Gender and motivational orientations of English language learners: The case of high school students in Iran

Motivation in foreign language learning has been recently conceptualized as a variable which is closely associated with learner identity (e.g. Dornyei, 2005). The purpose of the present study was to investigate the extent to which gender, which is an aspect of learner identity, is related to the motivational orientations of high school English language learners in Iran. The participants of the study included 305 female and 96 male high school English language learners in the first, second, third and fourth grade of high school. Students' motivational orientations were measured through an 'L2 Motivational Self System' questionnaire. The instrument consisted of 40 items scored on a 6-point Likert scale and Cronbach's alpha reliability demonstrated that the obtained data was reliable. The Mann-Whitney test found that 'ought-to L2 self', 'ideal L2 self' and 'instrumental-promotion' were significantly higher among the male high school English language learners and differences in the other motivational orientations were not statistically significant. The findings are interpreted within the social, historical and cultural context in which men have been historically regarded as the breadwinners of the family. Implications of the results are discussed. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of ALSC 2012