Arab World English Journal (December 2020)                                      Theses ID 262                           Pp. 1- 53
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/th.262

 Full Theses PDF

 

Gender Representation in Saudi EFL Textbooks: A Study of the Family and Friends Series

 

Bayan Rashed Almghams
Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia

 

 

Author: Bayan Rashed Almghams
Thesis Title: Gender Representation in Saudi EFL Textbooks: A Study of the Family and Friends Series
Institution: Department of English Language & Literature, Faculty of Languages and Translation, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University
Major: Linguistics
Degree: M.A.
Year of award:
  2020
Supervisor: 
Dr. Mustapha Ben Kharafa
KeyWords: gender role, elementary school, Saudi EFL textbooks

Abstract:
The aim of the present study was to investigate the gender representation in the   English as a Foreign Language textbook, Family and Friends 6 KSA second edition, that is designed internationally and widely used in private Saudi elementary schools. To achieve the study goals, a mixed method was used, content analysis and a compiling quantitative data in which the corpus of the English textbook was analyzed; frequencies and percentages of gender appearances and activities were also calculated. The major findings of the study were as follows: First, women were underrepresented in terms of appearance. Second, males were dominant of the reading passages and dialogues topics. Third, there is an overall higher tendency for females to be referenced in sentences before males. forth, males were presented in a wider range and overall a higher level of employment and enjoyed a wider range of spare time and leisure activities than females. Fifth, however, the distribution of household responsibilities was equal between females and males and female activities were not restricted to passive indoor activities. Recommendations and suggestions for further studies are presented at the end of the results section of this paper.

Cite as: Almghams, B. R. (2020). Gender Representation in Saudi EFL Textbooks: A Study of the Family and Friends Series, Department of English Language & Literature, Faculty of Languages and Translation, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University. (M.A.Thesis). Retrieved from Arab World English Journal (ID Number: 262 .December 2020. 1- 53.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/th.262

