The role of gender on awareness of requests

Abstract

This study investigates the effect that the variable of gender may have on awareness of requests by undergraduate students in a secondary school. Although much research has been conducted on awareness of requests (e.g. Schmidt, 1993, 1995; Al-Hejin, 2005) and production of requests (e.g. Martínez-Flor and Usó-Juan, 2010; Usó-Juan, 2010), the present study attempts to fill the gap as to whether or not gender can have an impact on awareness of requests. In order to carry out this piece of research, a pre-test/post-test design has been created which is addressed at 11 teenage students with the same level of proficiency (i.e., beginner). Instruction was implemented between the tests so as to check if there existed any effect on awareness. Hence, the participants had to state the appropriateness of the requests, as well as to justify their answers. The results show both quantitative and qualitative differences between males and females, a fact which would imply that gender is a factor to be taken into account when dealing with awareness of requests in the English-as-a-foreign-language classroom.