How do boys and girls use IT tools for autonomous language learning?

2025.05.23.

The study of language learning autonomy, i.e. the extent to which learners are autonomous and take responsibility for their own learning processes, is an important area of research (Benson, 2011), as technological developments in the 21st century increasingly enable language learners to learn and use English outside the classroom. Since language learners' ways of learning and using English with the help of information technology may differ between boys and girls, researchers have considered it important to conduct targeted studies that focus on possible gender differences. The aim of this study was, therefore, to investigate a specific aspect of language learning autonomy: Ágnes Albert and Kata Csizér analyzed students' autonomous use of technology, with a particular focus on gender differences. In Hungary, research on autonomy is particularly important, as in a monolingual country like Hungary, language learners need to find autonomous ways to use the language they learn and thus improve their language skills.

Researchers have conducted a quantitative study using a questionnaire to measure autonomous use of technology, effort to learn a language (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2021), self-efficacy (Bandura, 1986) and a number of emotions related to language learning (enjoyment, pride, hope, curiosity, confusion, anxiety, shame, boredom and apathy, Albert et al, 2021). The questionnaire was completed by 1,152 secondary school students, 467 boys and 682 girls, studying in a total of 11 different secondary schools in Budapest, Eastern and Western Hungary. The data were subjected to statistical analysis.

The authors found gender differences in 9 of the 12 variables measured by the questionnaire. While girls planned to put more effort into learning English, i.e. they showed stronger motivated learner behavior, boys showed higher self-efficacy and autonomous use of technology. The latter might be related to previous research findings that found that boys are more prone to use computer games for language learning (Jensen, 2017; Muñoz, 2020). Overall, girls' questionnaire responses showed that they were more emotional than boys, i.e., they demonstrated higher curiosity, enjoyment, anxiety, confusion and shame, while boys were more bored than girls. However, there was no gender difference in hope, pride and apathy. As for what influences the autonomous use of technology in the case of the two genders, the researchers found that several emotions play a role, in addition to motivation and self-efficacy. Of these, confusion (with a negative effect) and boredom (surprisingly with a positive effect) affected autonomy for all learners, while pride and shame only affected autonomy for boys and anxiety only affected autonomy for girls.

The study revealed that in many cases there were gender differences in both the levels and the relationships between the variables studied. If the goal is to provide optimal learning experiences for language learners, these gender differences should be acknowledged and taken into account by teachers in their classroom teaching practices. The research findings suggest that teachers should aim to increase their students' self-efficacy and motivation and reduce their confusion, regardless of gender, while bearing in mind that boys and girls may respond differently to additional emotions experienced in English classes.

Csizér, K., & Albert, Á. (2024). Gender-related differences in the effects of motivation, self-efficacy, and emotions on autonomous use of technology in second language learning. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 33, 819-828.