Critical Discourse Analysis on “Bright: An English” Textbook: Gender Equity in a Popular EFL School Textbook in Indonesia

Andi Aspian Nur  Apsari; Didin Nuruddin Hidayat; Nida Husna; Alek Alek

doi:10.31849/elsya.v4i2.9549

Andi Aspian Nur Apsari Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4471-2531
Didin Nuruddin Hidayat Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7506-4258
Nida Husna Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3808-4049
Alek Alek Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1907-2851

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.9549

Keywords: Critical Discourse Analysis, EFL Textbook, Gender Equity, Gender Roles, Gender Bias

Abstract

Using Critical Discourse Analysis as an analysis tool, this study explores gender representation in the national EFL textbook “Bright: An English” for Eighth Grade Junior High School students, a book utilized in Al-Ikhlas Lambuya Junior High School’s learning and teaching process. Fairclough's three-dimensional framework was used to examine the data in this study. The study aims to see how gender roles are communicated and how gender equity is reflected in the textbook. To uncover the power imbalance or disparity between males and females, characteristics such as male and female visual representation, male and female characters, male and female social, domestic duties, male and female semantic roles, and activities were investigated. The research revealed a gender bias in favour of men in particular functions and activities, such as becoming an 'athlete,' engaging in social events, and participating in sports. On the other hand, female dominance is evident in that female students outnumber male students significantly. Nevertheless, the study discovered some equality in terms of pictorial representation, some activities, and roles. Although conventional roles and behaviours are associated with female and male genders in this book, all genders are equally portrayed in terms of social position, power, and domination. Furthermore, no ideology such as anti-feminism or masculinity is discussed in this text.

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Author Biographies

Andi Aspian Nur Apsari, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia

Andi Aspian Nur Apsari is a magister student of English Education Department at State Islamic University of Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta. He is been teaching for a couple of years at one of the boarding schools in Southeast Sulawesi, Apsari’s latest plan is to continue his study in one of the numerous universities in the world to expand his obsession related to perspective, especially people’s culture. His current work is related to men's and women’s behaviour as English textbook represents a culture in the western country. Apsari lives and works out of his home as maintaining Santri in boarding school in Lambuya, and spends his leisure time beaching and camping.

Didin Nuruddin Hidayat, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia

Didin Nuruddin Hidayat is an Associate Professor and Head Department of English Education, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Indonesia. He also serves as Coordinator for 5000 Doktor Scholarship, Ministry of Religious Affairs, managing the regions of Australia, Europe, and North America. He obtained his master's degree in TESOL and a Ph.D. degree in Education from University of Canberra, Australia. He was recently appointed as Adjunct Associate Professor from Central Queensland University, Australia. Didin’s research interests are English language teaching, linguistics, applied linguistics, English teacher education, discourse analysis, and teacher quality. He has earned some research grants from local and national institutions. He has published some articles in international journals and proceedings and numerous published articles in nationally accredited journals. He has acquired extensive experience in presenting research papers at international conferences in both Indonesia and overseas.

Nida Husna, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia

She is an English lecturer at FITK, UIN Jakarta. She got her master's degree in Research and Evaluation in Education in 2002 from Prof. Dr. HAMKA University, Jakarta and TESOL Studies in 2009 from the University of Queensland, Australia. She got her Doctoral degree from Atmajaya Catholic University, Jakarta, in 2018 in Applied English Linguistic. Some of her experiences are: teaching English since 1992, becoming a presenter on many occasions, and writing teaching materials as well as research papers for journals. She has also presented her works on many occasions nationally and internationally. She’s been teaching since 1992 and experienced all levels of education.

Alek Alek, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia

Dr. Alek is a senior lecturer at the Master of English Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Jakarta, Indonesia. His research interest deals with English language teaching, discourse analysis, Applied linguistics, and literature. In the last 3 years, scientific papers have been published both in national journals and some articles on international conferences which are indexed by Scopus. For complete data can be seen in the SINTA ID URL: 6066639. The current research topics are now in progress (data collecting, data analysis, and writing) and they are expected to publish in reputable journals, both national and international.

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