Investigating the Relationship among Gender, Critical Thinking and Meta-Cognitive Awareness Listening Strategies

This study aimedat investigating the difference between male and female Iranian Upper-Intermediate EFL learners in terms of critical thinking, meta-cognitive awareness listening strategies, and selection of meta- cognitive listening strategies. To this end, one hundred and fifty language learners (including males and females with average age of 26.5) were selected through homogenised process to take part in this study. As a further step, the participants answered CTQ and MALQ questionnaires, which were 5-point Likert-type questionnaires. The results showed that there was no significant difference between males and females critical ability but there that was a significant difference between them in awareness and selection of meta-cognitive listening strategies. In other words, women were more aware than men in meta-cognitive listening strategies. Also a significant difference was found only in ‘planning’ and ‘directed attention’ but not in ‘problem solving’, ‘meta translation’, and ‘person knowledge’ between the male and the female Iranian Upper-Intermediate EFL learners. The results have some implications.