EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Learning in Terms of Gender and Vocabulary Knowledge

The study aims at investigating patterns of variation in EFL high school students’ vocabulary strategy use according to gender and vocabulary knowledge. For this study, 1,124 high school students participated, and they were asked to take a vocabulary test and respond to a questionnaire. The findings are as follows: 1) there was no significant gender differences in their vocabulary knowledge; 2) the learners showed different strategy use patterns depending upon their level of vocabulary knowledge; and 3) their vocabulary learning strategy use was significantly different between male and female learners in general that males were more successful strategy users than females. These findings suggest that the widely accepted belief of female dominance over their male counterparts in vocabulary learning and vocabulary learning strategy use is needed to be revisited, taking into account diverse factors in different learning contexts in order to obtain a clear, convincing solution to the issue in question.