Diverse ELT reading materials: Cross mapping gender ideas of respective readers

Abstract

Textbooks including other academic factors play a crucial role in the gender construction process as highlighted by various researchers. However, there is less research to delve into the process. The present study is an attempt to explore the gender conceptions carried by the readers of two diverse varieties of English Language Teaching (ELT) materials produced by local and foreign publishers, in Pakistani academic settings. For the said purpose, a mixed-method research method has been used; whereas, the instruments of the study are a semantic differential score list and a semi open-ended interview. The population of the study is comprised of two groups of students at the elementary level from two different types of Pakistan schooling system i.e. Government sector and private sector, as they are using different types of ELT material. The results of the study reveal that students exposed to these two varieties of materials have a difference in their gender conceptions. There is an observable difference in the way readers of each set of books relate different attributes to each gender group. Further, the participants of the interview also agree that characters in the textbooks are more often relatable and acceptable for them in real life. The research to some extent agrees that gender ideas provided to young minds in their textbooks contribute to their psychological construction of gender along with other instruments; however, more research is still needed. Finally, it is suggested that the revision of textbooks concerning offered stereotypical gender ideologies can help to reduce gender disparity, to some extent.