An Empirical Study On Gender Differences In English Writing Strategies Of Senior High School Students

Research on English writing strategies first appeared in the mid-to-late 1980’s.Recently,many scholars both at home and abroad have conducted research on foreign language writing strategies from a variety of perspectives.However,little research has been conducted on gender differences in use of English writing strategies among senior high students,and the research results are different.Therefore,this study aims to explore gender differences among senior high students in regards to the use of English writing strategies,from the perspective of Meta-cognitive theory and Output Hypothesis theory.This study includes 100 senior high school students as research participants.Data are collected through questionnaires,interviews.Then the statistical software Social Science(SPSS20.0)is used to analyze the data in order to perform a comprehensive and objective analysis of gender difference among senior high school students in regards to use of English writing strategies.This study discusses the following three research question:(1)What is the current situation regarding writing strategies used by males and females?(2)What are the differences between males and females in the use of English writing strategies?(3)What is the correlation between the use of English writing strategies and writing achievement?The results show that the frequency of use of English writing strategies among senior high school students is not high.Those most commonly used are cognitive strategies,followed by meta-cognitive strategies and social/affective strategies.There is a significant difference between males and females in the use of English writing strategies,mainly in that females use writing strategies more frequently than males,which is especially the case for social/affective strategies.The Pearson Correlation Coefficients results show a positive correlation between use of English writing strategies and English writing achievement for senior high students.The findings of this study carry important implications for both English teachers and students in senior high school.This insight can aid English teachers in cultivating students’ English writing strategies and guiding students to use those strategies correctly and efficiently.Students can benefit from this study by strengthening their understanding of English writing strategies,which enable them to identify suitable strategies to promote their English writing.