THE IMPACT OF GENDER AND SELF-EVALUATION ON THE APPLICATION OF SPEAKING STRATEGIES BY IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS

Speaking is one important skill in the field of language learning. The present article examines the differences of using speaking strategies by Iranian EFL students studying English in one of the private English Teaching Centers in Iran. To measure speaking strategies use ,a questionnaire received via internet was given to the students(16male and 16 female). The aims followed by this study are:1-examining the relationship between the use of different speaking strategies by Iranian EFL students and their self-evaluated skill level and gender.2-Differences regarding the frequency of using speaking strategies among male and female students .The results obtained in this study were analyzed through SPPS software. The results showed no difference related to the gender and use of speaking strategies and the frequency of using strategies was different among male and female students therefore communicative-experiential strategies were among the most frequent ones used by both male and female students and affective strategies were among the least frequent ones for male students and the interpersonal strategies were the least frequent ones for female students .Also, there was a relationship between the use of speaking strategies by the students and their self-evaluated skill level. The pedagogical implications in relation to these findings are discussed in this article.