Sociolinguistic Experiment and language learning strategies - Assignment Example

Sociolinguistic Experiment If I were to conduct a sociolinguistic experiment, I would want to study the impact that gender has on the variation of language learning strategies used by international students in English classes. Research on language learning strategies has been around for several decades now, but little has been done to investigate the role that gender plays in these strategies. My experiment would be aimed at filling the knowledge gaps that exist in this regard. My research question would be: Is there a significant gender difference in the language learning strategies used by international students?

The experiment would be a quantitative correlational study that assesses the statistical differences that exist in the learning strategies used by male and female students in English classes. The subjects of the study would be 40 university students for whom English is a second language, and who are currently enrolled in English classes. The subjects would preferably be in their first and second years of study. These are students who have not yet mastered the language and who employ learning strategies to optimum levels.

The subjects would be distributed equally between the two years of study and between both genders. As such, I would have 20 male students in their first and second years of study and 20 female students in their first and second years of study. The study would be effected through the use of self-reporting questionnaires that test the frequency of use of language learning strategies. These strategies range from metacognitive to cognitive, social, affective, compensation and memory strategies.

The use of these strategies among the subjects can be measured using Oxford’s Strategy Inventory for Language Learning. The inventory, which was devised by Rebecca Oxford, is a 50-item questionnaire that identifies the learning strategies used by international students. The inventory consists of 50 statements, beneath which is a scale of five items ranging from “never true” and always true for me” (Oxford 299). The subjects would fill the questionnaires, after which the results would be analyzed.

I think the results would indicate that metacognitive strategies are the most used language learning strategies among international students. Considering the level of education that the students are currently in, it can be assumed that they are well informed about English learning processes and the range of strategies that they can adopt to meet their goals. In the same vein, the experiment would be expected to show no significant correlation between gender and the learning strategies employed.

Since the students involved in the experiment would be taking English as a major, it is expected that they would be aware of effective learning approaches, irrespective of their gender. These expectations are consistent with the findings of similar experiments as conducted by Mohammad & Abolfazi (82) and Flemens (240). This experiment is important because current and past research conducted on the impact of gender on language learning strategies has been marred by controversies. I believe that the impact of gender on the use of learning strategies has been significantly overestimated.

I also believe that there is no reason to hypothesize that gender would have any significant effect on learning strategies used by students. There is a need to bring the long-standing debate to an end, and this experiment offers an effective means towards this end. Works Cited Aliakbari, Mohammad, and Abolfazi Hayatzadeh. "Variation of Language Strategies among Iranian English Students: The Effect of Gender." International Journal of Pedagogies & Learning 4.3 (2008): 72-87. Flemens, Kathia. Motivation, language-learning strategies and course performance among English-speaking college students.

Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest LLC, 2009. Print. Oxford, Rebecca. Teaching & researching: Language learning strategies. New York, NY: Routledge, 2013. Print. .