgment, self-efficacy has a great influence on controlling students behaviors and attainments.

2.3 Previous researches on gender differences of these variables

There is a growing concern among L2 educators in Canada that male students lack the motivation to learn second language. In fact, several Canadian studies have provided evidence to suggest that males are less motivated to learn second language than females (Massey, 1994;Netten, Riggs and Hewlett, 1999; Pagliaroli, 1999). Although the above-mentioned studies are all of Canadian origin, male disinterest in learning second language does not appear to be a phenomenon that is unique to this country. A British study conducted by Williams, Burden and Lanvers (2002) further supports the idea that males are less motivated to learn second language than their female counterparts. A study by Csizér and Dörnyei (2005) involving over 8000 13- and 14-year old Hungarian students provided more recent evidence that male students are less motivated than females in second language learning.

Gender is a factor of learning strategy. Gu (2002) claims that female learners generally make better use of most of the learner strategies, particularly those helping enlarging vocabulary size, and present higher overall EFL proficiency than the male learners. On the gender issue in language learning, I agree with Gu to some extent. Recalling my learning experience, I noticed that girls in general had a better performance than boys in such strategies as note-taking and advance preparation. However, there are some boys who do show distinguished language ability, moreover, boys as a whole sometimes show more flexibility and creativity in language learning. Apparently, it is fair to say that more studies need to be done to look into the connection between specific learning strategy and gender.

Gender has also been a focus of self-efficacy research in academic fields. Researchers in the academic areas have reported gender differences in self-efficacy, the results showed that male students tend to be more confident in their math and science abilities than the female students (Britner amp; Pajares, 2001;Pajares amp; Miller, 1994; Simpson amp; Oliver, 1990). While in the area of foreign languages, female learners tend to have a higher self-efficacy. Some SLA researches have indicated that gender is a factor affecting foreign language performance.

The above-mentioned researches can help us have a better understanding of the variables of second language learning and acquisition and gender differences of these variables. Based on these researches , this study tends to explore more in this field.

3. Variables of Second Language Acquisition

3.1 Motivation of learning

Motivation is defined as the reason for people"s actions, willingness and goals, therefore, there is no doubt that motivation is a contributory factor of second language acquisition. Learners with higher motivation will have a strong desire, and as a matter of course, they are willing to learn and then achieve a better performance. Motivation is a force that inspires, sustains learners’ actions in order to achieve a particular purpose. And it has the functions of triggering, guiding and motivating the behavior and activities of second language learners. Inevitably, motivation is always linked with language achievement. One of the most eminent researchers in the realm of L2 acquisition, Gardner (1985), identified motivation as the single most influential factor in learning a second language. It is fair to say that learners who are more motivated can achieve their goals more easily. In terms of myself and my learning experience, those with higher motivation tend to have a better performance in the second language acquisition. In the class, they tend to play an more important and active role in the learning process, namely, they figure out difficult problems with an positive attitude, and are eager to explore more in the related study. As for myself, if I want to learn or have a strong motivation to learn, I usually have a better performance in second language learning. On the contrary, if my motivation is low, I will learn passively and idle away my time, it is obviously that such action will lead to poor performance.

3.2 Learning strategy of second language acquisition

Strategy is an approach second language learners adopted to achieve a goal, and similarly, learning strategy means the tactic second language learners used to facilitate their learning process. In the context of language learning in particular, strategies have been referred to as a small range of synonyms such as strategies, approaches and techniques. Learners usually adopt one or more strategies for special purposes. Among all the learning strategies, vocabulary learning strategy is an crucial one, and different people tend to adopt different vocabulary learning strategies. For example, some learners use the “connecting new words to their experience”strategy because they have a high working memory, while some others may use the“dictionary use strategy”because of their low working memory. Everyone is different, so is his or her learning ability, therefore, it is necessary for different learners to adopt appropriate approaches to facilitate their second language study. It is fair to say that a good strategy will lead to a good performance by facilitating the learning process. And learners should use suitable strategies according to their own characteristics. As for myself, I usually connect new words to their pronunciation to mesmerize them. And my learning experience tells me that a better learning strategy tend to lead to a better performance in second language acquisition. Therefore, we could come to the conclusion that learning strategy have a powerful impact on second language achievement.

