Gender and Attitude Toward Learning English: The Case of Iranian Undergraduates

The present study was conducted in order to compare Iranian undergraduate students’ attitudes toward English language learning regarding their gender. Male and female undergraduate students were compared in terms of their attitudes and beliefs toward learning English language considering behavioral, cognitive, and emotional aspects. For this purpose, 140 undergraduate students studying in universities of Arak were randomly selected and divided into two groups including males and females with 70 members in each group. An attitude questionnaire including 45 statements about the three aspects of attitudes toward English language learning was given to the participants to be answered. The responses of the questionnaire were scored using Likert scale. Descriptive analyses using mean calculations and inferential statistics such as paired t-test and One-way ANOVA test were used for data analysis. The findings of the study revealed a weak agreement among both male and female participants toward English language learning without any significance difference between the two groups. Moreover, this weak agreement was found in the three aspects of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional attitudes toward learning English language. Accordingly, no significant difference was found between Iranian male and female undergraduate students regarding their behavioral, cognitive, and emotional attitudes toward English language learning.

Keywords:

Attitude , English language learning , Gender , Iranian undergraduate students