Analyzing the Representational Aspect of Gender in Learning English as a Foreign Language: The Case of Grades 7 and 8 Students’ Textbooks in Ethiopian Context

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the representational aspect of gender in learning English as a foreign language in the case of grade 7 and 8 students’ textbooks. The study used a descriptive survey research design involving a mixed approach (quantitative and qualitative methods). To collect data, content analysis was primarily employed. The data were analyzed quantitatively using frequencies and percentages and qualitatively using narrations. The study found out that males occur with 59.8% but females with 40.2% in grade 7 students’ textbook, and males with 57.5% but females with 42.5% in grade 8 students’ English language textbook. Moreover, it was uncovered that males appear first with 67.3% and females with 32.7% in grade 7 students’ textbook, and males with 61.1% but females with 38.9% in grade 8 students’ conversational tasks in their textbook. Accordingly, it can be concluded that EFL students’ textbooks in the Ethiopian context dominantly embed males more than females both in representations and orders of occurrence as the major acting characters in dialogical situations. Thus, it is pedagogically implied that curriculum developers and textbook designers should harmoniously consider gender representation while designing learning materials.