Boys Perform Poorly in Language Subjects - Essay Example

What should be happening?
Because both the girls and boys are taught the same language syllabus and sit for the same national examination, the disparity in performance on a gender basis is expected to be minimal.
What is happening?
Boys possibly have less interest and time to study language-based subjects than girls.
Apart from classroom learning, boys rarely participate in out-of-class activities such as singing, and poetry which enhances language learning.
Why? This is because boys consider such activities feminine and would rather participate in more manly activities such as rugby, soccer, etc.
Why? Society has designated different roles for boys and girls. For instance, it expects more talking from females but more action from males.
The reason for this is that girls are believed to be weaker than boys. This has led most boys to think that language is a ‘feminine subject’ which will eventually lead them to equally ‘feminine professions” such as teaching, journalism, and secretarial among others. These professions are wrongly thought to be easy. Boys thus prefer subjects that may lead them to tougher masculine professions such as engineering, and architecture thus concentrating more on science-based subjects (Barnard, Cloete, and Patel 58).
The above thinking has largely been contributed by societal beliefs. Read More