Interrelation of Gender and Language Learning Strategies. Kosimova Azizakhon Botirali qizi*; Kosimov Dilshodbek Baxodirovich

Interrelation of Gender and Language Learning Strategies.
Kosimova Azizakhon Botirali qizi*; Kosimov Dilshodbek Baxodirovich**
*Lecturer at the Department of
Foreign Languages ​​in Natural Sciences,
Fergana State University.
**Lecturer Departmen of Ecology,
Fergana State University.

Numerous research studies have been done about Interrelation of "gender", "Language Learning Strategies" and "proficiency in the target language" by SLA scholars. Below some significant ones will be mentioned due to their close relationship with the current study.
Research studies relating the subject shows that the conscious use of such strategies has a positive correlation with language achievement and proficiency (i.e., Thompson & Rubin, 1993). Chamot and Kupper (1989) point out that successful language learners select strategies which are consistent with one another and with the requirements of the language task. These learners can identify the strategies they use and state the reason why they use them (O'Malley & Chamot, 1990).
Studies conducted around the world, showed that students who were better in their learning the target language usually reported higher levels of overall strategy use. Besides, those successful learners employed many strategy categories together. Language performance of the learners was tested in many different ways in relation to strategy use in several studies as "self-ratings of proficiency (Oxford & Nyikos, 1989; Watanabe, 1990), language proficiency and achievement tests (O'Mara & Lett, 1990; Oxford, Park-Oh, Ito, & Sumrall, 1993; Phillips, 1990, 1991; Rossi-Le, 1989; Wen & Johnson, 1991), entrance and placement examinations (Mullins, 1992), language course grades (Mullins, 1992), years of language study (Watanabe, 1990), and career status reflecting expertise in language learning (Ehrman & Oxford, 1989)" (Green & Oxford, 1995, p.265). Using such a wide variety of means, scholars sought the link between success in target language and strategy use.
O'Malley et al (1985) found that learners at all levels reported the use of a great variety of learning strategies. High-achieving students reported greater use of metacognitive strategies. They concluded that the more successful students are probably able to use greater metacognitive control over their learning. Ehrman and Oxford (1995) indicated that successful students preferred to use cognitive strategies more frequently in their study. Green and Oxford (1995) discovered that high-achieving students used all kinds of language learning strategies more frequently than low-achieving students.
On the other hand, researchers have also investigated what unsuccessful language learners do. Vann and Abraham (1990), for instance, observed that, although their unsuccessful students appeared to be active strategy users, they "failed to apply strategies appropriately to the task at hand" (p. 191).
The strategies used frequently or moderately frequently by successful and unsuccessful learners alike are not necessarily unproductive. According to the authors, a more likely interpretation is that these are "bedrock strategies", which contribute significantly to the learning process of the more successful students, although not being in themselves sufficient to move the less successful students to higher proficiency levels.
Another study by Kaylani (1996), conducted in Jordan, investigated the influence of gender and motivation on EFL learning strategy use. Kaylani's starting point was that there is evidence from a number of studies conducted across different cultures around the world that there are differences between male and female students of foreign and second languages as regards what strategies they use and how they use them when engaging in language learning tasks. What she wanted to know was why these differences existed, what their effect on teaching is, what similarities exist between successful male and female students and the role of socialization in gender differences. She was also interested in the relationship between motivation and strategy use, and as regards gender, what social factors affecting motivation exist which are distinct to male and female students. A sample of 255 students from two boys' and two girls' secondary schools were administered a version of Oxford's SILL (Oxford, 1990) translated into Arabic. A statistical analysis of questionnaire data revealed, among other things, that although there was a higher incidence of memory, cognitive compensation and affective strategies among female students, the relatively proficient/relatively non-proficient and successful/unsuccessfuldistinctions correlated more to strategy use than the male/female distinction. Kaylani goes beyond such a limited analysis and proceeds to discuss her findings "in terms of the sociocultural context of Jordan" (Kaylani, 1996, p.85). She cites an interesting finding from her interviews, namely that female students showed a far stronger tendency to use strategies sanctioned by their teachers than male students did. At first, she relates this finding to a suggestion made by Niyikos (1990) that female students seek social approval more than male students, a generalization not dissimilar to Labov's (1991) on the higher use among women of socially desirable linguistic forms. Far more interesting is Kaylani's subsequent attempt to relate the finding to "the socialization of girls to exhibit obedience in both private and public domains" (Kaylani, 1996, p. 86). According to the author, the socially prescribed role for women is to find a marriage partner and education may be seen as a way to better one's prospects in the context of the study, Jordan. Above all, going to university is desired by a girl because it "exposes her to more people who might consider her for marriage, it gives her status as being educated which is prized in Jordanian society, and it makes her employable upon graduation" (Kaylani, 1996, p. 87).
In another study, Oxford and Nyikos (1989) found that females taking the SILL reported using strategies far more often than did males in three of the five factors: formal rule-related practice, general study strategies and conversational input elicitation strategies.
Ehrman and Oxford (1989), who looked at the strategies used by 1200 university students, found that gender differences made a "profound influence" (p.296) on strategy use, and discovered significant gender differences in the SILL (favoring women again) in the following strategy classifications: general study strategies, strategies for authentic language use, strategies for searching for and communicating meaning and metacognitive or self-management strategies.
In conclusion, the discussion of the role of gender in SLA has been in the agenda of many scholars for a long time; yet the results they reached are still far from being conclusive. Because gender itself is not a stable factor; it depends on many variables such as biological factors, cultural and social elements etc. Besides, along with gender, there are various other factors that also affect the process of language acquisition; namely, motivation, attitude, nationality (...) and language learning strategies, one of the leading indicators of learning a foreign language. In this study, it is intended to reveal the interdependency of gender, language learning strategies and achievement in second language learning.