MA Thesis Ho Nu Nhu Y .docx

i
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
I hereby certify that this thesis ‘Gender representation in Solutions Elementary
textbooks: A multimodal analysis’ has not been accepted for the award of any other
degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution, and that it does not
contain material previously published or written by another person, except where due
acknowledgement has been made in the text.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study could not have been accomplished without the invaluable assistance of
individuals and organizations to whom I feel profoundly indebted. First and foremost,
I would like to express my deepest gratitude and sincere appreciation for my
supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, who has supported me throughout
my thesis with her endless patience, gentle encouragement, constructive comments
and valuable materials. Without her, this thesis would not have been completed.
Secondly, I am also grateful to all the lecturers of the relevant courses for their
valuable lectures and discussions, which provide essential insights for this thesis.

Thirdly, I would like to express my special thanks for the Department of Foreign
Languages for giving us the permission to carry out this project. Last but not least,
this would be a golden opportunity for me to exhibit my endless love and indebtedness
to my family who are the tower of hope and strength for during the time I carried out
this study.
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ABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to uncover how males and females are represented in in the
Solutions Elementary students’ books. To achieve this aim, the Systemic Functional
Grammar by Halliday & Matthiessen (2004) and Grammar of Visual Design by Kress
& van Leeuwen (2006) were employed to explore the experiential meaning of the
written texts and representational meaning of the images. On the one hand, the text
analysis reveals that males are more visible than females in the
important roles of Actor, Carrier/Identified, Senser, Sayer and Behaver. Males are
generally portrayed as being more competent, creative, and dominant than females,
and many other gender stereotypes are perpetuated. On the other hand, the image
analysis shows that males enjoy higher visibility than females yet with
relatively small differences. Many stereotypes perpetuated in the 2nd
edition are
subject to rejection in the 3rd
edition, which might indicate the textbook authors’
growing recognition of the gender stereotyping issue. These results highlight a need
for teachers and learners to pay more attention to gender stereotyping conveyed in the
ESL textbooks.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP .................................................................................................................I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................................II
ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................................III
TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................................................. IV
LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................................................ VI
LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................................................... VIII
ABBREVIATIONS AND CONVENTIONS............................................................................................................. IX
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................1
1.1. RATIONALE.......................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2. AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ...............................................................................................
3 1.2.1. Aims .................................................................................................................................................... 3
1.2.2. Objectives............................................................................................................................................ 4
1.3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS..........................................................................................................................
4 1.4. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
............................................................................................................................ 5 1.5. SIGNIFICANCE OF
THE STUDY ............................................................................................................. 5 1.6. STRUCTURE OF
THE THESIS ................................................................................................................. 6
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................................8
2.1. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS............................................................................................................. 8
2.1.1. Systemic Functional Grammar ........................................................................................................... 8
2.1.2. Grammar of Visual Design ............................................................................................................... 16
2.2. PREVIOUS STUDIES............................................................................................................................... 26
2.2.1. Gender and textbooks........................................................................................................................ 26
2.2.2. Gender representation in EFL/ESL textbooks................................................................................... 29
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY................................................................................................................33
3.1. RESEARCH METHODS ..........................................................................................................................
33 3.2. DATA COLLECTION
.............................................................................................................................. 34 3.2.1. Data source
....................................................................................................................................... 34
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3.2.2. Collection of written texts................................................................................................................. 35
3.2.3. Collection of images.......................................................................................................................... 36
3.3. DATA ANALYSIS....................................................................................................................................
38 3.4. PROCEDURE
........................................................................................................................................... 39 3.5. VALIDITY
AND RELIABILITY ............................................................................................................. 39
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION............................................................................................41
4.1. REPRESENTATION OF MALES AND FEMALES IN WRITTEN TEXTS ........................................... 41
4.1.1. Linguistic-gendered clauses.............................................................................................................. 41
4.1.2. Distribution of process types in linguistic-gendered clauses............................................................ 43
4.1.3. Representation of males and females in material processes............................................................. 44
4.1.4. Representation of males and females in relational clauses............................................................... 47
4.1.5. Representation of males and females in mental clauses ................................................................... 51
4.1.6. Representation of males and females in verbal clauses.................................................................... 55
4.1.7. Representation of males and females in behavioral clauses............................................................. 57
4.1.8. Representation of males and females in different social parameters................................................ 59
4.1.9. Discussion on the findings of gender representation in the written texts.......................................... 63
4.2. VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF MALES AND FEMALES................................................................. 74
4.2.1. Distribution of narrative processes in images................................................................................... 74
4.2.2. Representation of males and females in actional processes.............................................................. 75
4.2.3. Representation of males and females in reactional processes.......................................................... 82
4.2.4. Representation of males and females in verbal processes ................................................................ 86
4.2.5. Representation of males and females in mental processes................................................................ 87
4.2.6. Representation of males and females in different social parameters................................................ 89
4.2.7. Discussion on the findings of gender representation in the images.................................................. 92
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS...........................................................................102
5.1. CONCLUSIONS .....................................................................................................................................
102 5.2. IMPLICATIONS.....................................................................................................................................
104 5.3. LIMITATIONS .......................................................................................................................................
106 5.4. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH.....................................................................................
106
REFERENCES...........................................................................................................................................108
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LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
2.1 Terminology for the three metafunctions 17
4.1 Distribution of linguistic-gendered clauses 42
4.2 Distribution of process types 43
4.3 Distribution of male/female Actor in the 2nd
edition 45
4.4 Distribution of male/female Actor in the 3rd
edition 46
4.5 Distribution of male/female Carrier/Token in the 2nd
edition 48
4.6 Male/female Carrier/Token in subtypes of relational processes in
the 2nd
edition
49
4.7 Distribution of male/female Carrier/Token in the 3rd
edition 50
4.8 Male/female Carrier/Token in subtypes of relational processes in
the 3rd
edition
50
4.9 Distribution of male/female Senser sections of 2nd
edition 51
4.10 Distribution of subtypes of mental processes in the 2nd edition. 52
4.11 Distribution of male/female Senser in the 3rd
edition 53
4.12 Distribution of subtypes of mental processes in the 3rd
edition 54
4.13 Distribution of male/female Sayer 55
4.14 Distribution of male/female Behavers 57
4.15 Distribution of male and female participant roles in the 2nd
edition 64
4.16 Distribution of male and female participant roles in the 3rd
edition 69

4.17 The distribution of male and female participants in the three
sections
72
4.18 The proportion of males and females in important participant roles 73
4.19 Distribution of narrative processes 75
4.20 Frequency of males and females as participants in actional process 76
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4.21 Frequency of males and females as participants in reactional
process
83
4.22 Distribution of males and females in the participant roles in the
2nd
edition
93
4.23 Distribution of males and females in the participant roles in the 3rd
edition
96
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
2.1 The grammar experience: types of process in English 10
3.1 Culture 8 36
3.2 6H Writing 37
3.3 8C Listening 38
4.1 Male and female portrayals in household chores 60

