ERIC Number: EJ839262
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Jun
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0346-251X
EISSN: N/A
Gender Differences in Compulsory School Pupils' L2 Self-Concepts: A Longitudinal Study
Henry, Alastair
System: An International Journal of Educational Technology and Applied Linguistics, v37 n2 p177-193 Jun 2009
Drawing on personality psychology research, Dornyei and his colleagues have recently developed an approach to understanding L2 motivation that positions the learner's self-recognition as a potential communicator in another language at its core, thus marking a break from the established social psychology paradigm. In this article it is argued that, in the application of Dornyei's Motivational Self-System model, gender is of particular importance. To analyse the effects of gender on the development of compulsory school pupils' L2 self-concepts, a questionnaire was administered to a Swedish cohort (N = 169) at two points in time; after one and four years of FL learning. Whilst the results for the whole sample indicate that pupils' self-concepts remain stable over the period, separate analyses reveal that girls' self-concepts strengthen whereas boys' weaken. This suggests a Gender X Age interaction in the trajectories of L2 self-concepts and "gender role intensification". Additionally, early L2 self-concepts were found to have good predictive qualities. The results underscore the importance of including gender as a key variable in future research conducted within the motivational self-concept paradigm. Further, the gender-role intensification evidenced in this study suggests that European policies of plurilingualism may have negative effects on boys' overall academic self-concepts. (Contains 10 tables.)
Descriptors: Models, Self Concept, Sex Role, Social Psychology, Gender Differences, Males, Elementary Secondary Education, Longitudinal Studies, Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Student Motivation, Foreign Countries, Student Surveys, Predictor Variables, Age Differences
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A