References

  • Abeyasekera, S. (2005). Quantitative analysis approaches to qualitative data: Why, when and how? In J. D. Holland & J. Campbell (Eds.), Methods in development research:
  • Abiky, W. B. A. (2019). Gender Role in Saudi Arabian Female High School English Textbooks Traveller 1 and Traveller 2. English Language Teaching12(4), 96. doi: 10.5539/elt.v12n4p96.
  • Aljiaythin, W. (2018). Gender Representation in EFL Textbooks in Saudi Arabia: A Critical Discourse Analysis Approach (Master’s thesis, King saud university, 2018). International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature,7(5), 151-157
  • AlJumiah, A. (2016). Language, power, and ideology in high school EFL textbooks in Saudi Arabia. (Doctoral of Philosophy), University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
  • Allwright, R.L. (1981). ‘What Do We Want Teaching Materials For?’ ELT Journal, 36(1), 5-17.
  • Al-Qatawneh, S., & Rawashdeh, A. A. (2019). Gender representation in the Arabic language textbook for the ninth grade approved by the Ministry of Education for use in schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Studies in Educational Evaluation60, 90–98. doi: 10.1016/j.stueduc.2018.12.001
  • Alsaleh, S. A. (2012). Gender inequality in Saudi Arabia: Myth and reality. International Proceedings of Economics Development & Research, 39.
  • Banegas, D.L. (2011). Teaching More Than English in Secondary Education. ELT Journal, 65(1), 80-82.
  • Bawazeer, K. (2015). A System for Teaching English in Saudi Arabia: A Model for English Language.
  • Blumberg, R. L. (2008). The invisible obstacle to educational equality: Gender bias in textbooks. Prospects, 38, 345-361.
  • Butler, J. (1990). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. New York & London: Routledge.
  • Byrd, P. (2001). Textbooks: Evaluation for Selection and Analysis for Implementation. In M. Celce-Murcia (Eds.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (3rd pp.415-427). US: Heinle & Heinle.
  • Clarke, J. and Clarke, M. (1990). Stereotyping in TESOL Materials. In: Harrison, B. (Ed.), Culture and the Language Classroom, vol. 42(2), pp.36-42.
  • Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in education. New York: Routledge.
  • Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches (pp. 97-106). Warwickshire, UK: ITDG Publishing.
  • Cortazzi, M., & Jin, L. (1999). ‘Cultural mirrors: Materials and methods in the EFL classroom’, in E. Hinkel (ed.), Culture in second language teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.196-219.
  • Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
  • Crowford, J. (2002). The role of materials in the language classroom: Finding the balance, in J. Richards & W. Renandya (eds.), Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 80-92
  • Cunningsworth, A. (1995). Choosing your Coursebook. UK: Heinemann English Language.
  • Ellis, R. (1997). ‘The Empirical Evaluation of Language Teaching Materials’. ELT Journal 51(1), 36-42.
  • Fairclough, N. (2015). Language and power. London: Routledge.
  • Gershuny, H. L. (1977). Sexism in dictionaries and texts: Omissions and commissions. In Nilsen, A., Bosmajian, H., Gershuny, H. & Stanley J. (Eds). Sexism and language ( 161-179)I11inois: National Council of Teachers of English.
  • Graaf, R. D., & Vossen, R. V. D. (2013). Bits versus brains in content analysis. Comparing the advantages and disadvantages of manual and automated methods for content analysis. Communications38(4). doi: 10.1515/commun-2013-0025.
  • Graves, K. (2000). Designing language courses. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.
  • Hall, M. (2014). Gender Representation in Current EFL Textbooks in Iranian Secondary Schools. Journal of Language Teaching and Research5(2). doi: 10.4304/jltr.5.2.253-261
  • Halliday, M. A. K & Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (2004). An introduction to functional grammar: 3rd Edition. London: Arnold.
  • Hamdan, S. (2010). English-Language Textbooks Reflect gender Bias: A case in Jordan, Advances in Gender and Education, vol. 2, pp. 22-26.
  • Harmer, J. (1991). The Practice of English Language Teaching. New York: Longman Publishing.
  • Haycroft, J. (1998). An Introduction To English Language Teaching. Longman.
  • Holmes, J. (2001). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (2nd edition). Pearson Education
  • Holsti, O. R. (1969). Content analysis for the social sciences and humanities. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co.
  • Hornby, A. S., Ashby, M., & Wehmeier, S. (2000). Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary of current English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Household responsibilities. (2019). In com. Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ household responsibilities.
  • Hussain, M., Naz, A., Khan, W., Daraz, U., & Khan, Q. (2015). Gender stereotyping in family: An institutionalized and normative mechanism in Pakhtun society of Pakistan. SAGE Open5(3), 1-11. doi:10.1177/2158244015595258.
  • Hutchinson, T & Torres, E. (1994). ‘The Textbook as Agent of Change’. ELT Journal,48(4), 315-28 Johnson, K. (1989). The Second Language Curriculum. Cambridge: University of Cambridge.
  • Krippendorff, K. (2019). Content analysis an introduction to its methodology. Los Angeles: SAGE.
  • Leisure activity. (2019). In com. Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ leisure activity.
  • Lesikin, J. (2001). Determining social prominence: a methodology for uncovering gender bias in ESL textbooks. In D. Hall & A. Hewings (eds). Innovation in English language teaching. London: Rutledge, pp. 275-283.
