The gender enrolment gap in foreign language education revisited: Contemporary issues in a Ghanaian higher education institution
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Date
2023
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Abstract
This paper investigates the intersection between gender and foreign language education with
specific reference to subject choice, motivation, and achievement. The study was carried out at a
Ghanaian public university, amongst students of the following Bachelor of Arts foreign language
programmes: Arabic, Chinese, French, Kiswahili, Russian and Spanish. Through a thematic
analysis of transcribed focus group discussions and desk-research of relevant administrative
documents, the authors inquire why a gender enrolment gap exists in the foreign language pro grammes and if indeed, certain languages are perceived as more masculine than others. The
findings of the study confirm the existence of a gender gap in foreign language education. Par ticipants also considered some languages such as Spanish and French as more feminine.
Regarding their motivation, participants noted both integrative and instrumental factors that
motivated them to study the foreign language. Additionally, the study found no statistical sig nificance between the performance of females and males. However, males performed slightly
better than females in Arabic, French, Kiswahili and Russian whereas females performed better in
Spanish and Chinese. This paper investigates the intersection between gender and foreign language education with
specific reference to subject choice, motivation, and achievement. The study was carried out at a
Ghanaian public university, amongst students of the following Bachelor of Arts foreign language
programmes: Arabic, Chinese, French, Kiswahili, Russian and Spanish. Through a thematic
analysis of transcribed focus group discussions and desk-research of relevant administrative
documents, the authors inquire why a gender enrolment gap exists in the foreign language pro grammes and if indeed, certain languages are perceived as more masculine than others. The
findings of the study confirm the existence of a gender gap in foreign language education. Par ticipants also considered some languages such as Spanish and French as more feminine.
Regarding their motivation, participants noted both integrative and instrumental factors that
motivated them to study the foreign language. Additionally, the study found no statistical sig nificance between the performance of females and males. However, males performed slightly
better than females in Arabic, French, Kiswahili and Russian whereas females performed better in
Spanish and Chinese.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Arabic, Chinese, French, Kiswahili