4.2 Male and female portrayals in occupational roles 61
4.3 Male and female portrayals in hobbies and interests 62
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ABBREVIATIONS AND CONVENTIONS
[a] Abbreviations
READ Reading comprehension texts
GRAM Grammar examples and exercises
DIA Dialogues
[b] Conventions
- Boldface is used to mark the first use of technical terms or to highlight the focus
point.
- Italics is used for examples.
- Underline is used to mark the words or phrases that are being discussed.
For example:
[E3-626] She likes Leonard and Sheldon. [M]
The phrase Leonard and Sheldon is underlined to show the positioning of males as
Goal.
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. RATIONALE
Inflamed by the feminist movement in the 1960s and the evolution of women’s roles
in society, the investigation of gender stereotypes has been receiving considerable
academic attention. Against this backdrop emerged a particular stream of literature -
the research in language and gender, which became a domain of linguistics in the
1970s and has grown vigorously since then. A sound literature on gender portrayals
in advertising, brochures, films, cartoons, songs has developed, using linguistic
approaches for the elucidation of stereotypical depictions, such as systemic functional
analysis (Dai, 2015; Choudhry & Chaudhary, 2020), and multimodal discourse
analysis (Sun & Luo, 2016; Tehseem et al., 2018). The continuous examination of
gender representation in these sources is justified by the fact that they can play a
constitutive role in the viewers or listeners' gender construction and possibly
contribute to the promotion of gender inequality (Gauntlett, 2008).
Another major influencer in our gender construction comes from textbooks. The place
of textbooks in socializing learners cannot be overemphasized, especially as textbooks
are often viewed by learners as authoritative and therefore have the potential to
influence an impressionable audience (Lee & Collins, 2010). The growing popularity
of English teaching has been paralleled by the growing investigation of gender
representation and gender stereotyping in ESL/EFL
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textbooks. The literature is abounding with content analyses rather than those
incorporating systematic linguistic or visual analysis.
However, in recent years, some recent studies used transitivity system of the systemic
functional grammar by Halliday & Matthiessen (2004) to explore the construction of

gender in English learning materials (e.g. Damayanti, 2010; Emilia et al., 2017).
Meanwhile, some researchers applied semiological analysis by Kress and van
Leeuwen (2006) to explore how males and females are represented in other teaching
materials (e.g. Adel & Enayat, 2016; Damayanti, 2010). However, these studies
adopted a systemic analysis of either the texts or the images. They also restricted the
data source to the reading texts in the textbooks or focused on data related to specific
topics. Besides that, these studies largely relied on quantitative method as the tool for
analysis and could therefore fail to gain insights into how males and females are
portrayed. Taken together, there has been a lack of studies that systematically analyze
both written texts as well as images, and equally use quantitative and qualitative
methods as the tool of analysis. As a result, this research attempts to fill this
methodological gap.
The textbooks under investigation are Solutions Elementary Student’s Book (2nd and
3rd editions). These textbooks were chosen for three main reasons. First, the textbook
Solutions elementary (2nd edition) has been used as the coursebook for non-
specialized students at Quy Nhon University; therefore, the findings of this study can
provide useful pedagogical implications for the lecturers and learners. Second, these
books are part of the Solutions series, which are published by Oxford University Press,
one of the world’s largest publishing companies (Milliot,
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2018). This means that they have the potential to reach a global readership, thus
leaving its impact on a wider scale than just within Quy Nhon University campus.
The final reason is consolidated through a series of events. At the beginning of the
21st century, many declarations of global significance, such as EFA Global
Monitoring Report 2003/4 (UNESCO 2003), officially state the global aim of
eliminating gender inequality in all levels of education by 2015. However, taking

stock of progress towards gender equality between 2000 and 2015, the world remains
far from achieving gender equality in education, and gender bias remains pervasive in
textbooks (UNESCO, 2015). This failure pushed the objective of eliminating all forms
of discrimination against women and girls in education by 2030 to the top of the
UNESCO Agenda for Sustainable Development. Taken together, it seems reasonable
to find out whether any changes were made by the textbook authors after the turning-
point year of 2015. This was why both the 2nd edition (2013) and 3rd edition (2018)
were subjected to analysis.
1.2. AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.2.1. Aims
This research seeks to uncover how males and females are represented in Solution
Elementary Student’s Books 2nd and 3rd editions. The results are expected to shed
some light on whether any gender stereotyping permeates within the books, which
could subsequently provide possible pedagogical guidelines for teachers and students
alike.
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1.2.2. Objectives
To achieve the stated aims, the study focuses on the following objectives:
1. To identify and analyze the linguistic-gendered clauses in the written texts in
respect of transitivity processes, the roles of males and females as participants in the
processes, the frequency of occurrence of these roles, how male and female
participants are constructed through other participants in the processes.
2. To identify and analyze the images in terms of their representational meaning, the
roles of males and females as participants in the images, and how the images and the

written texts interact to represent the male and female participants.
3. To compare gender representation in the two editions in terms of the roles of males
and females as participants in the transitivity processes and in the images, the
frequency of occurrence of these roles, whether any gender stereotyping is perpetuated
or rejected.
1.3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
To fulfil the aims and objectives mentioned above, the study is set to answer three
research questions:
1. How are males and females represented in the written texts?
2. How are males and females represented in the images?
3. What are differences between the 2nd and 3rd edition in terms of gender
representation?
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1.4. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This research is conducted on two major frameworks: Systemic Functional Grammar
by Halliday & Matthiessen (2004) and Grammar of Visual Design by Kress & van
Leeuwen (2006). A comprehensive analysis should cover the three perspectives:
ideational, interpersonal and textual. However, given the limited scope of a MA thesis,
we focus on the experiential meaning of the written texts and representational meaning
of the images.
Besides, data for this study are the written texts (extracted from the reading
comprehension exercises; dialogues; grammar examples and exercises) and images

scattered across the textbooks. The reading comprehension exercises (READ)
characteristically require learners to absorb the contents in detail; therefore, learners
will be attentive to the messages conveyed, and susceptible to their influence. Besides,
dialogues (DIA) and their commonly accompanied activities (such as role play) are
an effective tool for teachers to get students speaking; during these activities, male
students normally act out male characters, and female students play female characters
(Litosseliti & Sunderland, 2002). The way genders are represented in dialogues is
therefore worth investigating. Finally, in grammar examples and exercises (GRAM),
the emphasis is on the form rather than the meaning, so the information becomes
subconscious and therefore has the potential to condition learners' gender attitudes
(Amare, 2007).
1.5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study is expected to offer both theoretical and practical contributions.
Theoretically, the result of this study is expected to be useful and meaningful to
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the investigation of gender and education, as well as to the field of discourse analysis.
Practically, the study is expected to be useful for teachers and possibly textbook
writers. As for the teachers, they can draw on the results to raise critical discussions
with learners on the remaining gender stereotyping as well as progressive approaches
that are displayed in textbooks. Besides, the findings can alert teachers to be careful
and proactive in selecting the teaching materials and take the optimal teaching
approach. As for the textbook authors, the study’s results could probably provide them
with useful information on potential parts that may deserve rectification.
1.6. STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS
The thesis includes five chapters:

Chapter one, Introduction, includes the rationale, the aim and objectives, research
questions, the scope of the study, the significance and organization.
Chapter two, Literature review, provides an overview of previous studies on gender
representation in textbooks, Systemic Functional Grammar and Grammar of Visual
Design.
Chapter three, Methodology, is devoted to the discussion of research methods, data
description and the procedure of data collection and data analysis.
Chapter four, Findings and discussion, presents the results of the data analysis,
describing the frequency counts and elaborating on the representation of males and
females in the written texts and images.
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Chapter five, Conclusions and implications, summarizes the major findings, draws
conclusions and pedagogical implications, and finally puts forward the limitations and
suggestions for further studies.
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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter provides an overview of Systemic Functional Grammar and Grammar of
Visual Design. Previous scholarly works relevant to this study will also be briefly
reviewed.
2.1. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS
2.1.1. Systemic Functional Grammar
Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) by Halliday & Matthiessen (2004) is a study of

language as a tool to convey meaning. It describes language in terms of semantic
functions through systems of lexicogrammatical choices made by speakers or writers
within social or cultural contexts. SFG asks questions as to how language is used by
speakers and writers to make meanings in contexts and how it is organized to achieve
this.
Halliday & Matthiessen (2004) divide the meanings of language into three types:
interpersonal, textual and ideational. These types of meaning are called the
metafunctions of language. All these metafunctions are reflected in the structure of
the clause. The interpersonal enacts our social relationships; the textual creates
relevance to the context. The ideational included experiential and logical. The
experiential function refers to the grammatical choices that enables speakers to make
meaning about the world around and inside us. The logical function refers to those
systems which set up logical-semantic relationships between one clausal unit and
another. In this thesis, only experiential function is analyzed and discussed.
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The experiential metafunction of language is realized through the transitivity system.
It is concerned with different process types which are chosen by the speaker. Each
process has three basic components: the process verb, the participant(s) and the
circumstance(s). The process is the most central element; participants are close to the
center, i.e., they are directly involved in the process
(Halliday, 2014, p.221). Circumstantial elements augment this center in some ways -
temporally, spatially, causally, and so on, but they are not directly involved in the
process (Halliday, 2014, p.221).
Transitivity includes six kinds of process types: (a) Material process, (b) Mental
process, (c) Relational process, (d) Behavioral process, (e) Verbal process and (f)
Existential process. Halliday (2014) represents them as a semiotic space, with
different regions representing different types, as in Figure 2.1. According to Halliday

(2014), there is no priority of one kind of process over another, but they are ordered.
They form a circle, not a line. In Figure 2.1, the regions have core areas and these
represent prototypical members of the process types.
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Figure 2.1. The grammar experience: types of process in English
(Source; Halliday, 2014, p.216)
(a)Material processes
Material process is the process of doing and happening. The basic meaning of material
process is that some entity does something or undertakes some actions. In this process,
there may be one, two, three or four participants. The participants in the material
process are given different labels according to what role they play.
Actor is the participant that does the action, as in [1]. Goal is the participant at
whom the process is directed, as in [2].
[1] Diana went to Geneva. (Eggins, 1994, p.232) ACTOR process:
Material Circumstance

[2] They tested my blood against the donors. (Eggins, 1994, p.232)
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Actor process: Material GOAL Circumstance
Range is a less independent participant than Goal. Halliday suggests that a Range
specifies one of the two things: (i) either it is a restatement or continuation of the
process itself, as in [3], or (ii) it expresses the extent of the process, as in [4].
[3] They ran the race. (Eggins, 1994, p.233) Actor process: Material
RANGE
[4] They were playing tennis. (Eggins, 1994, p.233) Actor process:
Material RANGE
Beneficiary is the participant that benefits from the process. There are two kinds of
Beneficiary: a Recipient (the one to whom something is given), and a Client (the one
for whom something is done). Below are two examples of Beneficiary.
[5] But in Switzerland they give you a cognac. (Eggins, 1994, p.236)
Actor process: Material RECIPIENT Goal [6] Marge cooked dinner for them
all. (Eggins, 1994, p.236) Actor process: Material Goal CLIENT
(b)Mental process
Mental process is the process which encodes the meanings of thinking or feeling.
Halliday divides Mental process verbs into four classes: cognitive - verbs of thinking,
knowing, understanding; affective - verbs of loving, hating, adoring, liking, fearing;
perceptive - verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling; and desirative - verbs of wanting,
desiring, wishing. All mental processes have two participants. Senser
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is the one that feels, thinks, perceives and it must be a conscious being. Phenomenon
is the one that is thought, felt or perceived by the Senser. For example:
[7] She believed his excuses. (Eggins, 1994, p.245) Senser process:
mental Phenomenon
[8] She heard that story on the news. (Eggins, 1994, p.249) Senser process: mental
Phenomenon Circumstance
(c) Relational process
Relational processes are processes of being, becoming, in which a participant is
characterized, Token or circumstantially situated. There are three subtypes of
relational process: the intensive, the circumstantial and the possessive. Depending on
the mode of clause, attribute or identifying, the participants are given different names.
In the attribute mode, the participant is referred to as Carrier. The quality or the thing
showing that the Carrier belongs to a class of thing is referred to as Attribute. For
instance:
[9] I won’t be a pig. (Eggins, 1994, p.256)
Carrier process: intensive Attribute
[10] The operation lasted one hour. (Eggins, 1994, p.263) Carrier process:
circumstantial Attribute
[11] I had a daughter. (Eggins, 1994, p.264) Carrier process: possessive
Attribute
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In the identifying mode, a relational clause has two equating participants, one
identifying the other. These two participants are respectively referred to in two pairs

of terms: Token/ Identifier and Token/ Value. For instance:
[12] You are the skinniest one here. (Eggins, 1994, p.259) Token process:
intensive Value
[13] A milk bottle holds one litre of liquid. (Eggins, 1994, p.263) Token process:
circumstantial Value
[14] Her boyfriend owned the bomb. (Eggins, 1994, p.265) Token
process: possessive Value
One more type of relational process that needs to be mentioned is the causative
relational. Causatives involve an Agent in making or causing something. With
Attributes relationals, an Agent causes the Carrier to have an Attribute ascribed, as in
[15]; with the identifying type, the Agent makes the Token take a Value, as in [16]:
[15] Giving blood makes you weak. (Eggins, 1994, p.265) Agent/ Attributor
process: Causative Carrier Attribute
[16] They made Simon the barman for the night. (Eggins, 1994, p.265)
Assigner process: Causative Token Value
(d)Behavioural process
Behavioral process is the process of physiological and psychological behaviour.
Halliday describes it semantically as a 'halfway house' between Mental and
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Material processes. Verbs that denote behavioral processes are watch, taste, sniff,
dream, breathe, cough, smile, laugh, ect. Most behavioral processes have only one
participant. This participant is called the Behaver, which must be a conscious being.
For example:

[17] He laughed loudly. (Eggins, 1994, p.250) Behaver process:
behavioural Circumstance
Behavioral processes can contain a second participant that is like a Range: a
restatement of the process. This participant is called the Behaviour, as in [18]; if there
is a second participant which is not a restatement of the process, then it is a
phenomenon, as in [19]:
[18] He smiled a broad smile. (Eggins, 1994, p.250) Behaver process:
behavioural Behaviour
[19] George sniffed the soup. (Eggins, 1994, p.250) Behaver process:
behavioural Phenomenon
(e) Verbal processes
Verbal processes are processes of saying, such as telling, stating, informing, asking,
querying, demanding, offering, threatening, suggesting, and so on. A verbal process
typically contains three participants: Sayer, Receiver, and Verbiage. The Sayer, which
does not have to be a conscious being, is the one that is responsible for the verbal
process. The Receiver is the one to whom the verbal process is directed. The Verbiage
is what is said. For instance:
[20] So I asked him a question. (Eggins, 1994, p.252)
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Sayer process: verbal Receiver Verbiage
[21] They ‘re talking about the news. (Eggins, 1994, p.252) Sayer
process: verbal Circumstance
(f) Existential processes
Existential processes function to introduce an existence into the text, as a first step in

talking about it. The existence may relate to an entity or an event, which is simply
labelled Existent.
[22] There was snow on the ground. (Eggins, 1994, p.255) process:
existential Existent Circumstance
Circumstances are almost always optional augmentations of the clause rather than
obligatory components (Halliday, 2014, p.221). They are realized by adverbial groups
or prepositional phrases, and they can appear in all process types. They indicate extent,
location, matter, cause, manner, role, accompaniment, contingency and angle. Each
type of circumstances is illustrated the following examples:
[23] I stayed up all night. (Eggins, 1994, p.255)
Extent
[24] They rang me up on a Saturday night. (Eggins, 1994, p.255)
Location
[25] As for Greece, they give you nothing. (Eggins, 1994, p.255)
Matter
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[26] She carried the bomb for her boyfriend. (Eggins, 1994, p.255)
Cause
[27] In Switzerland, unlike Greece, they give you a cognac. (Eggins, 1994, p.255)
Location Manner
[28] She was travelling to Israel as a tourist. (Eggins, 1994, p.255)
Location Role
[29] She got on the plane with her boyfriend. (Eggins, 1994, p.255)

Location Accompaniment
[30] Phillip's not tall. Everybody's tall to me. (Halliday, 2014, p.328)
Angle
2.1.2. Grammar of Visual Design
Drawn on Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar, Grammar of Visual Design was
developed by Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) to interpret the meaning-making
resources that are always simultaneously entailed in all images. These are
representational, interactive and compositional meanings.
In the adaptation of Systemic Functional Linguistics to the visual modality, these three
meanings (realized as metafunctions) have always been recognized by scholars
working in this area, but sometimes renamed in slightly different ways, as shown in
Table 2.1.
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Table 2.1. Terminology for the three metafunctions (Source: Painter et al., 2012, p.7)
The term ideational encompasses two kinds of meanings: the experiential and the
logical. Kress and van Leeuwen's (2006) analysis of representational meaning is
concerned with the former. In this thesis, the focus is exclusively on experiential

meaning in text and image. Therefore, the rest of this chapter will elaborate on this
metafunction only.
According to Kress and van Leeuwen (2006), images construct representations of
reality that are either ‘narrative’ or ‘conceptual’. Narrative images present unfolding
actions and events, processes of change, transitory spatial arrangements. Conceptual
images depict classifications or part-whole relations or symbolic relations.
2.2.2.1. Narrative processes
Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) argue that images, like verbal clauses, can be seen as
involving three aspects of experience: participants (who or what is depicted),
processes (depicted actions or relations) and circumstances (where, when, how,
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with what). In narrative processes, represented participants in an image are connected
by a vector, a line formed by or between elements in the image. Vectors can be
constituted by bodies, limbs or tools in action when participants are represented as
doing something to or for each other. Vectors can be formed by eye-lines or gestures
representing a line of force in a specific direction. Narrative processes depict
participants in their actional, reactional, mental and verbal events. Depending on each
subtype of narrative processes, participants are given different names: Actor, Goal,
Interactor, Reacter, Senser, Phenomenon, Sayer, Utterance.
● Actional processes
Actional processes can be non-transactional, unidirectional transactional or
bidirectional transactional. In the non-transactional process, the vector emanates from
a participant, the Actor, but does not point at any other participant. For example, the
following image portrays depicts a female Actor performing a non

transactional process; vectors are created by her limbs.
(Source: Painter et al., 2012, p.69)
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In the unidirectional transactional process, a vector connects two participants. The
Actor is the participant from which the vector emanates, or which is fused with the
vector. The Goal is the passive participant at which the vector is directed. For instance,
the image presents a person in the process of watering the flowers. The person is the
Actor, and the flowers the Goal. They are connected by a vector created by arms,
spout, and water drops.
In the bidirectional transactional process, the vector connecting two participants could
emanate from, or be directed at, both participants. The participants are then called
Interactors.

(Source: Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006, p.66)
20
● Reactional processes
When the vector is formed by an eyeline or the direction of the glance of one or more
of the represented participants, the process is reactional. The participants connected
by the vector are called Reacter and Phenomenon. The Reacter creates the eyeline.
The Phenomenon is the participant at which the eyeline is directed. When the process
involves both Reacter and Phenomenon, it is called transactional reaction. For
example, in the following picture, a vector is created by the line of the gaze emanating
from the cat to the fish. The cat is therefore the Reacter and the fish, the Phenomenon.
When the eyeline vector emanates from one participant, the Reacter, but does not point
at another participant, the process is called non-transactional reaction. For instance,
the old man in the image below performs a non-transactional reaction since there is

no visible Phenomenon. We can be sure he is directing an intentional look at
somewhere off the frame, but the exact Phenomenon is unknown.
21
(Source: Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006, p.64)
● Verbal processes
When the vector formed by an arrow-like protrusion of a dialogue balloon or a similar
device connects two participants, a Sayer and an Utterance, the process is called
verbal. The Sayer is the participant from whom the dialogue balloon emanates. The
Utterance is the verbal participant enclosed in the dialogue balloon.
● Mental processes
22

When a vector formed by a thought bubble or a similar device connects two
participants, the Senser and the Phenomenon, the process is called mental. The Senser
is the participant from whom the thought bubble vector emanates. The Phenomenon
is the participant enclosed by a thought bubble.
2.2.2.2. Conceptual processes
Conceptual processes which present class, structure or meaning could be more stable
and general than Narrative. Conceptual representations are related to the states of
timeless essence rather than dealing with a fixed and constant spatial order. According
to Kress and van Leeuwen (2006), conceptual images can be divided into three sub-
processes: Classificational, Analytical, and Symbolic.
● Classificational processes
In Classificational processes, participants are related to each other in terms of a kind
of relation - a taxonomy (Kress and van Leeuwen, 2006, p.79). Accordingly, at least
one set of participants will play the role of the Subordinate, and at least one other
participant the Superordinate. The structure of the taxonomy may be
23
overt or covert. The following advertisement depicts a covert taxonomy, in which the
Subordinates are the watches, while the Superordinate is not shown but inferred from

the accompanying text.
(Source: Kress and van Leeuwen, 2006, p.81)
Meanwhile, overt taxonomy is normally realized by diagramatic tree structures. In the
example tree structure, the ‘intermediate’ participants (e.g. the ‘Homo sapiens’) will
be Superordinate in relation to some other participants (e.g. the ‘components’ and
‘organism’), and Subordinate with respect to others (e.g. the ‘Terrestrial’).
24
● Analytical processes
Analytical processes relate participants in terms of a part-whole structure (Kress and

van Leeuwen, 2006, p.87). They involve two kinds of participants: one Carrier (the
whole) and Possessive attributes (the parts). The image of an Antarctic explorer is an
example of an analytical structure.
The image shows an Antarctic explorer in terms of his outfit. The Antarctic explorer
functions as Carrier, and the balaclava, the windproof top, the fur mittens,
25
etc. function as possessive attributes - the parts that make up the whole. Kress and van
Leeuwen (2006) suggest some subtypes of Analytical processes such as unstructured
analytical process, temporal analytical process, exhaustive analytical process,
dimensional topographical accuracy, quantitative topographical accuracy, etc.
● Symbolic processes
Symbolic processes are about what a participant means or is (Kress and van Leeuwen,
2006, p.105). There are two types of symbolic process: Symbolic Suggestive and
Symbolic Attributive. In Symbolic Suggestive processes, there is only one participant,
the Carrier, as in the advertisement of Bushells Master Roast coffee.

(Source: Kress and van Leeuwen, 2006, plate 2)
26
In the Symbolic Attributive process, the participant whose meaning or identity is
established in the relation functions as the Carrier, and the participant which represents
the meaning or identity is the Symbolic Attribute. In the example image, the scientist
is clearly not doing anything with, or to, the fungi, which are displayed in the
foreground and held in the scientist' right hand. The fungi therefore function as the
Attributes that establish the man's identity as an expert on fungi. The scientist now
plays the role of Carrier.

2.2. PREVIOUS STUDIES
2.2.1. Gender and textbooks
The question of gender as a factor in language education has been of interest to many
researchers and educators for a long time. Unlike sex, which is related to biological
differences and therefore rigidly determined by genetic structures, gender denotes the
cultural and social roles played by each sex within a particular society at a particular
time. In other words, rather than being assigned with a fixed
27
gender identity and its associated gender roles, people often develop their own as a
response to their physical and social environments, including family interactions, the
media, and education. Researchers have approached the issue of gender in education
from various perspectives, such as gender and classroom interaction (e.g., Jones &
Dindia, 2004), the performance of girls and boys in different subject areas (e.g., Zohar
& Gershikov, 2008) and the representation of gender in textbooks.
Textbooks have always been central to education systems, and the importance of
textbooks has been pointed out by many researchers. On a more specific note, school
textbooks are claimed to play the key role in learners' socialization and how they think,
feel and behave regarding the two genders (e.g., Jones et al., 1997). Underpinning this
widely shared claim is social learning theory by Bandura (1977, as cited in Lee, 2016,
p.4), who explained psychological mechanisms in terms of personal determinants,
behavioural determinants and environmental determinants. Environmental
determinants operate through our continuous observation in the process of learning
and reproducing behaviour. This assumption entails that if there exists any gender
stereotyping in school textbooks that portrays men and women in different
subcultures, this will be imitated and followed by school children (Bandura, 1977, as
cited in Lee, 2016, p.4).

There are three main reasons why many writers believe in the potential of textbooks
to instill values and attitudes in young people. First, various studies have pointed out
our heavy reliance on textbooks in the classroom context; for instance, Baldwin &
Baldwin (1992), whose main objective is to investigate the extent of sex stereotyping
in Canadian history textbooks from the 1960s to the early 1990s, also found that the
average teacher uses textbooks for 70 to 90 percent of
28
classroom time. Second, since students usually attach a great deal of credibility and
authority to educational and reference materials, they are less likely to be critical of
these than they are of other agents (Lee & Collins, 2010). Third, since learners are
frequently required to absorb and assimilate the textbook materials in minute detail,
they will be attentive to the messages conveyed, and susceptible to their influence.
This repeated and close exposure to both the written texts and visual images will result
in students' internalization of the textbook authors' gender perception.
At this stage, one may wonder whether the gender bias in textbooks can leave any life-
long impacts on learners or if such gender balance even matters. According to many
researchers, the answer to these questions is a definite yes. First, gender representation
in textbooks may affect learners' comprehension and recall of the material. For
instance, Good et al. (2010) investigated the effect of gender stereotypic and counter-
stereotypic images on male and female high school students' science comprehension
and anxiety. The results indicate that female students had higher comprehension after
viewing counter-stereotypic images (female scientists) than after viewing stereotypic
images (male scientists), while male students had higher comprehension after viewing
stereotypic images than after viewing counter-stereotypic images.
Second, gender stereotyping in textbooks can potentially sway learners' academic and
career choices (Briere & Lanktree, 1983; Potter & Rosser, 1992). In Briere &
Lanktree's study (1983), 72 female and 57 male undergraduates were exposed to three
levels of sexist noun and pronoun usage in a description of "Ethical Standards of

Psychologists." and then rated the attractiveness of a career in psychology for males
and females. They found that generic masculine nouns and
29
pronouns were associated with decreases in the assumed attractiveness of a
psychological career for females, relative to either nonsexist condition. Third,
gendered messages conveyed in textbooks may leave a permanent imprint upon
learners' understanding of social equality, their development of social values,
behavior, and self-esteem. This effect of gender stereotyping is documented in a
significant body of research (e.g., Amare, 2007; Briere & Lanktree, 1983; Patt &
McBride, 1993; Peterson & Lach, 1990). For example, after examining the gender
equity in picture books in preschool classrooms, Patt and McBride (1993) concluded
that the effects of books' use of predominantly masculine characters and language
can be detrimental to girls' gender role socialization.
2.2.2. Gender representation in EFL/ESL textbooks
Before treading into the territory of English language textbooks, one should beware
that gender representation has been a futile ground for researchers from various fields.
Gender representation has been examined in a wide variety of subject area books, such
as mathematics, science, physical education, history, geography, music, psychology,
sociology, to name but a few. Some major findings, regarding how females are
represented in relation to males, are widely echoed in various studies along this line
of research. Firstly, women appear less frequently than men in texts and illustrations;
secondly, they are represented within stereotypical gender roles and in a negative way;
finally, females are portrayed in home-related environments, while men are shown
mostly outside home (e.g. Peterson & Kroner, 1992; Taboas-Pais & Rey-Cao, 2012;
Zittleman & Sadker, 2002).
30

