Research on gender representation in English textbooks reveals that messages about gender roles and gender identity transmitted through texts affect the future behaviour of children as they formulate their own roles in society. There is a limited number of studies on visual analysis of gender in textbooks and a dearth of such research on teaching materials in Sri Lanka. This study analyses a TV programme produced to teach school children English in order to uncover the ideological assumptions related to gender and gender roles embedded in the programme.
AoumeurH.2014. ‘Gender Representations in Three School Textbooks: A Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis’. International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Literature, Vol. 2 (9): 13–22.
2.
BahmanM.RahimiA.. 2010. ‘Gender Representation in EFL Materials: An Analysis of English Textbooks of Iranian High Schools’. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 9: 273–77.
3.
BarthesR.1977. Image, Music, Text. Translated by Stephen Heath. London: Fontana Press.
4.
BartonA.SakwaL. N.. 2012. ‘The Representation of Gender in English Textbooks in Uganda’. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, Vol. 20 (2): 173–90.
5.
BastianS.SiriwardenaR.. 1980. ‘Sinhala Textbooks,’ In SiriwardenaR.IndrapalaKBastianSunilKottegodaSepali (eds) School Text books and Communal Relations in Sri Lanka. Colombo: Council for Communal Harmony Through the Media.
CanagarajahS., ed. 2005. Reclaiming the Local in Language Policy and Practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
8.
Central Bank. 2013. Economic and Social Statistics of Sri Lanka, 2013. Colombo: Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
9.
DamigellaD.LicciardelloO.. 2014. ‘Stereotypes and Prejudices at School: A Study on Primary School Reading Books’. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 127: 209–13.
10.
DreesD. E.PhyeGary D.. 2001. ‘Gender Representation in Children’s Language Arts Computer Software’. The Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 95 (1): 49–55.
11.
EisenbergK. N.2002, January. Gender and Ethnicity Stereotypes in Children’s Books. http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/dissertations/AAI3039328/ (last accessed on 20 March 2017).
12.
FernandoS.2009. Launch of the Road Map to Promote Spoken/Communicative English Skills in Sri Lanka: A Background Note. Colombo: Presidential Secretariat.
13.
FernandoS.2010, October. Celebrating 200 Years of English Language Use in Sri Lanka: Yes or No. Keynote Address at the 6th Sri Lanka English Language Teachers’ Association (SLELTA) International Conference, Colombo.
14.
FernandoS.2011, October 17–19. Reflecting on Some Fundamental Aspects of the Ten Year National Plan for a Trilingual Sri Lanka (2012–2021). Keynote Paper Presented at the 9th International Language and Development Conference, Colombo.
15.
FernandoS.2013, February 17. ‘Launching Phase III of the Presidential Initiative “English As a Life Skill”’. The Island. http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=72858 (last accessed on 20 March 2017).
16.
GunasekeraM.2005. The Postcolonial Identity of Sri Lankan English. Colombo: Katha Publishers.
17.
GuptaA. F.YinA. L. S.. 1990. ‘Gender Representation in English Language Textbooks Used in the Singapore Primary Schools’. Language and Education, Vol. 4 (1): 29–50.
18.
HallS.1997. Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: SAGE Publications.
IbrahimR.2015. ‘The Role of the Standard Variety in Defining Sub-varieties: A Study Based on Teaching English and Tamil’, in ColemanH. (ed.), Language and Social Cohesion in the Developing World. Colombo: British Council and GIZ, 186–94.
21.
JayaweeraS.WijemannaH.WanasundaraL.VitharanaK. M.. 2007. Gender Dimensions of the Millennium Development Goals in Sri Lanka. Colombo: Centre for Women’s Research.
22.
JurichS.1999, September/October. ‘The Impact of Video Technology in Education: From Here to Where?’TechKnowLogia, 41–44. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3575/6ba3bed8bcf97eb656a7c06cae03327c713d.pdf (last accessed on December 2016).
23.
KachruB. B.1983. The Indianization of English: The English Language in India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
24.
KahandawaarachchiT.2009, March. Taking English to the Masses: Interview with Sunil Fernando. Business Today, Issue 2005 March 2009. www.businesstoday.lk/cover_page.php?article = 255&issue = 205 (last accessed on 3 March 2017).
25.
KandiahT.1979. ‘Disinherited Englishes: The Case of Lankan English’. Navasilu, Vol. 4: 63–81.
26.
KandiahT.1981. ‘Lankan English Schizoglossia’. English Worldwide, Vol. 2 (1): 63–81.
27.
KandiahT.1984. ‘“Kaduwa”: Power and the English Language Weapon in Sri Lanka’, in Colin ThomeP.HalpeA. (eds), Honouring E.F.C. Ludowyk: Felicitation Essays. Colombo: Tisara Prakasakayo, 117–54.
28.
KnowlesM.MalmkjaerK.. 1996. Knowledge and Control in Children’s Literature. New York, NY: Routledge.
29.
LakoffR.1973. ‘Language and Woman’s Place’. Language in Society, Vol. 2 (1): 45–80.
30.
LeeJ.2014. ‘Gender Representation in Hong Kong Primary School ELT Textbooks—A Comparative Study’. Gender and Education, Vol. 26 (4): 356–76.
31.
