engleski

Gender differences in pronunciation skills of young learners of English in Croatia

Findings about the influence of gender on degree of L2 accent are divergent (Piske et al., 2001). Oftentimes, but not always, women receive higher native-like ratings than men. It has been suggested that the effect of gender varies as a function of starting age of L2 learning and amount of L2 experience (Flege et al., 1995). But this has not been consistently supported by available research. Hence, the aim of the present study is to explore the relationship between gender and early pronunciation accuracy of young learners who started EFL at the beginning of their formal primary education. Relying on data from a longitudinal research project we look at the development of several segmental features of phonology that contribute to intelligibility of the language (Munro and Derwin, 1995). Data were gathered through oral production tasks from 30 young learners (15 male and 15 female) of English over the period of three consecutive years. Qualitative analysis was followed by comparisons between two gender groups. Findings are discussed in the light of available research on boys’ and girls’ pronunciation skills development. Practical implication and future research directions are outlined in the final part of the presentation.

young learners, EFL, pronunciation skills, gender differences

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