  • Litosseliti, L. (2006). Gender and language: Theory and practice. London: Hodder.
  • Litz, D. R.A. (2005). Textbook Evaluation and ELT Management: A South Korea Case Study. Asian EFL Journal, no volume and page numbers givenRetrieved from http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/Litz_thesis.pdf
  • Lombard, M., Snyder-Duch, J., & Bracken, C. C. (2002). Content Analysis in Mass Communication: Assessment and Reporting of Intercoder Reliability. Human Communication Research28(4), 587–604. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2958.2002.tb00826.
  • Martin, C. L., & Ruble, D. (2004). Children’s Search for Gender Cues. Current Directions in Psychological Science13(2), 67–70. doi: 10.1111/j.0963-7214.2004.00276.x.
  • McGrath, I. (2002). Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
  • Moore, E. (2007). Gender Representation in Russian EFL Textbooks. (Unpublished Masters thesis), California State University, Long Beach, USA.
  • Mustapha, A. S. (2013). Gender and language education research: A review. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 4(3), 454-463. doi:10.4304/jltr.4.3.
  • Neuendorf, Kimberly A. (2002) . The content analysis guidebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • (2019). In OxfordDictionaries.com. Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ occupation.
  • Onwuegbuzie, A., & Combs, J. (2011). Data analysis in mixed research: A primer.
  • Pawelczyk, J., Pakuta, L., & Sunderland, J. (2014). Issues of Power in Relation to Gender and Sexuality in the EFL Classroom: An Overview. Journal of Gender and Power, 1(1).
  • Porreca, K. L. (1984) ‘Sexism in Current ESL Textbooks’. TESOL Quarterly.
  • Radic-Bojanic, B., & Topalov, J. (2016). Textbooks in the EFL classroom: Defining, assessing and analyzing. Zbornik Radova Filozofskog Fakulteta u Pristini, (46-4), 137–153. doi: 10.5937/zrffp46-12094
  • Rajkhan, S. (2014). Women in Saudi Arabia: Status, rights, and limitations. University of Washington Bothell, King County.
  • Richards, J. (2001). Curriculum development in language teaching. 3rd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Sheldon, L. (1988). Evaluating ELT Textbooks and Materials. ELT Journal, 42(4). 237-246.
  • Sheldon, L. (1988). Evaluating ELT Textbooks and Materials. ELT Journal, 42(4). 237-246. Skierso, A. (1991). ‘Textbook Selection and Evaluation’. In M. Celce-Murcia (ed.). Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (2nd ed.). Boston: Heinle and Heinle.
  • Spender, D. (1980). Man made language. London: Rutledge and Keegan Paul.
  • Sulaimani, A. (2017). Gender Representation in EFL Textbooks in Saudi Arabia: A Fair Deal? English Language Teaching, 10(6), 44-52. doi:10.5539/elt.v10n6p44.
  • Sunderland, J. (2012). Language, gender and childrens fiction. London: Continuum. Sunderland, J. (1992). Gender in the EFL classroom. ELT Journal46(1), 81–91. doi: 10.1093/elt/46.1.81
  • Sunderland, J., Cowley, M., Rahim, F. A., and Leontzakou, C., Shattuck, J. (2000). From bias in the text‟ to teacher talk around the text‟: an exploration of teacher discourse and gendered foreign language textbook texts. Linguistics and Education 3, 251-286.
  • Tahan, A. (2016). An investigation of gender representation in EFL textbooks used at public schools in the UAE (Unpublished master’s thesis). The British University in Dubai.
  • Tahriri, A., & Pouran, M. (2014). Gender Representation in “Top-Notch” Series: A Critical Discourse Analysis Perspective. International Journal of Research Studies in Psychology, 3(2), 39-51. https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrsp.2014.633.
  • Tahririan, M. H., & Sadri, E. (2013). Analysis of Images in Iranian High School EFL Course Books Iranian Journal of Applied Linguistics (IJAL)16 (2), 137-160.
  • Tomlinson, B. (2010). ‘Principles of Effective Materials Development’. In N, Harwood (Ed.) English Language Teaching Materials: Theory and Practice. New York: Cambridge University Press.
  • Tomlinson, B. (Ed.) (2003). Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London: Continuum.
  • Tomlinson, B. (Ed.) (2008). English Language Learning Materials: A Critical Review. London: Continuum.
  • Tyson, H. (1997). Overcoming structural barriers to good textbooks. Washington: National Education Goals Panel.
  • Van Dijk, T. A. (1995). Discourse analysis as ideology analysis. In C. Schaffner, & A. Wenden (Eds.), Language and Peace (pp. 17-33). Aldershot: Dartmouth Publishin.
  • Van Leeuwen, T. (1996). The representation of social actors in disourseIn Caldas Coulthard, C. R, & Coulthard, M. (Eds.), Text and Practices, London: Routledge.
  • Wallen, N. E., & Fraenkel, J. R. (2001). Educational research: a guide to the process. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Wang Weize. (2011). A Content Analysis of Reliability in Advertising Content Analysis Studies.”. Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1375. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1375.
  • Yang, C. C. R. (2014). Gender representation in Hong Kong primary English language textbooks: a study of two widely-used textbook series. Lancaster: Lancaster University.
  • Yule, G. (2006). The study of language (3rd ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Reddit
Email
StumbleUpon
Digg
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5595-9559
https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/th.262

Bayan Rashed Almghams
Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia