Sex differences in linguistic ability: a case for Xhosa

Abstract

Research indicates that sex¹ determines the extent to which linguistic performance affects achievement. In a study undertaken by Liski and Puntanen (1983) aimed at determining the extent to which oral performance in spoken English is affected by variables which have been found to be related to achievement, sex proved to be one of the most important variables in explaining differences in language skills, comparison between the girls' and the boys' distribution of marks revealed that the girls in their study were better than boys at matriculation level.