The Exploration of the Speaking Strategies by Higher Education EFL Learners Regarding Their Gender

Considering the significance of speaking ability among higher education learners, MirAhmadi and Alavi (2016) argue that speaking is considered as the indisputable language skill in language learning and teaching. Therefore, it can be inferred that both learners and teachers are susceptible of improvement with regard to the speaking strategies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of gender on the use of speaking strategies and to identify the most commonly used strategies by higher education EFL learners regarding their gender. The researcher of this survey research randomly selected 60 students, including 30 males and 30 females from the senior and junior students of the field of English language and literature of Hakim Sabzevari University as the participants of the study. The instrument utilized in this study was the questionnaire of speaking strategies by Razmjoo and Ghasemi Ardekani (2011). Furthermore, the collected data were analyzed using SPSS software and the results revealed that EFL learners’ gender did not affect their speaking strategy use. Moreover, it was indicated that from the seven factors, elicited from the 21-item questionnaire, educational-aid method was the most commonly used strategy among female students (79.52%), whereas body language and substitution method was the most commonly used strategy among male students (74.44%). The results will lead to deeper understanding and more effective utilization of the above-mentioned strategies, which are of paramount importance to making the students’ interactions more meaningful. Besides, the effective and flawless utilization of these strategies will give rise to the better comprehension due to the fact that through interaction and communication, the clarity and lucidity of meaning can be conveyed easily.

Keywords:

Speaking Strategies , Gender , Higher Education EFL Learners , Survey Research