The investigation of gender stereotypes in ESL/EFL textbooks has been counting
nearly four decades of research, resulting in a significant body of knowledge. Hartman
and Judd's (1978) 'Sexism and TESOL Materials' and Porreca's (1984) 'Sexism in
Current ESL Textbooks' are trailblazing works in this field. Hartman and Judd (1978)
examined the quantitative representation of women (omission), the order of female-
male mention (firstness), and stereotyped roles for females and males (occupation).
The results unveiled sexist attitudes and values subliminally conveyed in the selected
ELT materials, which, they believe, reinforced the secondary status of women.
Half a decade later, Porreca (1984) conducted a content analysis of the 15 most widely
used ESL textbooks at that time. Based on Hartman and Judd (1978)'s framework,
Porecca developed a more rounded system of criteria, maintaining the three categories
(omission in text and illustrations, firstness, occupational visibility in text and
illustrations) and adding three more (nouns, masculine generic constructions, and
adjectives). She concluded that females were underrepresented in most of the books,
with the most severe inequality being in occupational roles.
Since then, Porecca’s framework has been employed in multiple studies on gender
representation in English textbooks, such as Ansary and Babaii (2003), Barton and
Sakwa (2012), Lee and Collins (2008). Though focused on different data and
conducted at different times, all the three studies arrived at relatively similar
concluding points: women consistently associated with familial and domestic roles,
the portrayal of males in diverse occupational roles, and the quantitative
underrepresentation of females.
31
Besides content analysis revolving around Porecca’s framework, some recent studies
used Transitivity system of the systemic functional grammar to explore the
construction of gender in English learning materials. For example, Damayanti (2010)
investigated job-related reading texts in two ELT textbooks published in Great Britain

and Malaysia in 1970s to explore how females and males were portrayed in the early
era of language awareness. She found that males were more visible than females in
major participant roles and that males were more likely to be associated with well-
paid jobs. The domination of males in all important roles is also reported in Gharbavi
and Mousavi (2012), and Sari (2011).
A more balanced representation between males and females is found by Emilia et al.
(2017). They investigated 22 reading passages in two English textbooks for Junior
High School students in Indonesia and noticed a quantitative domination of male
characters in the role of Actor. However, females appear as Senser, Sayer and Carrier
in more instances than males.
Meanwhile, some researchers apply semiological analysis by Kress and van Leeuwen
(2006) to explore how males and females are represented in teaching materials. For
example, Damayanti (2010) examined gender construction in images in four English
textbooks for primary schools in Indonesia by using Kress and van Leeuwen’s
Reading Images (2006). She concluded that males and females were equally cast as
Actor; however, females tended to engage in bidirectional
process, while males often appeared as Actor in unidirectional ones. Another
noticeable result is that only males were represented as Phenomenon, though females
and males equally engaged in the reactional process as Reacter.
32
At the same time, some researchers combine different frameworks. For example, Adel
and Enayat (2016) combined dimensions identified in Goffman’s Gender
Advertisements (1979) with semiotic categories of Kress and van Leeuwen’s Reading
Images (2006) to analyze the images in the Oxford English for Careers series. They
found that males engaged in unidirectional actional processes more than females,
while females were more likely to play the Actor role in non
transactional actional processes. Similar results were found in Tajeddin & Enayat

(2010), who also adopted the same tools of analysis as Adel and Enayat (2016).
SUMMARY
This chapter has given an overview of Systemic Functional Grammar, and Grammar
of Visual Design. The focus is on experiential meaning in verbal and visual modes.
Previous studies in the field of gender representation in textbooks have also been
reviewed.
33
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
This chapter provides an overlook at the research methods adopted in the study along
with the data collection and data analysis procedures. This helps to clarify the findings
and discussions reported in chapter 4.
3.1. RESEARCH METHODS
According to Porecca (1984), studies on gender representation in ESL/EFL textbooks
that relied exclusively on a quantitative method to conclude a male/female prevalence
tend to be superficial and fail to present how males and females are portrayed from
different angles. Therefore, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods has
been adopted in several studies, where the quantitative method was used to map out
the representation of gender, while the qualitative method helped the researchers gain
deeper insights (e.g., Barton & Sakwa, 2012). Considering these claims as well as our
aims (as stated in the Introduction), we employed both quantitative and qualitative
methods in this study.
On the one hand, the qualitative method was employed to analyze the linguistic
gendered clauses in the written texts in respect of transitivity processes, the roles of
males and females in the processes, and how male and female participants are

constructed through other participants in the processes. The qualitative method was
also used to analyze the images in terms of their representational meaning, the roles
of males and females in the images, and and how male and female participants are
constructed through other participants in the images. On the other hand, the
quantitative method was used to determine the frequency of occurrence
34
of the different roles played by males and females in the written texts and images.
This step helped to map out the general picture and provide concrete numbers that
could be effective in drawing readers to the issue in question.
3.2. DATA COLLECTION
3.2.1. Data source
The textbooks under investigation are Solutions Elementary Student’s Book (2nd and
3rd editions). These books are part of the Solutions series, which are published by
Oxford University Press and have been the company’s best-selling secondary courses.
The series are claimed to offer the tried and trusted methodology alongside fresh and
diverse material that will spark students’ interest and drive them to succeed. The series
has undergone three phases of adjustments and changes, each of which coincide with
a separate edition. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd editions went on release in the years 2009,
2013 and 2018 respectively. Every edition comprises five separate levels, namely
elementary, pre-intermediate, intermediate, upper-intermediate, and advanced; each
level then includes a student’s book, a teacher’s book, a workbook and a CD-ROM of
activities and games.
In this study, only the Elementary Student’s books in the 2nd and 3rd editions were
subjected to examination. Data for this study are the written texts (extracted from the
reading comprehension exercises, dialogues, grammar examples and exercises) and

images scattered across the textbooks.
35
3.2.2. Collection of written texts
The unit of analysis is clause, and only linguistic-gendered clauses - those that feature
only one gender- were selected. Participants that involve both genders (e.g., ‘In some
ways, Kate and William are a normal couple.’; ‘A few moments later, their parents
returned home.’) were therefore excluded. A total of 1932 linguistic-gendered clauses
were extracted, 1009 clauses in the 2nd edition and 923 clauses in the 3rd edition. For
the sake of easy reference, these clauses were then coded in the formula: E[number of
edition]-[its position in the dataset]. For example, the clause ‘Dr Gregory House
works at a hospital in the USA.’ is coded as [E2-1], meaning that this clause is located
at the first position in the dataset of the 2nd edition textbook.
Regarding the identification of gender identity, some phrases intrinsically refer to
either males (e.g., ‘my uncle’, ‘my dad’, ‘his grandfather’) or females (e.g., ‘my
mum’, ‘my sister’, ‘her aunt’). However, in many cases, the surrounding linguistic,
visual and sometimes auditory clues were crucial for the assignment of gender. For
example, in ‘Millie often meets her friends in town after school’, Millie is Token as
female based on the following possessive adjective; or in the written text of Figure
3.1, the participant ‘I’ can only be determined as female due to the accompanying
photo and the typically female voice in the tape. Similarly, for other participants that
are presented in first-person personal pronouns (I, We) and second-person personal
pronouns (You), their genders are Token through the immediate linguistic, visual and
auditory cues.
36

Figure 3.1. Culture 8
(Solutions Elementary student’s book 3rd ed., p.115)
In cases where no linguistic, visual or auditory clues were given, the participant gender
was Token with the help of “Baby Name Guesser”
(https://www.gpeters.com/names/baby-names.php), a program that uses Google's
database to analyze common patterns involving first names. The program determines
whether a name is used more commonly for a male or a female based on its popular
usage on the Internet and provides the ratio that the given name is used for a specific
gender. For example, “Ethan” is 68.333 times more common among males than
females. In this study, a specific name was arbitrarily determined to be that of a male
or a female if the program provided a ratio of more than 3 to 1 (3.0). In case the ratio
was less than 3.0, that participant was not included in the analysis. This method was
previously used in several other studies (e.g., Russel et al., 2019).
3.2.3. Collection of images
The images were selected in a different vein; the focus of picture investigation was
on: (1) the roles of males and females as participants in the images, and (2) how
37
the images and the written texts interact to represent the male and female participants.
As mentioned above, only clauses that feature exclusively one gender were selected

