1 Language and gender: learning and understanding

In countries around the world, there is a common situation in many secondary schools:

• students are learning in a language that is not their first or home language
• teachers are teaching in a language that is not their first or home language.

This means students must learn complex subjects such as mathematics, science, history and geography through an unfamiliar language, and teachers must use a second language (or, for many teachers, a third or fourth language) to explain academic content and manage lessons.

This is a challenge for students and teachers alike, so what happens when students do not understand, or only partly understand the language of instruction?

Poor comprehension is a barrier to learning. Students must understand the teacher, in order to learn and should also be able to practise and demonstrate their understanding through speaking and writing, so teachers can check student progress.

Student comprehension impacts on behaviour for learning so when students do not understand, they can become disengaged and disruptive and disruption and poor behaviour are additional barriers to learning.

In classrooms where there is poor comprehension and disengaged or disruptive behaviour, girls are additionally disadvantaged:

• Girls may already struggle to attend school.
• They may not be able to study at home, because of chores and family commitments.
• Girls may have less exposure to the language of instruction outside school, and fewer opportunities to practice it.
• Girls may have less exposure to language about certain subjects, if these subjects are considered inappropriate for them.
• They may lack the confidence to ask questions and participate.

In such classrooms, girls may be silenced or bullied and may also feel unsafe. Teachers may also address girls and boys differently, verbally and non-verbally. Some teachers may even use different languages with girls and boys.

Gender biases are expressed through language that reveals the belief that girls can not perform as well as boys, or that boys should not allow themselves to be outperformed academically by girls – or in any other way. Teachers often discourage girls from taking science by telling them that such subjects are for boys or are too difficult for girls. When a girl is assertive, she is told to stop acting like a boy, and when a boy cries, he is cautioned to stop behaving like a woman.

But spoken language is only part of the communication. … An indifferent shrug of the shoulders or rolling of the eyes suggests that the student is too foolish or bothersome to warrant attention.

(Mlama et al., 2005, in Gender Responsive Pedagogy – A Teacher’s Handbook, p. 14)

With this food for thought, now read from the EMEGen research findings.