3.3 Self-efficacy of learners

Researchers have identified some individual learner variables that affect learning outcomes such as motivation, learning strategies, learning style, educational experience, age, aptitude and self-efficacy beliefs, Among them self-efficacy beliefs are more focused topics. Self-efficacy is an individual"s belief in their innate ability to achieve goals, and it affects every area of human endeavor, including second language acquisition. And it also defined as beliefs in one’s competence to do or to perform the required action or performance. In this case, one’s ability in learning a second language is related to one’s self-efficacy belief. Most studies prove that self-efficacy of individual can predict one’s performance and ability in language learning. As Lee amp; Mao (2016) stated that self-efficacy influences students’ effort, persistence and activities that it can help predict their motivation and academic performance. From this perspective, we could come to the conclusion that self-efficacy imposed indirect influence to students’ performance, i.e. self-efficacy might increase another aspects such as motivation, self-esteem or many other factors that will indirectly change their activities, strategies or motivation in language learning. If learners hold the belief that they could learn a second language well, i.e. if they have a stronger self-efficacy, they tend to perform better.

4. Gender Differences of Variables in Second Language Acquisition

A large database with test data from more than 25,000 adult learners of L2 Dutch from 88 countries of origin with 49 different mother tongues found that female learners outperformed male learners, independent of country of origin and mother tongue. This gender gap remained remarkably robust when individual, learner characteristics were taken into account, such as motivation, learning strategy, and self-efficacy.

4.1 Motivation differences between males and females

Several Canadian studies have in fact provided evidence to suggest that males are less motivated to learn second language than females (Massey, 1994;Netten, Riggs and Hewlett, 1999; Pagliaroli, 1999). The study by Netten etal. (1999), for example, raised concern about male involvement and achievement in second language programs. The study involved 380 participants, and 59% of them showed a desire to continue studying second language in Grade 10, among whom the majority of were females. And the results of the study also revealed that boys were less likely to study second language after Grade 9. Of the 155 students dropping second language learning, approximately two-thirds were male. Although the above-mentioned studies are all of Canadian origin, male disinterest in second language learning does not appear to be a problem that is unique to this country. A British study conducted by Williams, Burden and Lanvers (2002) further supports the notion that males are less motivated to learn second language than females. In this study involving 228 students from Grades 7 to 9, motivational differences were investigated between adolescent males and females toward the study of second language. The results of the study suggested that girls expressed a significantly higher degree of desire to learn second language than the boys, and they also put forth more effort to learn the language. A study by Csizér and Dörnyei (2005) involving over 8000 13- and 14-year old Hungarian students provided more recent evidence that male students are less motivated L2 learners. From my learning experience, I also found that female learners are more motivated than male learners when it comes to second language acquisition. Faced with the same task, female learners tend to maintain a positive mentality, while males are inclined to be put in a passive position. Female learners usually take an active part in class and answer the questions in an active manner. They are eager to learn second language, i.e. they have higher motivation compared with male learners.

4.2 Learning strategy differences between males and females

A study investigate students the frequency of adopting learning strategy, and the result indicated that they have certain consciousness of learning strategy. But there existed nuance in the development of male and female students in adopting learning strategy. The female learners tend to use learning strategy more frequently except in social communication strategy, and when it comes to cognitive strategy, memory strategy, compensation strategy, emotion strategy and meta-cognitive strategy aspect, the females usually slightly prevail over the males. This finding tallies with some other researches. Oxford and Nyikos(1989) once discovered that, learners of different genders differ greatly in the choice and use of strategy. Some domestic investigations have also found that there are more female graduates majoring in foreign language than the males, with proportion of approximately 3:1. Learning strategy utilization and study goal are closely related, so it’s no wonder that the female students usually study foreign languages more positively and strategically. Obviously, the excellence of females in second or foreign language acquisition results from their superiority in the use of learning strategy.

