Gendered language attitudes: exploring language as a gendered construct using Rasch measurement theory

Gendered language attitudes (GLAs) are gender-based perceptions of language varieties based on connections between gender-related and linguistic characteristics of individuals, including the perception of language varieties as possessing degrees of masculinity and femininity. This study combines substantive theory about language learning and gender with a model based on Rasch measurement theory to explore the psychometric properties of a new measure of GLAs. Findings suggest that GLAs is a unidimensional construct and that the items used can be used to describe differences among students in terms of the strength of their GLAs. Implications for research, theory, and practice are discussed. Special emphasis is given to the teaching and learning of languages.