Women or men, which group is more likely to learn a new language and what effect does gender have on the new language learning process? Are women more inclined to learn a new language or men? Is there a connection between bilingualism and gender?
What gender characteristics affect the mastery and learning of a new language?
These questions have always occupied the minds of language learners. Is language and gender-related at all?
Language and gender refer to the relationship between male and female language. Gender differences are not only a reflection of the words between men and women but also a reflection of their different lifestyles and attitudes. Gender differences are popular research in many fields, such as psychology, social linguistics, and women's studies. In these areas, the differences between men and women in many aspects have been studied from different angles with different psychologies.
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The existence of gender differences in the use of language tools for communication has always been of interest to researchers and has become a psychological fact in recent decades. Research on gender differences in linguistics began with Robin Lakoff. He introduced the language of women and published a book in 1973 entitled “Language and the status of women” to analyze the linguistic differences between men and women considering language payment and learning to be completely dependent on gender. The book attracted many enthusiasts. In this book, Lakoff mentions several features of the female language. For example, a part of this book claimed that women from childhood to adulthood are superior to men in linguistic and verbal performance.
The claim that women are more successful than men at learning a new language has been widely debated and the result has often been positive. The latest statistics show that the number of bilingual and multilingual women is higher. Fortunately, bilingual and multilingual culture is on the rise and according to European statistics, 56% of the world's population is bilingual and multilingual. In Iran alone, an estimated 7.33 million bilinguals live across the country and most of these statistics are women.
In the twentieth century, scientists generally believed that there was no gender difference in their general intelligence between men and women, but today this claim is completely refuted.
In psychology, gender differences are addressed at two levels: the first level refers to sexual distinctions of biological origin and biological tendencies. The second level refers to gender differences with cultural-artistic roots. If different speakers have different opinions, the question arises as to how people with more than one language can think. When language is related to identity and identity follows a different form and thought according to gender, the importance of bilingualism becomes more obvious and more complex in form and appearance, and the issue of bilingualism should consider the effect of perceptual thinking on different genders.
According to the latest research, researchers have found that there are changes in the perception and intelligence of men and women and women have a wider linguistic repository, more cognitive flexibility and processing strategies than men, and more power in learning a new language.
Regarding the issue of differences between men and women, it can be stated with certainty that research conducted in the last decade shows that there are significant differences between the capacities of intelligence in the phenomenon of bilingualism between men and women. For example, Suching. (2009), in a study on the assessment of collective intelligence of male and female teachers in Taiwan, showed that women are superior to men in language intelligence and have more ability in this area. Mirdehghan. (2011) in a study on the performance of Azeri-Persian bilinguals with Persian-speaking monolinguals in understanding proverbs showed that gender has an effect in this regard and women are more efficient than men.
Why are women more successful in learning a new language?
When it comes to learning, men, and women have completely different ways and approaches. Men's learning is somewhat fundamental and proceeds within a framework while this learning is integrated into women also women are more inclined to know the culture and country of destination. In addition, although men are better oriented-than women, women have innate verbal skills. That is, women are better speakers, listeners, writers, and readers. All these factors are effective in learning a new language. Because to learn a new language, you have to listen, speak, read, and write well.
The last and most important reason why women are more successful in learning lies in their brains. That is, how their brain processes language. It is true that the structure of the brain is the same and it is divided into left hemispheres (analytical and logical function) and right (visual-musical and non-linguistic process), but according to a survey of all language students in UK universities in 2013, (69% were women and 31% were men) turned out that men and women process language differently.
It showed that women use both hemispheres in their conversations. While men use only one hemisphere in this situation. So we say that women are more creative than men, and that factor helps them in the learning process. Men usually learn better with the help of visualization and hearing, they need sensory reinforcement to process data, unlike women who try to process comprehensively. Usually, women pay attention to all aspects of the learning process (speaking, reading, and pronunciation), but men adhere to a number of study methods, which hinders progress. We have also seen a lot in society that women have better and more social relationships and tend to participate in most conversations.
Language has long been regarded as an area over which women have complete control. For example, in discussions of translation and interpretation, there are always more women than men, or even if you are careful, the number of female instructors is usually much more than men.
