LANGUAGE AND GENDER IN ENGLISH

LANGUAGE TEACHING

Murni Mahmud
([email protected])
Universitas Negeri Makassar, Indonesia

Abstract: This paper highlights the impact of gender differences in English Lan-
guage Teaching. It explores students’ learning styles as affected by the notions about
men and women differences in communication. The data collected in 2008 from 20
males and 20 females’ English students of the State University of Makassar. It is to
reveal their attitudes towards speaking to different sex, strategy to express opinion,
group work preferences, activeness/passiveness, and their perception to increase Eng-
lish skills dealing with sex difference. It is revealed that female than male students
were reluctant to speak to different sex; females preferred the direct way to express
opinions (writing), work with the same sex, and tended to be passive in class. In ad-
dition, females saw the high possibility to increase their English skills by working
with the same sex but the reverse is true for males. These different styles of female
and male students in learning English were affected by the notions of women’s lan-
guage.

Key words: gender differences, women’s language, single-sex group,

mixed-sex group, same sex, different sex, English language teaching

Gender differences, which are socially and culturally constructed, are one
of the interesting phenomena in contemporary society. Their impacts can not
only be seen in political life, where women fight their political rights, or in
households, in which women fight to reduce household harassment. Discourse
on gender differences, in fact, also exists in the use of language for communi-
cation, highlighting that men and women are different in their ways of commu-
nication, and therefore they should be treated differently.

172
 Mahmud, Language and Gender in English Language Teaching 173

This discourse had been hotly and creatively debated since Lakoff (1976)
and Tannen (1990), in their study on English speaking countries, illuminated
the concept of women’s language which highlights the existence of men and
women differences in communication. One characteristic of women’s language
as stated by Lakoff (1976) is the great tendency of women in using lexical
hedges or fillers (e.g. you know, sort of, well, you see), tag questions (she’s
very nice, isn’t she?), rising intonation on declaratives (it’s really good), empty
adjectives (divine, charming, cute), precise colour terms (magenta, aquama-
rine), intensifiers (just, so), hypercorrect grammar (consistent use of standard
verb forms), super polite forms (indirect requests, euphemisms), avoidance of
strong swear words (fudge, my goodness), and emphatic stress.
Other research on language and gender also reveals the differences be-
tween men and women in using language for communication. One of them is
that women are more polite than men. Hobbs (2003:243) notes that when talk-
ing with the same sex peers, women will use many positive politeness strate-
gies. On the other hand, men in similar circumstances do not show this ten-
dency. Lakoff (1976:74) also states that ‘women tend to speak with reference
to the rules of politeness, conversational implicature, and interpersonal explora-
tion whereas men tend to speak with reference to the rules of conversation and
straight factual communication’.
Another difference is that women are more passive than men. If they are
talking, they tend to show that they are not sure about what they are saying.
The passiveness and tentativeness of women in communication are affirmed by
Vanfossen (2001:2), who showed that women like using tag questions, (It’s re-
ally cold in here, isn’t it?), disclaimers (I may be wrong but…) and questions as
directive statements (won’t you close the door?). These kinds of phrases de-
crease the perceived assertiveness of speech.
In fact, women are different from men not only in verbal communication
but also in nonverbal communication. One study by Griffin et al (1999) looked
at the use of nonverbal communication: eye contact, gestures, smiles, personal
space, touch, and interpretation of nonverbal cues, and found that 67.5 per cent
of females establish more eye contact than men do; 75.5 per cent use more ges-
tures than males and 83.7 per cent typically smile more often than a male does.
This result shows that women are more comfortable using sensitive communi-
cators than verbal communication.
174 TEFLIN Journal, Volume 21, Number 2, August 2010

Tymson (1998:8) classifies differences on men and women in communica-

tion as seen in Table 1:

Table 1. Male and Female Style of Communication

Male Style Female Style

Focus on information Focus on relationship
Report style of speaking Rapport style of speaking
Goal driven Process oriented
Single-task approach Multi-task approach
Succinct language Storytelling style of speech
Working towards a destination On a journey
Need to know the answers Want to ask the right questions
These differences on men and women communication may affect expecta-
tions for men and women in various fields of life. The different ways of men
and women in communication can become a critical point of gender inequality.
Because of those differences, men and women are treated differently. In terms
of leadership, for example, women may be ignored for high position due to
their emotional language. A study in the field of organization had shown that
the capability of men and women to be a leader may be affected by the notions
of emotional women’s language, which is not suitable for a leader (Mahmud,
2008b, 2009c). Brass (1985:327-343) also confirms that in many organizations,
‘differences in gender may be a surrogate for differences in job function, level
in hierarchy, proximity, workgroup composition, numerical balance, and
status’. Brass furthermore states that ‘women have not acquired status and in-
fluence compatible to that of their male counterparts in organizations.
It is interesting to discuss how gender differences in language and com-
munication are practiced in different areas. Eckert (1998:64) states that ‘gender
practices differ considerably from culture to culture, from place to place, from
group to group, living at the intersection of all the other aspects of social iden-
tity’. Therefore, practices in language and gender may also vary in a particular
society or groups.
In the area of English Language Teaching, in which female and male stu-
dents interact to each other by using English for their communication, pro-
blems caused by men and women’s differences in using language may be af-
fecting. Severiens and Dam (2005) had studied the close relationship between
 Mahmud, Language and Gender in English Language Teaching 175

gender differences and learning styles and found that ‘men were more likely
than women to prefer the abstract conceptualisation mode of learning’. Another
study by Logan and Johnston (2009) found that ‘girls had better reading com-
prehension, read more frequently and had a more positive attitude to reading
and school’ This shows that male and female have different learning styles
which can be affected by differences in language usage as discussed in the dis-
course of language and gender. This article will also look at how gender dif-
ferences in language and communication affect students’ strategies in learning
English.

METHOD
This research was based on the data collected in 2008 from the English
Department students of the State University of Makassar. The population of the
research was the fourth semester students of English Education study program
which consists of three classes. Each class consisted of 35 students. For the
sampling, the researcher just took 40 students among them randomly: 20 male
students and 20 female students.
The respondents were given open-ended questionnaires to reveal their per-
ceptions regarding their strategies in learning English as affected by gender dif-
ferences. The questionnaires were directed to find out whether or not the stu-
dents feel reluctant o speak English with different sex, what ways they prefer to
express their opinions either indirect (writing) or direct way (speaking), what
kinds of groups they prefer to work with either single-sex group or mixed sex
group, whether the students prefer to be active or not (silent), and how the stu-
dents’ perception on the strategies to improve English skills dealing with sex
difference. The questionnaires are as follows.
1. Do you sometimes fell reluctant to speak English with another sex? Ex-
plain!
2. In an English class, what way do you prefer to express your opinions,
written or oral form? Explain!
3. In a group discussion, which one do you prefer, working with the same
sex or different sex? Explain!
4. In an English class, do you sometimes choose to keep silent or active?
Why? Is that because you are men or women?
176 TEFLIN Journal, Volume 21, Number 2, August 2010

5. Do you think working with the same sex or different sex can make your
English better?

FINDINGS
This part provides the discussions of the questionnaires answered by the
respondents regarding their strategies in learning English as affected by gender
differences.

Students’ Reluctance to Speak English with Different Sex

The first observed aspect was whether the students feel reluctant to speak
English with different sex. From the whole population, there were more female
students than male students who felt reluctant to speak English to different sex.
There were 85% of female students who felt reluctant to speak English to male
students whereas only 50% male students who felt reluctant to speak English to
female students. Male students also had higher tendency to neutralize their re-
luctance by saying that no difference at all (30% students), in which they could
communicate using English well to both sexes. In fact, the rest of the male re-
spondents (20%) felt more enjoyable to speak English with their female coun-
terparts. It is different from female students in which only 15% of them who
were not reluctant to speak English with their male counterparts. Their reasons
can be seen in the following table:

