A Study Of Gender Differences In Language Learning Strategies Of English Major

Since the 1970s, there has been a shift of emphasis from how to teach to how to learn in the field of second language acquisition. The researches about language learning strategies become a hot plot. There are a great number of researchers to do foreign language teaching study from the aspect of foreign language learners. With the further development of research on language learning strategies, the relationship between gender and language strategies has attracted many researchers'attention outside and inside China. However, the results are different.The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the frequency of language learning strategies used by both females and males, to research the difference in strategy use between females and males, and to examine the correlation between language learning strategy use and TEM-4 scores in English study in China. The 112 subjects taking part in the questionnaire survey are third-year English majors from Chongqing Normal University. Oxford (2008)'s Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) is employed as a measure of learning strategies preferences. The data is analyzed by the statistical software SPSS. The results are followed:1. Descriptive statistical analysis shows that both males and females employ overall language learning strategies at a moderate level in this study. The most frequently used strategies for both males and females are compensation, metacognitive, cognitive and memory strategies, while affective and social strategies are used lower. Females'mean scores for five strategy categories (compensation strategies, metacognitive strategies, memory strategies, affective strategies and social strategies) are higher than males'. Only the mean score of cognitive strategies for males is higher than females.2. Independent sample T-test indicates that there is significant gender difference on overall use of language learning strategies. As for the six strategy categories, there is significant gender difference on metacognitive, memory, cognitive, affective and social strategies, while there is no significant gender difference on compensation strategies.3. For males, correlation between overall use of strategies and TEM-4 scores does not reach the significant level. Only correlation between cognitive strategies and TEM-4 reach the significant level. After regression analysis, it is found that cognitive strategies have the strongest predictive power on TEM-4 scores. For females, the correlation between overall strategies and TEM-4 scores reach the significant level, so do the six strategy categories. However, after regression analysis, there are only three enter the regression equation, those are, from high to low, memory, cognitive and metacognitive strategies. It means that these three strategy categories have the strongest predictive power on TEM-4 scores.Finally, this study suggests that teachers should try their best to know more about their students and try to find out the individual difference shown by their students in English learning and take some strategy training for learners so as to help them use these strategies properly in their language learning.