Analysis of Gender Representation in English Language Learning Materials: The Case of Grade Ten Textbook in Ethiopia

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to explore gender representation in grade ten English textbook. The study employed content analysis approach which was based four categories of analysis such as language use, visibility/ illustrations, occupational roles and firstness. The units of analysis were words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, passages, stories and illustrations in the materials. The data was analyzed in frequency count and compared using Chi-square test to determine the level of significance of the differences obtained between the masculine and feminine groups observed in each category. The findings disclosed that females were underrepresented in language use (particularly in proper nouns and common nouns used), visibility/ illustrations (images and pictures) and occupational roles mentioned in the text. In addition, males dominated the first position (firstness) in dialogues, points of view opinion, common noun pairs, pronoun pairs and proper name pairs. On the contrary, males were underrepresented in the adjectives and pronouns used in the text book. In general, the textbook was characterized by unfair representation of gender in all aspects.