Table 2: Students’ Reasons to Feel Reluctant to Speak English with Differ-

ent Sex
Females’ Reasons Males’ Reasons
Males are arrogant, like to show up Females get offended easily
Not good in English Only if females are smarter
Ashamed to make mistakes Feeling shy to females
Afraid to communicate to male at all Nervous
Males sometimes speak rough Not convenient
Males are difficult to understand Not free to express
Not being free to express
 Mahmud, Language and Gender in English Language Teaching 177

Students’ Preferences in Expressing Opinions

Of the two important productive skills in English, writing and speaking, as
the way to express their opinions in English, each female and male respondent
had different preferences. There were more male students (60%) than female
students (10%) who preferred expressing opinions in English. On the other
hand, there were more female students (90%) than male students (25%) who
preferred expressing opinions by writing than by speaking. The rest of them
could choose either speaking or writing. Their reasons for expressing their opi-
nions either with written or oral form can be seen in Table 3.

Table 3. Female Students’ Reasons for Expressing Opinions

Females’ reasons to choose writing Females’ reasons to choose speaking
Indirect way as less English capability Willing to share ideas
No confidence to speak More skilled in speaking
Shame, hesitation, afraid Easy, direct, and faster to transfer ideas
Not very sure by speaking Need to be more creative

Table 4. Male Students’ Reasons for Expressing Opinions

Females’ reasons to choose speaking Males’ reasons to choose writing
Clear, direct to the point Easy to control and edit ideas
Effective and fast Writing can minimize the speaking skill
Natural Difficult to express ideas in speaking
Need to be recognized Talk less do more
Feel reluctant to speak

Students’ Preferences in Working with Groups

Female and male students also had different preferences in terms of work-
ing with a group, either single-sex group or mixed-sex group. More males
(65% students) than females (15%) preferred working with mixed-sex group.
Most of the female respondents preferred working with single sex group (85%
students) whereas there were only 15% of female students preferred working
with the single sex group. The reasons for their decisions to choose either sin-
gle sex group or mixed sex group can be seen in Table 5.
178 TEFLIN Journal, Volume 21, Number 2, August 2010

Table 5: Students’ Reasons for Working in Groups

Working with Males Females

Males Easy to control emotion; To get More responsible; more dili-
more freedom; Easier to under- gent; more talkative; more ex-
stand; More cooperative; No cited discussion; if women are
limit smarter; women are more like-
ly to agree and share; to show
ability as men; to get new ex-
periences; to be more active;
women are more careful; more
enjoyable
Females The need to improve knowledge; Similar way of thinking; more
more creative; good cooperation; concerns on feelings; more
difficult to interact; the need to freedom; easy to share ideas;
overcome problems more serious; more open;
more enjoyable; less emotion;
more comfortable; more un-
derstanding; easy to manage
things

Students’ Preferences to be Active or Silent in English Classes

In English classes, female and male students also had different prefer-
ences, whether to be active or passive. It is revealed that more women liked to
keep silent, which encountered 80% of the respondents, compared to only 15%
of male students. The majority of male students preferred to be active (60%
students), and the rest could choose either of them. The reasons for being active
or silent in English classes can be seen Table 6.

Table 6: Students’ Reasons for being Active or Silent

Males Females
Active Influenced by status; to know No reason; depending on situ-
more; talk less do more as men; ation
to show ambition and aspiration
as men; to show off; a nature to
be active; to increase knowledge
 Mahmud, Language and Gender in English Language Teaching 179

Table Continued
Silent Less vocabulary; not interested More comfortable; ashamed;
in the topic; not moody not confident; nervous; the
topic is not interesting; not
free to express as women; not
sure; felt; not understand and
not moody

Students’ Perceptions on Strategies to Improve English Dealing with Sex

To improve their English, male and female students also had different per-
ceptions. There were 85% of female students who felt likely to improve their
English if they were working or speaking with the same sex whereas for males,
different sex was the best way to choose to increase English (75%). Some of
their reasons can be seen in Table 6.

