International Teacher Education Conference 2014 1

International Teacher Education Conference 2014
and achievement. The one-way ANOVA also showed that there is a significant difference. The mean scores was
used to find out whether there is any difference between the respondents of different gender and their attitude in
learning English. The results showed the existence of significant difference (p. 16).
Further, “the mean for the male participants was 2.95, while the mean for the female respondents was 3.01.
When comparing the two means, “the female respondents’ mean is slightly higher than the male respondents’.
Therefore, the female respondents have slightly better attitude in learning English compared to the male
respondents” (p. 18).
Another study was conducted by Hansheng Yan (2009) on relations between gender difference and English
vocabulary and the overall proficiency level. The aim of the study was to compare the cognitive CET-4
vocabulary, applied vocabulary and CET-4 scores of male group of English learners with that of female group of
English learners in the Qufu Normal University in China. The results of the study showed that there were
obvious differences in the students’ CET-4 cognitive vocabulary, applied vocabulary and CET-4 scores, and that
the female group always excelled the male group in terms of both vocabulary and CET-4 scores. Thus, it can be
concluded that in second language learning in the university, “there exist obvious gender differences among
males and females, and that female have language advantages. Finally, it is pointed out that these conclusions
are just exploratory due to limitations of this study, and more research is required to make clear relations
between gender and second language learning” (p. 109).
An interesting research was conducted by Ladegaard (2007) in a rural community in Denmark. He analysed
the language attitudes and linguistic behaviour among adolescents of both sexes. The results concluded that the
traditional pattern of boys/men speaking in a significantly more non-standard way than girls/women is
reproduced in the present context. The male informants express more genuinely positive attitudes to the
language and culture of the local community than the female informants.
There is another study conducted by Shah and Ng (2005) which investigated on the reasons as to why
international students from China and Indonesia did not perform well in the English Improvement Programme
(EIP) available at Inti College, Malaysia. It addressed the students' attitudes towards Acrolect Malaysian English
and their motivation to learn the language. Survey questionnaires were utilized to gather the data from the EIP
students. The findings revealed that the students showed negative attitudes towards Acrolect Malaysian English.
The preferred models were the native English speaker models, for instance Standard American English and
Standard British English. In terms of motivation, the students were instrumentally motivated than integratively
motivated. It was also found that despite high motivational intensity or effort, students' language performance
was poor. This shows that high degree of effort alone without language desire or positive attitude is not
sufficient for language learning success.
Shah, Yusof, Al-Bataineh, Yusop, Haron, Ong and Ahmad (2007) addressed the L2 learning beliefs the
Malay students in a Malaysian university. The study examined the subjects’ beliefs in terms of the nature of
second language learning, difficulty of second language learning, and second language learning aptitude. Survey
questionnaires that were issued to the subjects were adapted from Horwitz’s (1987) Language Learning Beliefs
Inventory. One of the most important findings was that majority of the respondents felt that it is not necessary to
know about the English-speaking culture in order to speak English. They just would like to learn the English
language per se. Over two-third of the respondents judged that vocabulary and grammar to be the most important
for language learning. The participants seemed to believe that producing utterances with accurate vocabulary
and correct grammar would enhance one’s credibility. They did not seem to believe in experimenting with the
second language at the initial stage of learning. Over half of the participants considered some languages are
easier to learn than others, while 43% indicated that English is a difficult language. English language is far from
similar to the subjects’ first language (Malay language) in terms of language structures and rules. Majority of the
respondents were not sure about having special language learning ability. This could impede their second
language learning process and acquisition could be delayed.
In another related study Shah, Yusof, Sulaiman, Kudus, Yusof and Latiff (2009) compared the responses
from the male and female subjects. One of the results revealed that both the males and females believed that
learners who already acquired the L2 would face less difficulty in learning the third one. Both gender groups
probably felt that these learners would inevitably employ the language learning strategies that they used to
acquire the L2 in their attempt to acquire any subsequent languages. The subjects also resorted to translation
throughout their learning process. Being in a climate where the Malay language was a dominant language,
translating, word borrowing, code-switching and making associations between the two languages were the best
options for the learners as they believed that these activities could hasten their pace of learning another language
Methodology
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