(since co-occurring males and females will offset each other, and therefore it is
impossible to examine how differently males and females are represented). However,
in an image, each human participant could possibly engage in different processes,
meaning that their representation can be analyzed separately. Therefore, images
featuring males/ females/ both genders were all selected. Only the experiential
meaning of the images was examined; therefore, conceptual images were excluded
from analysis, and only narrative images were collected.
Narrative images were excluded from investigation if it was impossible to precisely
determine the gender of the participants involved, such as the kayaker in figure 3.2.
Figure 3.2. 6H Writing
A total of 203 narrative images were collected, 114 images in the 2nd edition and 89
images in the 3rd edition. For the sake of easy reference, these images were then coded
in the formula: E[number of edition]-[its position in the dataset].
38
Regarding the identification of gender identity, the researchers assigned the
participants as male or female based on common knowledge of males’ and females’
unique physical features. In cases where the details are unsupportive for gender
identification, the accompanying written texts could yield useful clues. For example,
the gender of the participants in figure 3.3 could not be Token until the written text

was taken into consideration.
Figure 3.3. 8C Listening
3.3. DATA ANALYSIS
The written texts were analyzed based on the transitivity system developed by
Halliday & Matthiessen (2004). In this study, only the participants and processes
were taken into consideration. This choice by no means denied the association of
circumstantial elements with gender representation. Instead, this was merely an
analytical decision on part of the researcher.
After the identification phase, their frequency of occurrence was calculated and
compared (between males and females, between the two editions). The quantitative
results could allow us to find out the dominant representational
39
features of each gender. After that, we qualitatively investigated how males and
females were constructed by the other participants in the processes.
The similar procedure was adopted for the images, which were analyzed in terms of
their representational meaning based on Kress, G., & van Leeuwen (2006)'s
framework. The Participants and the process were considered. After that, their
frequency of occurrence was calculated and compared (between males and females,
between the two editions).

3.4. PROCEDURE
The research strictly followed the steps below:
- Choosing the topic for our investigation by reviewing previous studies. -
Collecting data from the Solutions elementary student's book (2nd and 3rd
editions).
- Analyzing the data in terms of their verbal or visual experiential meaning. -
Synthesizing the results, comparing between the two editions, discussing the
findings and drawing the conclusions.
- Putting forward the implications for ESL/EFL teachers and students and
suggestions for further research.
3.5. VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
The validity and reliability of this research have been established from the early stages
of data collection and data analysis. The very first foundation is the credibility of the
data source; in particular, the Solutions series belong to Oxford University Press, a
department of the University of Oxford and also the largest
40
university press in the world. Second, the theoretical backgrounds are well-known
frameworks proposed by prestigious scholars, namely Halliday & Matthiessen (2004)
and Kress & van Leeuwen (2006), whose works have been employed in numerous
studies of discourse analysis. Thirdly, all the information that is cited in the references
is identical to the source materials and presented in adequate forms (authors,
publishers and years). Finally, the study was undertaken in a scientific procedure, from
collecting data, analyzing the written texts and images to forming conclusions.
SUMMARY
This chapter has presented the research methods employed in this study. The

procedures of data collection and data analysis have also been detailed.
41
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
The aim of this chapter is to present the major results of the study, which will
be broken down into three parts. We will discuss (1) the representation of males and
females in the written texts; (2) the representation of males and females in the image;
(3) the similarities and differences in the representation between males and females.
4.1. REPRESENTATION OF MALES AND FEMALES IN WRITTEN TEXTS
4.1.1. Linguistic-gendered clauses
Table 4.1 shows that 1009 linguistic-gendered clauses are found in Solutions
Elementary 2nd edition, while this figure goes down to 923 clauses in the 3rd edition.
In both editions, the biggest proportion of linguistic-gendered clauses are found in
READ, with the figures remaining almost unchanged (457 vs 455 clauses). The
second largest source of linguistic-gendered clauses is GRAM; however, the number
of linguistic-gendered clauses in GRAM in the 3rd is only three quarters of the
corresponding figure in 2nd. The remaining linguistic
gendered clauses are found in DIA, with the 3rd edition having a slightly higher
figure (135 vs 106 clauses).
42
Table 4.1. Distribution of linguistic-gendered clauses
2nd edition 3rd edition
No. occurrence % No. occurrence %
READ 457 45,29 455 49,29 GRAM 446 44,2 333 36,08 DIA 106 10,51

135 14,63 Total 1009 100,0 923 100,0
That linguistic-gendered clauses are employed less frequently in the 3rd edition is a
conspicuous observation. Obviously, this decline stems from the rarer use of
linguistic-gendered clauses in GRAM. This could be partly because 3rd textbook
writers seem to favor non-gendered or both-gendered clauses in this section. Let us
take an example in the grammar builder section. Both editions offer a sentence
completion exercise for learners to practice the present simple affirmative. Each
exercise has eight clauses; in the 2nd edition, all of them are classified as linguistic-
gendered, while in the 3rd edition this figure goes down to just four.
(Solutions elementary 2nd edition, p.110)
43
(Solutions elementary 3rd edition, p.124)
4.1.2. Distribution of process types in linguistic-gendered clauses
The gendered clauses are categorized regarding process types. The frequency of

these processes is summarized in Table 4.2.
Table 4.2. Distribution of process types
2nd edition 3rd edition
No. occurrence % No. occurrence %
Existential process 1 0,1 0 0,0 Behavioral process 55 5,45 24 2,6 Verbal process
75 7,43 61 6,61 Mental process 102 10,11 145 15,71
Relational process 261 25,87 197 21,34 Material process 515 51,04 496 53,74
Total 1009 100,0 923 100,0
Generally speaking, all six process types are found, and both editions follow a
practically similar distributional pattern of process types. The most used is material
process, which accounts for over half of the instances. The number of material process
is almost two times higher than the figure for relational process
44
– the runner-up. The third position belongs to mental process, which is still recorded
with over 100 instances in each edition. Verbal and behavioral processes take the
fourth and fifth places with two-digit frequency counts. Last comes existential process
with only one instance recorded ([E2-546] 'There was a man in the garden with a
torch.').
Comparing the changes in the number of instances between the two editions, it is
noticed that almost all types of processes witness a decrease in frequency counts
from the 2nd edition to the 3rd edition, except for mental processes. The number of
instances for mental processes increases by 42.2%, from 102 instances (2nd edition)
to 145 instances (3rd edition). In contrast, material processes decrease by 3,7%,
though this is the lowest drop. To put this in perspective, the number of instances of
verbal processes declines by 18,7%, relational processes 24,5% and, behavioral
processes 56,4%.
4.1.3. Representation of males and females in material processes

