GENDER STEREOTYPES:

A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

OF ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS AT
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
Presented to:
Dr. Zia Ahmed

Presented by:
Muhammad Azhar Khawaja

At:
NUML (Multan Campus)
 Introduction to the present research
 The present research is an attempt to explore how
ideologically loaded linguistic discourse is employed in the
construction and deconstruction of desired ideology,
world view and social construction of reality.
 The present research will be qualitative in approach.
 Fairclough’s (1993) method of CDA will be employed to
analyse linguistic discourses of the selected textbooks.
 The findings may contribute to the existing body of
knowledge and make people gender alerted.
 Objective(s) of the Study

The present study intends to track the major

stereotyping in Intermediate English textbooks of
Punjab province. The main objectives of the study are:
 To find out the implicit as well as explicit ideological
messages related to gender
 To analyze how these ideologies influence upon the
learners’ worldviews.
 Key Terms

Gender stereotypes, ideology, , Critical

Discourse Analysis (CDA), ELT.
Gender expression refers to the

“…way in which a person acts to communicate

gender within a given culture; for example, in
terms of clothing, communication patterns and
interests. A person’s gender expression may or
may not be consistent with socially prescribed
gender roles, and may or may not reflect his or
her gender identity” (American Psychological
Association, 2008).
 GENDER STEREOTYPES
 Stereotypes are usually understood as individually-
held beliefs about groups and individuals within those
groups.
 Stereotypes are based on the human tendency to
categorize groups based on a small range of perceived
social characteristics.
 stereotypes are often discussed and studied within a
largely individualistic perspective as if they were free-
floating ideas originating in people’s heads, rather
than being deeply embedded in the structure of
institutions.
 Research Questions
The following main and sub research questions have
provided the research design for the present study.
 Main Research Question
• How men and women are represented in the
discourses of ELT textbooks?
 Sub Question
• How do the gender stereotypes influence the students’
worldview?
 Theoretical Framework
The researcher’s analysis employs Fairclough's (1993) method of
critical discourse analysis (CDA).
 Critical discourse analysis intends to focus on the ways social
dominance is secured and sustained through the manipulation
and construction of particular discourse structures.
 It takes into account various perspectives including a
linguistic one.
 Discourse analysis is also a form of speech act analysis and it
investigates linguistic strategies, which legitimize or
naturalize the social order.
 Research Methodology
 The present research will be qualitative in approach.
 The data collected through the study of the English
textbooks of 1st and 2nd year classes will be analyzed
by employing Fairclough’s (1993) method of CDA.
 The researcher will discuss about the analytical
framework i.e. Fairclough (2003) and particularly its
certain analytical devices for the analysis of data
taken from the English textbooks.
CDA works at three levels:
 Description ( discourse as text )

 Interpretation ( discourse as discursive practice)

 Explanation ( discourse as social practice )

 Delimitation

The present research is delimited to

the textual analysis of the English
textbooks published by Punjab Text
Book Board at intermediate level.
 Social Significance of the Research

The present study is significant in the sense that it will:

 Make familiarize the readers with the power of
ideology, how it can work and who can be benefited
from it.
 Therefore, I strongly hope that the present research
will provide food for thoughts in this regard.
Thank You!