B2 – Upper Intermediate
Nothing has been more enduring than the stereotype of women as chatterboxes, gabbing about everything and anything at any time, all the time. However, some reports conclude that men are chatterboxes too depending on the context of the conversation.
Read the article below and be ready to answer the questions that follow.
Who speaks more, men or women? Most people wouldn’t hesitate to say that women speak more. There are many jokes about how much, and what, women talk about. But research which some may find surprising indicates that both men and women speak more or less equally.
Four hundred university students in the United States and Mexico participated in the study. Researchers recorded the students’ daily conversations for several days. After analyzing the data, they discovered that both sexes are in a statistical dead heat when it comes to speaking. Women used a little more than 16,000 words every day. Men used a little less than 16,000 words. The report admits, though, that the numbers could change as men and women grow older, because the study only tracked university students.
The current idea that women are chatterboxes just isn’t true. In addition, men only speak when they have something important to say also isn’t true. Both ideas probably come from cultural and political discrimination against women. But the study explains that men gossip just as much as women. Men and women also talk equally about unimportant topics. But women actually talk more about relationships.
A psychologist at Yale University has a somewhat different opinion. She suggests that the idea about men and women probably come from arguments between the genders. Unfortunately, the study doesn’t know how speaking patterns change in an argument. But other studies have supported the stereotype that guys become quiet and women talk more in an emotional conflict.
Source: headsupenglish.com
Discussion Questions:
- Do you agree with the stereotype that women talk more?
- In a private conversation with close friends or family members, who talks more? How about in a business setting?
- Which topics/issues could men be more interested in that would entice them to speak more?
