Gender differences in the influences of social support on student motivation and proficiency in EFL

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Thursday 2:15pm
  In Poster Session: Emotion, Identity, and Social Contexts in Learning

Abstract

This study mainly aimed to investigate the gender differences in the influences of social support (i.e., teachers, peers, and parents' support) on student motivation in English as a foreign language (EFL). Results of two-group SEM indicated,unexpectedly, that parents’ motivational support had the most and strongest correlations with both male and female students’ motivation. Teachers’ cognitive support showed negative correlation with males’ extrinsic motivation while showing a positive correlation with females’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Parents’ cognitive support had a negative correlation with male students’ English proficiency while showing a positive correlation with female students’ extrinsic motivation and self-efficacy. Further, peers’ cognitive support only had a positive correlation with female students’ extrinsic motivation and negative correlation with their proficiency.

Authors

• Wenjuan Guo, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

• Yuxi Zhang, Shanghai Jiao Tong University