Critical Discourse Analysis of Gender Representations in EFL Textbooks

Abstract

The present study investigates gender representation in EFL textbooks in Jordanian context using critical discourse analysis. The data were collected from the content of international ELT textbooks series, i.e. interchange 1A & 2B Student's Textbooks which were taught to undergraduate students at Al-Balqa Applied University. The study used Fairclough’s (1995) three-dimensional framework to analyze the data. Variables such as women’s and men’s social and domestic roles, visibility of women and men, women’s and men’s activities, women’s and men’s semantic roles, and pictorial representation were analyzed to unveil inequalities or power imbalance between males and females. The findings of the study revealed that the EFL text books were biased in favor of men in certain roles and activities. For example, men occupied the role of a ‘craftsman’, a ‘fitness trainer’ more than women. The study also found out that the text books showed some degree of equality between males and females in terms of pictorial representation, visibility and some activities and roles. The results also revealed that even though there existed some stereotypical roles and activities associated with men and women in these books, males and females were represented equally in terms of social status, power, and dominance. In other words, there was no sign of feminism and anti-feminism in the analyzed text books.