ROLE OF GENDER IN PAKISTANI ELT TEXTBOOKS: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS APPROACH

Abstract

Language and gender relations are two ways: gender is reflected by language and language assists to shape gender. Gender is less studied in the field of textbook evaluation because it states the social standards, practices and roles that distinct females from males. Critical Discourse Studies is a persuasive framework which is applied to eval­uate gender beliefs and ideologies in textbooks. It further contains the examination of ideological manipulation, he­gemony, power relations and identity. The current study examines representation of gender in Pakistani English Language Teaching schoolbooks of 9th grade and 10th grade of Balochistan which is the largest province (area) of Pakistan. A mixed method approach is used to analyse the data. ‘Three-Dimensional Model’ by Fairclough (2015) which is based on description, interpretation, and explanation has been used as the theoretical framework of the study. Moreover, the description stage has analysed four aspects. These are included as the frequency of men and women presence, gender activity, the pictorial representations, and the societal/domestic roles related with them. At large scale, the cardinal ideologies roles of power-relations and social challenges are elucidated. The analysis of the two ELT textbooks reveals a gender inequality and supports males. Such inequality has led to the females being less powerful and more stereotyped.

Keywords

• critical discourse analysis, elt textbooks, stereotype, gender, ideology