Perhaps one of the most interesting findings of the researchers is that women are usually less embarrassed about verbal mistakes and pass them by very quickly, but men prefer not to participate in discussions in similar situations too much so as not to make verbal mistakes, especially if they are in a new environment. Of course, it is a very broad statement to say that all women are sociable, while there are many exceptions. Many studies have suggested that part of learning a new language depends on the fear of men and women. In fact, many people do not dare to attend group classes and are not able to speak another language in class, and may feel threatened. As experience has shown, in these cases, women are ahead of men because they are more inclined to talk and be in public.
As mentioned, there are many exceptions - so we can not attribute all the above reasons and examples to all men and women. It should be noted that the natural ability to learn a new language is present in both men and women. But the findings show that women tend to challenge themselves more and find effective ways to learn. In fact, they are always looking for a stimulus and motivation to continue the learning process.
It is also important to note when men and women aim to learn a new language:
Observations show that girls generally start talking earlier, and therefore participate in conversations and understand them faster than boys. Also, according to statistics, the number of girl language learners is more than boys. It is expected to be the same in adulthood.
Women are less preoccupied than men, (although there are exceptions, as mentioned earlier)
For example, compare a housewife with a working man in the process of learning a new language. Certainly, a woman has more time and focuses on the learning process, so she can get results sooner.
The impact of social factors on language learning :
Social factors play an important role in the process of learning a foreign language. Although gender is essentially biological, because women and men do not have the same in society, and as a result, different social roles arise in different behaviors, thus, gender is always influenced by social elements. In a way, learning a foreign language is also affected by these elements.
It should be acknowledged that girls' attitudes toward learning a new language are better and more positive. Differences in perceptions are undoubtedly partly the result of career foresight that both groups of learners know it. and as a result, give more value to a language-like subject that has an obvious connection to their future employment. Girls have accepted the professional value of learning a foreign language, but boys do not pay much attention to it.
As women play a more active role in some social contexts and men in others, this creates linguistic differences between the two groups. On the other hand, different social roles have created different patterns of behavior, and therefore social expectations of women and men in terms of their social behavior are not the same, and in general, women use better and more correct language forms that are more credible. This kind of attitude of women toward language also plays an important role in learning a new language.
The effect of bilingualism:
Now that evidence has shown that there are more bilingual women than men, what effect does this have on their lives?
Numerous studies show that managing more than one language affects the structure and function of the brain. Bilingualism has a positive effect on cognitive control, often referred to as executive function. The flexibility of bilingual minds and their ability to concentrate on activities is far greater. Bilinguals need more cognitive control whenever they speak. They should monitor what language is appropriate, and choose the appropriate lexical text accordingly. The sooner a second language is acquired and the more skilled it is, the more pronounced the bilingual effect on cognitive control will be, and the stronger the executive functions will be compared to monolinguals. Scientific studies and brain scans of bilinguals show that the gray matter density of bilinguals is higher than that of monolinguals, and they perform better in activities that require attention, skill, and memory. Increased connectivity of nerve fibers in the lower regions of the cerebral cortex involved in language processing and joint control show structural changes in bilingualism.
In conclusion, it has been said that women are more motivated and determined to learn a language than men, which helps them process things better. Age is also a very important issue in the learning process. At what age do men and women think about learning a new language? Women prefer to start learning at an early age and usually move on to the end, which helps a lot in their success. They know how to challenge the brain and motivate themselves.
Now, according to these statements, is it right to say that men should stop trying to learn a new language altogether?
of course not. It is definitely difficult to start anything. It may be harder to learn a new language. These challenges are for both women and men, and it takes a lot of time, practice, and obligation. What sets women apart in the process is how they deal with this challenge. They try to find different ways in any way. There is a general belief that the brain can be deceived and can be directed in the direction we like. Perhaps it can be said that women indoctrinate the brain with the stimuli they create by being more present in gatherings and friendly relationships.
In general, women do not necessarily have a different learning style than men, they just try to have and use several methods at the same time, while men are content with one method and do not seek to discover new ways.
So there is no obstacle for men to learn and it is wrong to consider language learning as a woman's job. As much as men themselves need to be motivated, teachers need to take the initiative and help their progress.
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