Gebru, AmanuelKasaye, Abera2020-11-032023-11-092020-11-032023-11-092007-02http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/22996This study was carried out to see if there were gender differences in ve rbal participation in Engli sh as Foreign Language classroom group discussions at Adama Teachers Training College. For the study students whose four semesters cumulative grade point average (CGPA) in Engli sh courses was 2.00-2.50 were identitied from the total five sections of Language Stream students, and from them 36 (27 females and 9 males) were randomly selected. Then they were divided in to three same-sex groups of lema Ie students and three mixed-sex groups. The data was gathered by video recording the group discussions and by interviewing some of the male students and female students in the sample population . The recording was made two times in the course of two double on-off periods and, on average. aile group was video taped for half an hour. The recording was tran sc ribed and Van Lier's ( 1988) modified model was used to describe the transcribed data. The overall results reveal that the amount of verbal participation of female students in mixed-sex group discussions was less as compared to the amount or verbal participation of their male counter parts. The results also showed that female students in the mixed-sex groups took less initiative to interact in the group than their male counter parts. The female students did less in areas of topic work, sel f-se lection, allocation, and sequencing of discourse. Besides although each group was given four chances to choose volunteer group leader and change roles. none of the female students in the mixed-sex groups shouldered the responsibility of leading groups, and the overa ll direction of the discourse was controlled by their male counter parts. The interview results support these findin gs in that 100% of the male respondents anc! 80% of the female respondents said they believe thaI girls are less active participants in group di scuss ions than boys are. As a result. II! 80% of the male respondents said that they prefer working in mixed-sex groups to single-sex groups in order to 'assist' or encourage the female students ('their s iste rs' . to quote their words). And 80% of the female respondents on their part said they prefer working in mixed-sex groups to single-sex groups because they had trust in the answers the male students give .. gn the other hand, resu lts indicate that female students interact with better confidence in their same-sex groups than they do in the mixed-sex groups. Girls in their same-sex groups did better in the amount of participation in group di scussions, and in the control of the overall direction of the group interaction. They also shouldered the responsibility of group leader in their same-sex group discussions. The findings, therefore, estab li sh gender differences in group discuss ions in Engl ish as Foreign language class room group discussions.en-USEngli sh as Foreign Language classroom group discussions at Adama Teachers Training College.Thesis