Table 7: Students’ Perception on Strategies to Improve English Dealing

with sex
Same sex Different sex
More discipline; more diligent; more ac- Ashamed; not confident (if the opposite
commodating; more reliable; get more sex is smarter); for men, women are good
knowledge for the same background; feel inspiration to learn;
free to learn; no limit

DISCUSSION
From the five points above, it can be seen that female and male students
have different strategies in learning English. As indicated in Table 2, both fe-
male and male students were constrained by their perceptions about their coun-
terparts. Female students, for example, felt reluctant to speak to male students
because they thought that males were arrogant. Conversely, male students felt
reluctant to speak English to female students due to the reason that females get
offended easily. Other reasons for both females and males were mostly caused
by their self confidence in speaking. They were not confident with their Eng-
180 TEFLIN Journal, Volume 21, Number 2, August 2010

lish skills, and therefore they were ashamed of making mistakes especially in
front of different sex. This caused less freedom to express their English ability.
However, the data indicated that more females felt reluctant to speak Eng-
lish to different sex, 85% of females compared to 50 % of males. Females
speaking English to the same sex was more effective than speaking to different
sex. Conversely, males speaking to either the same or different sex would not
bear any difference (30%). In fact, they could enjoy talking to females (20%).
This shows that gender differences influence the tendency of female and male
students to speak to different sex. Feeling reluctant to speak to different sex by
female students indicates that they are not confident. This may give vital im-
pact on the students’ freedom to speak English. Less freedom made them less
powerful showing their inferior position.
In terms of the productive skills to choose to express opinions, the data al-
so show different patterns. Female students preferred to choose writing as the
way to express their opinion in English in order to avoid some obstacles they
had such as their low confidence and low capability in English (90% of females
compared to 60% of males). On the other hand, males saw speaking as the ef-
fective way of expressing opinion effectively regardless of their lack in English
(60 % of males compared to 10% of females). In fact, male students considered
speaking as the way to show their English ability and therefore, they could be
recognized as men. This also shows the great effects of gender differences in
the strategies chosen by female and male students to express their opinions.
Females’ higher tendency to express their opinion by writing shows their pas-
siveness, which become one indicator of women’s language.
The study also indicated the different tendency of female and male stu-
dents in working with groups. Female students (85%) preferred working with
the single sex group whereas male students (65%) preferred working with the
mixed sex group. As shown in Table 5, females thought that working with the
single sex group made them more confident as they could easily control their
emotion. Talking to the single sex made them easier to reduce some psycho-
logical problems due to their limited English skills, for example, being
ashamed of making mistakes in pronunciation. Conversely, male students con-
sidered this high possibility when they were working with mixed sex. In fact,
working with the same sex was not challenging for them. This also shows the
impact of gender differences in their strategies in learning English. Different
preferences in working with groups indicate their learning styles as affected by
 Mahmud, Language and Gender in English Language Teaching 181

gender differences. Males’ preferences in working with different sex show their
tendency to challenge the differences in more dynamic situation whereas fe-
males tended to be more monotonous showing their less confidence and less
certainty.
Another fact differentiating female and male students in English learning
is their tendency whether to be active or to be silent in English classroom. This
is very important in English classroom as their strong activity in the class will
contribute much to their English proficiency, especially in speaking. The study
indicated that female students outnumbered male students who liked to be si-
lent (80% compared to 15%). Conversely, male students were 60% who liked
to be active. This shows the activeness of males and the passiveness of female
students in studying English. As indicated in Table 9 above, the activeness of
male students was influenced by their need to know and do more, to show am-
bition and aspiration as men, or to show off. In fact, they considered that that
was their nature to be active. Conversely, female passiveness was mostly influ-
enced by their less confidence as women. In the literature of language and gen-
der, being active or passive is one of the characteristics differentiating men and
women’s styles of communication. Biber and Burges (2000) show the tendency
of women to speak less than men, particularly in mixed-gender settings.
Another important finding was their perception about the strategies to im-
prove their English. It was revealed that 85% females would increase their
English skills with the same sex whereas for males, 75% agreed that they could
increase their English skills with different sex. This shows that for female stu-
dents, working with the same sex is better than different sex because working
with the same sex created more discipline, accommodating, and reliable condi-
tions, so that they can be free to learn English. In that way, they can improve
their English.
These findings supported the arguments on women’s language showing
men and women differences in communications. In relation to this, Eckert and
McConnel-Ginet (1994:453) note that women’s language is said to reflect
‘women’s conservatism, prestige consciousness, desire for upward mobility,
insecurity, deference, nurture, emotional expressivity, connectedness, sensitiv-
ity to others, and solidarity’. On the other hand, men’s language is regarded as
‘evincing their toughness, lack of affect, competitiveness, independence, com-
petence, hierarchy and control’. Biber and Burges (2000) further states that ba-
sically, the focus of conversations of men and women are different. Women fo-
182 TEFLIN Journal, Volume 21, Number 2, August 2010

