Algerian EFL Students’ Perception of the Impact of Teachers’ Gender: The Case of Tlemcen University

Abstract

In the last three decades, the study of gender in relation to EFL research has gained greater importance. The gender-based difference has been widely studied showing the role played by the teacher as perceived by university students. A teacher’s gender is undeniably a significant factor in influencing the learning process and thus bears some impact on learners’ achievement. This study explores students’ perception of the impact of teachers’ gender in the EFL classroom at Tlemcen University in Algeria. This research bears some significance as to the achievements reached by the learners based on how they may be affected by their teachers’ gender, and thus it attempts to question their preferences and their relationship with their teachers. The main question considers the impact of teachers’ gender on Algerian EFL learners’. An open-ended questionnaire was administered to forty first-year students. The findings show that students do not mind studying in mixed-gender classes and being taught by both genders. They seem to have a more positive attitude towards the role of men in the teaching profession than their female colleagues, though female teachers outperform males in interpersonal relationships