4.3 Self-efficacy differences between males and females

Several studies demonstrate remarkable differences on level of self-efficacy between genders. Abdullah et al. (2006) conducted research on relationship between students" self-efficacy and their second language achievement. From the study that conducted on 1,146 students from eight secondary schools in the Petaling district, Selangor, they found that female learners have higher self-efficacy than male learners. Another study by Sunderland (2000) and Week (2011) in Kayaoğlu (2012) found that female learners were significantly better in learning second or foreign language than male learners. Generally speaking, male learners have a more negative view and a less aptitude towards foreign language than females, they neither believe in their inborn aptitude nor acquired ability.

Approaches to Narrowing Down Gender Differences in L2 Acquisition

Approaches to narrowing down gender differences in motivation

In light of the significance of motivation, learning strategy and self-efficacy in second language acquisition, we should figure out some ways to increase the L2 learners’ motivation, learning strategy and self-efficacy, and figure out ways to narrow down the differences between male learners and female learners in this aspect. First, let’s take a look at learners’ motivation, Hua Huifang indicated that there are two kinds of motivation: intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. The stimulants of the two motivations are different. The learners" inner interest in one thing leads to the intrinsic motivation, while the external factors can cause the extrinsic motivation. As for intrinsic motivation, Deci and Ryan believed that once students" curiosity is stimulated, so is their intrinsic motivation. In this case it is necessary to stimulate male learners’ motivation by providing a challenging, stimulating and educational atmosphere, for male learners are usually fond of challenges. They also like new and curious thing. What’s more, they like exploring unknown ground. If they are interested in the customs of a foreign country, their intrinsic motivation will be greatly stimulated. As for extrinsic motivation, Qin Xiaoqing suggested that teachers should provide incentives and encouragement for learners, a move to increase their motivation. If necessary, teachers could provide rewards to male learners so as to strengthen their motivations. Moreover, If male learners couldn’t perform as well as females, teachers should give them more encouragement instead of criticism. Once their confidence is established, they may have a better performance in second language acquisition. According to the theory of expectation and value, the expectation of foreign language learners have a powerful impact on their learning motivation. For those male learners who have lower motivation, teachers should show more patience and tell them that it is meaningful to learn second language. If they see the value of it, their motivation will be high.

5.2 Approaches to narrowing down gender differences in learning strategy

With regard to learning strategy, Oxford divides language strategies into six categories, namely, memory strategies, cognitive strategies, compensation strategies, meta-cognitive strategies, affective strategies and social strategies. Memory strategies are used to memorize and review new information, thus to consolidate new information; cognitive strategies are used to understand and produce language, which can help us own a better knowledge of language learning and acquisition; compensation strategies can help learners to make up for deficiencies by using new languages when there exists language gap, a move to facilitate learners to understand languages which are difficult to comprehend. Meta-cognitive strategies can facilitate learners to monitor and regulate their learning activities and cognitive processes, which have a positive influence on their learning process; affective strategies are used to overcome anxiety so as to regulate emotion, and as a matter of fact, learners will keep a positive mentality in second language and acquisition; and social strategies refer to learning by interacting with other people. Social strategies also refer to cooperative learning strategies, such as exchange ideas and feelings with classmates, ask for help from teachers and share study outcomes with peers actively. From the preceding part of the text, we know that the female learners slightly prevail over the males when it comes to cognitive strategy, memory strategy, compensation strategy, emotion strategy and meta-cognitive strategy aspect. Therefore, for males, it is wise to develop their social strategies, because men tend to be good at social activities and cooperation compared with women. For males who are generally good at social activities, they prefer social courses and they are willing to communicate with other people, developing such strategy can improve their ability in second language acquisition. What’s more, male learners should also develop their affective strategies, because affective strategies are controllable factors and everyone can control their feelings and emotions. Affective strategies help learners to create and maintain appropriate internal and external mentality for learning. They are strategies adopted to reduce anxiety and encourage themselves to do better. Males who can’t do as well as females could adopt this strategy to keep a healthy mentality, so as to catch up with females in second language learning and acquisition. Besides strengthening learning strategies, male learners should also take notice of the adoption of learning strategies. Successful learners select intentionally, monitor consciously and evaluate carefully their strategy use for the fulfillment of their purpose. Unsuccessful ones, on the other hand, use learning strategies and behaviors similar to their peers without being conscious and also without any purpose. Therefore, it is clear that male learners need to be able to consciously apply a strategy to a cognitive process to strengthen the link between the strategy and the attainment of second language learning. What’s more, they should adopt various strategies and compare one with another. Once the range of learning strategies have been obtained, the teacher would be able to recommend a relatively suitable strategy for them, so as to cater for all abilities. In light of teacher’s suggestions, they could judge and weigh, and then choose the suitable strategy for themselves. Once they adopt an appropriate approach, their efficiency will be greatly improved, which leads to a relatively better performance in second language learning and acquisition.