LeeJ. F. K.CollinsP.. 2008. ‘Gender Voices in Hong Kong English Textbooks—Some Past and Current Practices’. Sex Roles, Vol. 59 (1–2): 127–37.
32.
LeeJ. F. K.CollinsP.. 2010. ‘Construction of gender: a comparison of Australian and Hong Kong English language textbooks’. Journal of Gender Studies, Vol. 19 (2): 121–37.
33.
LynchC.2011. ‘Juki Girls: Gender, Globalization and the Stigma of Garment Factory Work’, in HoltJohn Clifford (ed.), The Sri Lanka Reader: History Culture and Politics. Durham: Duke University Press, 695–705.
34.
MarefatF.MarzbanS.. 2014. ‘Multimodal Analysis of Gender Representation in ELT Textbooks: Reader’s Perceptions’. Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 98: 1093–99.
35.
Ministry of Education. 2008. National Policy and a Comprehensive Framework of Actions on Education for Social Cohesion and Peace. Social Cohesion and Peace Education Unit. http://www.moe.gov.lk/english/images/publications/ESCP/peace_policy.pdf (last accessed on 21 March 2017).
36.
MorganB.1996. ‘Promoting and Assessing Critical Language Awareness’. TESOL Journal, Vol. 5 (2): 10–14.
37.
ParakramaA.1995. De-hegemonizing Language Standards: Learning From (Post) Colonial Englishes About ‘English’. London: Macmillan.
38.
PasséH. A.1948. A History of English in Ceylon. Unpublished PhD dissertation submitted to the University of London, London.
39.
PereraS.1991. Teaching and Learning Hatred: The Role of Education and Socialization in Sri Lankan Ethnic Conflict. PhD dissertation submitted to the University of California, Santa Barbara, CA.
40.
PierceB. N.1989. ‘Toward a Pedagogy of Possibility in the Teaching of English Internationally: People’s English in South Africa’. TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 23 (3): 401–20.
41.
PoreccaK.1984. ‘Sexism in Current ESL Textbooks’. TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 18 (4): 705–24.
42.
RaheemR.DevendraD.. 2007. ‘Changing Times, Changing Attitudes: The History of English Education in Sri Lanka’, in ChoiY. H.SpolskyB. (eds), English Education in Asia: History and Policies. Seoul: Asia TEFL, 181–203.
43.
RajagopalanS.2001. State and Nation in South Asia. London: Lynne Rienner, 127.
44.
SamarasingheM.2012, October 16. Statement on Sri Lanka at the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. New York, NY: United Nations. http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/documents/ga67/Sri_Lanka.pdf (last accessed on 15 November 2016).
45.
SchubertA.2013. Victorious Victims: An Analysis of Sri Lanka’s Post-War Reconciliation Discourse. International Centre for Ethnic Studies Research Paper No. 6. Colombo: International Centre for Ethnic Studies.
46.
SiriwardenaR.1992. ‘National Identity in Sri Lanka: Problems in Communication and Education’, in CanagaratnaA. J. (ed.), Selected Writings of Regi Siriwardena Volume 2: Politics and Society. Colombo: International Centre for Ethnic Studies, 415–35.
47.
SunderlandJ.1992. ‘Gender in the EFL Classroom’. ELT Journal, Vol. 46 (1): 81–91.
48.
TalanskyS.1986. ‘Sex Role Stereotyping in TEFL Teaching Materials’. Perspectives, Vol. 11 (3): 32–42.
49.
ThiranagamaS.2013. ‘Claiming the State: Postwar Reconciliation in Sri Lanka’. Humanity: An International Journal of Human Rights, Vol. 4 (1): 93–116.
50.
TsuiAmy B. M.2004. ‘Language Policies in Asian Countries: Issues and Tensions’. The Journal of Asia TEFL, Vol. 1 (2): 1–25.
51.
TuchmanG.1978. ‘The Symbolic Annihilation of Women by the Mass Media’, in TuchmanG.DanielsA. K.BenetJ. (eds), Hearth and Home: Images of Women in the Mass Media. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 3–38.
52.
United Nations. 2015. Millennium Development Goals Country Report 2014: Sri Lanka.http://www.lk.undp.org/content/srilanka/en/home/library/mdg/sri-lanka-millennium-development-goals-country-report-2014.html (last accessed on 15 February 2016).
53.
United Nations Development Programme. 2013. Human Development Report. hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/LKA.pdf (last accessed on 18 October 2016).
54.
van DijkT. A.2001. ‘Critical Discourse Analysis’, in SchiffrinD.TannenD.HamiltonH. E. (eds), The Handbook of Discourse Analysis. London: Blackwell, 352–71.
55.
WickramasingheN.2014a. ‘History as Heritage: Producing the Present in Post War Sri Lanka’, in SandisC. (ed.), Cultural Heritage Ethics. Cambridge: Open Book, 43–56.
56.
WickramasingheN.2014b. Sri Lanka in the Modern Age. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
57.
YasinM. S. M.HamidB. A.OthmanZ.Abu BakarK.HashimF.MohtiA.. 2012. ‘A Visual Analysis of a Malaysian English School Textbook: Gender Matters’. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 69: 1871–80.
58.
ZografouA.1990. Explore the Way Language Supports and Generates Sexist Values, Concepts and Models in the ELT Textbook Turning Point. MA dissertation submitted to the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages. Lancaster: University of Lancaster.
