English Vocabulary Learning Strategies Manipulated By the Students of Azad University, District 5: A Gender-oriented Study (original) (raw)

Different learners resort to different strategies on approaching each learning situation, and bring with them the experiences they might have previously had. This variation is identified to stem from factors such as attitude, motivation, age, personality, academic major, and gender. Investigation of the effect of the last one on the type and frequency of English vocabulary learning strategies manipulated by learners of the fifth district of Azad University has been the aim of the work in hand. For this purpose, the branches in Arak, Khomein, Hamedan, Malayer, Borojerd and Doroud were chosen to have their students collectively fill out the 300 SILL questionnaires distributed. Here, no other criterion except gender was put on the participants. The returned 180 and 114 questionnaires of respectively males and females were analyzed to result in the corresponding means of 2.81 and 2.80 on a scale of one to five, and the common standard deviation of 2.70; thus, showing no significant mean difference to the point of nullification of the related hypothesis. The other hypotheses claiming variation between genders concerning the six categories of vocabulary learning strategies were also nullified through t-test formula applied at alpha=0.05. Only six strategies out of fifty proved to significantly distinguish males and females. The overall mean of 2.80 reveals a medium index of strategy employment, and reminds educationalists the careful instruction of vocabulary learning strategies in English classes.