5.3 Approaches to narrowing down gender differences in self-efficacy

As for self-efficacy, male learners could take the following steps to increase their self-efficacy. First, they could set small goals that are easier to achieve, male learners tend to set big and impractical goals to show their ability, but obviously it is an unwise action, what’s worse, they may fail time after time, and then their self-efficacy will be deteriorated. We all know the story of a Japanese marathon athlete. He divided the whole itinerary into small pieces, thus turned the big challenge into small achievable goals and he achieved his goal in this way. Once a person achieved a few small goals, his self-efficacy will be greatly increased. Second, male learners should find an appropriate comparison object, and then find their strengths in the comparison, and thus improve their sense of self-efficacy. For those male learners who are poor in second language acquisition, they shouldn’t compare themselves with female learners who are generally good at second language acquisition. In this case. male learners could avoid blind comparison with their peers who are advanced in study, instead, they could follow their own pace and roadmap. Last but not least, they could carry out an in-depth analysis of the reasons for their previous successes and failures, in the process of analysis, they could attribute their failures to not working hard, instead of the ability, and thus encourage themselves to work harder to achieve their goals. If they think they are inferior to females at birth in second language acquisition, they will be discouraged and then find a pretext to avoid learning. They should believe that their abilities are not fixed at birth, and they can be developed like a muscle. This belief matters because they can influence how people act when they are faced with setbacks.

Conclusion

All research findings mentioned above help us have a better understanding of the relationship between motivation, learning strategy, self-efficacy and second language acquisition, and many investigations are added to help us know the differences between both male and female students related to their motivation, learning strategy and self-efficacy.

Several studies on motivational aspects indicated that women are more motivated than men, what’s more, women tend to have more positive attitudes toward studying a second language than male language learners, and a stronger interest in the target mission. The above-mentioned researches also demonstrate that learners of different genders usually choose and use different strategies, further more, the female students tend to be inferior to their male counterparts when it comes to cognitive strategy, memory strategy, compensation strategy, emotion strategy and meta-cognitive strategy. Female learners study second language in a strategic and positive manner, which leads to their superiority in L2 acquisition. And from the previous researches above, we could know that compared with males, females tend to hold a more positive and confident view towards second language learning, i.e they have higher self-efficacy. Despite these differences, we could also narrow down the differences by increasing male learners’ motivation, learning strategy and self-efficacy, such as by providing a new and challenging environment for male learners, developing their social strategy and giving them more encouragement and affirmation to increase their self-efficacy.

Generally speaking, female learners tend to outperform males in second language acquisition because they are usually excellent in motivation, learning strategy, self-efficacy and so on. But these differences can be narrowed down by male learners’ effort in this field. And moreover, there are exceptions, some males with high aptitude could also perform well in this field. Therefore, more investigations need to be down to look into this field.

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