cus on personal and interactional aspects of conversation, whereas men focus

more on transferring information. Women are more tentative while men tend to
be certain, using more persuasive strategies. The passiveness and tentativeness
of women in communication are affirmed by Vanfossen (2001:2).
These characteristics can be found in the learning styles of female and
male students as observed above. The high tendency for females to be passive
and feel reluctant to speak to different sex is affected by their emotional and
sensitive thoughts. Males’ high confidence, on the other hand, is caused by
their need to show up as a competitive, independent, and powerful people.
These differences could be caused by different perceptions on men and
women style in communication. Females thought men were arrogant whereas
males thought females were emotional. These views may be due to differences
in men and women’s views about conversation. According to Stanton (2001),
women see conversations as the way to develop and preserve intimacy, while
for men conversations are negotiations to achieve and maintain power. Gene-
rally, life for men is like a contest, a struggle to preserve independence. There-
fore, women may tend to think of interactions in a non-hierarchical way while
men typically view the world in a hierarchical way such that, during any inter-
action, one person is in a superior position and the other in an inferior position.
According to Hassan (2000), women interact in ways that promote solidarity
and equality, whereas men interact in ways which maintain and increase their
power and status.

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

In this article, I have discussed the possible impact of gender differences
in language and communication on the ways female and male students learn
English. It is revealed that differences on the ways men and women communi-
cate as discussed on the literature of gender, as promoted by Lakoff (1976) and
Tannen (1990, 1994) can also affect the successful strategies of English stu-
dents in learning English. The great potency of female students to be ashamed,
nervous, not certain, as characterized as women’s language, can affect their
achievement in English. For example, because they are ashamed, they cannot
express their ideas in English although they are able to. This can be seen in the
majority of the female students to choose writing as the way to express their
ideas in order to get rid of those problems. Conversely, male students as influ-
 Mahmud, Language and Gender in English Language Teaching 183

enced by their need to challenge and maintain strength as men can use speaking
English ability as the way to show their status as men.
However, these findings on ‘women’s language’ are currently being con-
tested. For example, Crawford (1995:34) argues that ‘women’s language can-
not be adequately understood by counting features and assigning them to fixed
categories of meaning’. This is because these differences may be relative and
influenced by situational aspects. Connell (2002:51) also affirms that ‘language
use is situational and is shaped by relations of power.’ To learn a language is ‘a
species characteristic which underpins the whole culture—including the ideo-
logy of gender difference’. As noted by Phillips (1980:541), ‘gender differ-
ences in speech in our own society vary, depending on the social context of
speech’. In Bugis society, for example, gender is an important aspect in men
and women communication. However, some other aspects besides gender also
take parts such as social status and age differences and also situations or the
settings of conversations. In Bugis society, ‘gender is not the sole factor influ-
encing men and women’s communication. Rather, social status for Bugis
women in fact influences their gender performance in language’ (Mahmud,
2008a, 2009a, 2009b).
It is suggested, therefore, to get more intensive observation on their learn-
ing style in English by recording their conversations, to find out whether there
are different patterns in their English expressions as well as their English
achievement. In addition, more intensive observation is needed to see other
contributing factors influencing these differences. As stated by Phillips
(1980:541), research on men’s and women’s speech should more effectively
describe and explain ‘the nature of variable relationships between communica-
tive form and social function which can be done by more comparative research
on gender differences in language use’.

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