Gender discourse in english language teaching (ELT) coursebook

Abstract

Learning a second language can be crucial for many. In this stage the textbook becomes one of the most important aspects of the target language. However, in a country like Bangladesh where the necessity of learning English has been eminent for many years now due to various social and economic reasons, it is noticed that the way the textbooks of English are designed follow a certain pattern. Although there are many changes happening over the years in the education sector and new concepts are being introduced by the government to develop the teaching and learning experience, how much it is being effective to bring a change in the mindset and portray an actual picture of the different genders being present in the society, is a question that needs attention. The research looks at ELT textbook English for Today, available and pre-dominantly used in the Bengali medium schooling system of Bangladesh specifically in grade 9 and 10 to identify whether there is an evidence of any discourse which varies in terms of style and representation of different genders.