An Exploration into Gender-related Differences in Pronunciation among Libyan Learners of English as a Foreign Language

Abstract

This research paper mainly discussed the gender-related differences from the aspects of pronunciation, mainly intonation and stress, among Libyan students who learn English as a foreign language. The researchers have randomly selected twenty undergraduate students from the third and fourth semesters (ten female students and ten male students) from the English department, Faculty of Arts, Misurata University to participate in the research and asked to read aloud several written sentences. Their actual pronunciation was recorded and analyzed using a quantitative approach to find out if there were significant differences among female and male participants' pronunciation. The research results revealed that there were not considerable differences between female and male participants' pronunciation. Both groups have had some difficulties in recognition of the correct intonation pattern and putting the stress on the right words. Moreover, female students generally outperformed male ones, though; male participants were slightly better than female ones in identifying the accurate stressed words. Finally, it was suggested that individual differences among learners, including gender-related differences, play an important role in enhancing language teaching and learning process.