It’s dangerous to proclaim any characteristic as sweepingly male or Female, but is there any truth behind this theory?

When it comes to education, females have certainly been covering lost ground. Girls now outperform boys in GCSEs and women outnumber men at most UK universities.

In the field of Language learning, there has been a long-standing idea that females are also more adept at languages than males, excelling in their native tongue and also foreign language study. But is there any truth behind this theory, or is it just academic folklore?

Of course, it is dangerous to proclaim any characteristic as sweepingly male or female. Many linguists believe that sex is just one small element of an individual’s condition, and their language practices are based on many social and cultural factors, too.

Nonetheless, the battle of the sexes continues to be a popular topic for researchers and educators alike. Below are four popular theories about why women might be stronger language learners than men.

They process language differently

According to a 2008 study of young learners at Northwestern University, girls and boys process language differently. The study revealed that, when learning language, girls’ brains show greater activity in the areas used for language encoding.

Boys’ brains, on the other hand, show activity in the areas associated with visual and aural functions. This means that while girls can process an abstract piece of language more efficiently, boys need some sensory reinforcement to process the data.

For males, the most effective way to study language is to learn visually (seeing a written word or illustration) as well as orally (through listening and repetition).

They use more study strategies

According to the language journal Porta Linguarum, studies from Europe, East Asia, and Latin America have all concluded that female foreign language learners tend to use more varied study methods than their male peers.

Female learners engage more skills (speaking, reading, etc) and elements of language (vocabulary, pronunciation, etc), than males, who tend to stick with only a handful of study methods.

A variety of review methods and subjects helps language learners build their skills holistically while preventing boredom.

For learners who may be stuck in a rut, there’s no shortage of language study apps, workbooks, podcasts and websites, all targeting different skills.

They converse more

Language learning site Busuu has reported that female users of the site are four times more likely to chat with native speakers of their target language.

This finding reinforces the popular notion among linguists that women are socially conditioned to build connections through talk, and are therefore more used to asking questions and propelling conversation.

Making connections with native speakers of a language helps learners practice listening and speaking skills, improve pronunciation, reinforce grammar and vocabulary, and pick up colloquialisms.

The social connections and friendships that can stem from conversation are also motivators in language study.

Of course, this is a very broad diagnosis of male and female habits, and there are certainly many timid females or sociable males who are exceptions to the rule.

For learners who are timid about face-to-face conversation, online forums (like Busuu) are a low-risk way to socialize.

They are more motivated in school

According to the Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, girls tend to be more motivated to study languages than their male classmates. Studies in Canada, the UK, and Hungary all show that female students are more likely to continue their foreign language studies in school, even when the language class isn’t mandatory.

The rationale behind this pattern is highly disputed among linguists. Some theorize that both girls and boys perceive language study as a female domain.

Some claim that, since language teachers are typically women, girls in the classroom can connect to their instructor as a role model.

Again, these findings are broad trends with many individual exceptions. When it comes to language learning, particularly with adults, motivation can take many forms.

You might want to check another interesting research: Girls’ Verbal Skills Make Them Better at Arithmetic, Study Finds