Abstract
Gender is essentially a social identity reconstruction notion of societies and cultures. In the same vein, language is a way of expressing societies and cultures. Therefore, gender and language share a two-way treaty; that is, gender is reflected by language, and language helps to shape gender. In recent decades, gender in language education has been a prominent topic of discussion and research. Textbooks, including English language teaching (ELT) textbooks, are essential in inculcating and demonstrating specific gender ideologies or values. Therefore, it is crucial to examine the portrayal of gender in such textbooks. More specifically, the current study aimed to explore how gender is engrafted in Bangladeshi ELT textbooks. Following a critical discourse approach, the study examined English for Today (EfT) for Class 8, one of the EfT books mandated by the National Curriculum Textbook Board (NCTB) for mainstream English education in Bangladesh. Two theoretical lenses Porreca’s in TESOLQ 18(4):705–724, 1984 linguistic representation framework and Kress and van Leeuwen’s in Reading images: the grammer of visaul design, Routledge, Newyork, 2021 grammar of visual images, were employed to study gender representation in the EfT book. The analysis identified that the textbook exhibits stereotypical gender differences and inadequate gender equality both textually and symbolically by portraying women as voiceless and subservient entities compared to men. Therefore, the study recommends revising the EfT book to include a diverse representation of female roles, reflecting Bangladesh’s stance on a gender-equal, inclusive society.
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Data availability
The data supporting the results reported in the article can be found in the book English for Today (Class 8) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1US4ZF6tcF4agIcth114_79XQETP6Hsbz/view?pli=1.
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The first author developed the idea of the study, abstract, methodology; provided relevant guidelines to the second author regarding theoretical framework and edited the paper accordingly. The second author developed introduction, literature, theoretical framework, data analysis and conclusion.
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Nur, S., Farzana, A. Exploring gender representation in government-mandated english language textbook of class 8 in Bangladesh. SN Soc Sci 4, 67 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-024-00860-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-024-00860-6