TY - JOUR

T1 - Relations between gender stereotyping and foreign language attainment

T2 - The mediating role of language learners’ anxiety and self‐efficacy

AU - Kutuk, Gulsah

AU - Putwain, David W.

AU - Kaye, Linda K.

AU - Garrett, Bethan

PY - 2022/3/31

Y1 - 2022/3/31

N2 - Background: Gender stereotyping of academic domains has long been a major issue in education. However, previous research has mainly focused on male-dominated fields and women's disadvantage in such fields. Little attention has been paid to the fields of study, such as foreign language learning, which are typically stereotyped as female domains.Aims: This study aimed to investigate whether relations between (1) learners' gender stereotypes about English as a foreign language (EFL) learning and language attainment and (2) learner perceptions of teacher stereotypes of EFL learning and language attainment were mediated by anxiety and self-efficacy.Sample: Data were collected from 701 university students (Mage = 19.7 years, 49.4% male) learning EFL in three Turkish universities.Method: Data were collected over three waves. Multi-group structural equation modelling approach was used to analyse the data.Results: Results showed the relations between learners' gender stereotypes about EFL learning, and language attainment were mediated by self-efficacy. Self-efficacy also mediated the relationship between learner perceptions of teacher stereotypes of EFL learning and language attainment, but only for women. Language anxiety was not a mediator between gender stereotypes and attainment in either model tested.Conclusions: Findings show that gender stereotypes about EFL learning might affect learners' language attainment by altering their self-efficacy. Helping learners to maximise their self-efficacy will therefore be beneficial for their language attainment.Keywords: Foreign language learning; foreign language anxiety; gender stereotypes; language attainment; self-efficacy.

AB - Background: Gender stereotyping of academic domains has long been a major issue in education. However, previous research has mainly focused on male-dominated fields and women's disadvantage in such fields. Little attention has been paid to the fields of study, such as foreign language learning, which are typically stereotyped as female domains.Aims: This study aimed to investigate whether relations between (1) learners' gender stereotypes about English as a foreign language (EFL) learning and language attainment and (2) learner perceptions of teacher stereotypes of EFL learning and language attainment were mediated by anxiety and self-efficacy.Sample: Data were collected from 701 university students (Mage = 19.7 years, 49.4% male) learning EFL in three Turkish universities.Method: Data were collected over three waves. Multi-group structural equation modelling approach was used to analyse the data.Results: Results showed the relations between learners' gender stereotypes about EFL learning, and language attainment were mediated by self-efficacy. Self-efficacy also mediated the relationship between learner perceptions of teacher stereotypes of EFL learning and language attainment, but only for women. Language anxiety was not a mediator between gender stereotypes and attainment in either model tested.Conclusions: Findings show that gender stereotypes about EFL learning might affect learners' language attainment by altering their self-efficacy. Helping learners to maximise their self-efficacy will therefore be beneficial for their language attainment.Keywords: Foreign language learning; foreign language anxiety; gender stereotypes; language attainment; self-efficacy.

KW - Foreign language learning

KW - gender stereotypes

KW - self-efficacy

KW - foreign language anxiety

KW - language attainment

U2 - 10.1111/bjep.12446

DO - 10.1111/bjep.12446

M3 - Journal article

VL - 92

JO - British Journal of Educational Psychology

JF - British Journal of Educational Psychology

SN - 0007-0998

IS - 1

ER -