Males and females perform three roles in material processes, namely Actor, Goal,
and Beneficiary.
4.1.3.1. Representation of males and females as Actor
In terms of frequency, male Actors override their female counterparts in both the 2nd
and 3rd
editions, with the latter seeing a broader division between the two genders.
Regarding the 2nd
edition, table 4.3 shows that GRAM have the largest number of
instances (239 instances), while the dialogues come last with just 41 instances.
However, these two sections have one thing in common: The distribution of male
45
and female Actors is relatively balanced. In contrast, READ have the second largest
number of instances, and nearly 2/3 of these instances contain a male Actor.
Table 4.3. Distribution of male/female Actor in the 2nd
edition
Male Female Total
instances % No. of
No. of
instances % No. of
instances %
READ 144 28,46 82 16,21 226 44,67 GRAM 124 24,51 115 22,72
239 47,23 DIA 19 3,75 22 4,35 41 8,10
Total 287 56,72 219 43,28 506 100
Regarding the impact of the process, the material clauses can be categorized into two
groups: intransitive and transitive clauses. Nearly 70% of the material clauses are
intransitive, and male Actors appear more frequently than their female counterparts in
both intransitive and transitive clauses. Here are some instances:
[E2-641] Every day, Rosa Parks travelled to and from work by bus. [F]
[E2-786] My mum washed my clothes last night. [F]

[E2-98] Later he moved to the south of France. [M]
[E2-34] He has to tidy his room before breakfast. [M]
The 3rd
edition follows a roughly similar pattern of distribution. As seen from table
4.4, a total of 485 instances with male/female Actors are recorded, and nearly half of
theses instances are found in READ. GRAM account for about 40%, leaving the
remaining 10% to the dialogues. As for the distribution of male and female Actors,
the general observation is that male Actors appear roughly 1.5 times more frequently
than female Actors. Male Actors outnumber their female equivalents in
46
all the three sections, especially in READ where more than 2/3 of the instances have
a male Actor.
Table 4.4. Distribution of male/female Actor in the 3rd
edition
Male Female Total
instances % No. of
No. of
instances % No. of
instances %
READ 161 33,20 80 16,49 241 49,69
GRAM 106 21,85 85 17,53 191 39,38
DIA 30 6,19 23 4,74 53 10,93
Total 297 61,24 188 38,76 485 100
Further examination shows that over 60% of the material clauses are intransitive, and
male Actors appear more frequently than female Actors in both intransitive and
transitive clauses. Here are some instances:
[E3-573] Yesterday we trekked into the jungle […]. [F]
[E3-78] Today I abseiled down a cliff. [M]
[E3-548] Sue prepares breakfast and makes twelves packed lunches. [F]

[E3-155] He invented a new type of telescope. [M]
4.1.3.2. Representation of males and females as Goal and
Beneficiary
Males and females take on the Goal position at relatively low frequencies. More
specifically, there are nine male and eight female Goals in the 2nd
edition, while the
3rd
edition has 11 male and 10 female Goals. Clearly, male Goals are recorded in more
instances, yet the quantitative difference could be deemed as insignificant.
47
Further analysis reveals that in clauses of male Goals, no female Actor can be found.
The Actor is either male or non-gendered. By contrast, in clauses of female Goals,
male Actors appear in most instances. Here are some instances of male and female
Goals:
[E3-26] Dad teaches me the other subjects. [M]
[E3-386] My great-grandfather married my great-grandmother in 1950. [F]
Turning to the Beneficiary role, both males and females are rarely presented as
Beneficiary. There are one male and two female Beneficiaries in the 2nd
edition; these
figures see a slight increase in the 3rd
edition, with four male and two female
Beneficiaries counted. Here are some instances:
[E3-303] Real Madrid paid £80 million for Cristiano Ronaldo. [M]
[E3-697] My parents bought me a really good bike and helmet for my
birthday. [F]
At this point, one may have noticed the quantitative domination of Actor over
Goal and Beneficiary in both books. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact
that intransitive clauses (e.g. [E2-98] ‘Later he moved to the south of France.’[M])
vastly outnumber transitive clauses (e.g. [E2-786] ‘My mum washed my clothes last

night.’[F]) in both editions.
4.1.4. Representation of males and females in relational clauses
It is interesting that in both editions, males and females are presented in the position
of Carrier/Token, but no male or female Attribute/Value is detected.
48
Regarding the 2nd
edition, table 4.5 shows that 163 instances of male Carriers/Token
are found, over 1.5 times more than females (98 instances). Among the three sections,
READ have the most relational clauses (129 clauses), followed by GRAM and DIA
with 98 and 34 instances respectively. As for the distribution of male and female
Carriers/Tokens in each section, males outnumber females in READ and GRAM,
while the distribution between males and females is perfectly balanced in DIA.
Table 4.5. Distribution of male/female Carrier/Token in the 2nd
edition
2nd
edition
Male Female
READ 93 36
GRAM 53 45
DIA 17 17
Total 163 98
The instances of relational processes can be divided into three smaller groups:
possessive, circumstantial and intensive. Table 4.6 shows that the intensive group
occupies the largest share with 144 instances; this figure is even higher than the
accumulative number of the circumstantial and possessive processes (60 and 57
instances respectively). Regarding the distribution of males and females in each
group, males assume the Possessor role two times more frequently than females.
Likewise, in the intensive clauses, males outnumber females by a ratio of 2 to 1.
Females, however, appear more frequently than males in circumstantial clauses.

49
Table 4.6. Male/female Carrier/Token in subtypes of relational processes in the 2nd
edition
2nd
edition
Male Female
Possessive 40 17
Circumstantial 26 34
Intensive 97 47
As regards how males and females are constructed through the Attributes/Values, the
general observation is that the two genders are depicted in a roughly symmetrical
manner. For example, in the intensive clauses, both genders are often described in
terms of age, emotions, appearance and strength (e.g. [E2-917] ‘Angelina Jolie is
beautiful.’[F]; [E2-485] ‘He's tall with dark hair.’[M]). However, two major
differences are worth noting here. First, females are presented in a much wider range
of circumstantial locations than males, and most of these are outdoor/public spaces.
Second, in the intensive clauses, only males are frequently painted in the image of
personal achievement, success and wealth. Here are some examples to illustrate these
points:
[E2-920] She's at cinema. [F]
[E2-717] One day Suzie was in the park. [F]
[E2-224] Nicolaus Copernicus was a famous astronomer. [M]
[E2-228] During his lifetime, he became very famous and rich. [M]
Turning to the 3rd
edition, the distribution of two genders in the roles of Carrier/Token
is relatively similar to the one in the 2nd
edition. More specifically, male
Carriers/Tokens are found in 111 instances, favorably compared to 86 instances for
females. Almost 50% of relational clauses lie in READ, and notably,
50

nearly 2/3 of these clauses have male Carrier/Token. GRAM and DIA contain the
other 50% of relational clauses, and females appear slightly more frequently than
males in these sections.
Table 4.7. Distribution of male/female Carrier/Token in the 3rd
edition
3rd
dition
Male Female
READ 62 32
GRAM 32 34
DIA 17 20
Total 111 86
Table 4.8 presents the number of males and females in the three subgroups of
relational clauses. Both genders are mostly presented in intensive clauses, with an
accumulative number of 117 instances. Possessive and circumstantial clauses are
recorded at roughly equal frequency counts (39 and 41 instances respectively).
Regarding the distribution of males and females in each group, males appear more
frequently than females in the possessive and intensive groups with relatively
substantial differences. Meanwhile, the presence of males and females in the
circumstantial clauses is practically equal.
Table 4.8. Male/female Carrier/Token in subtypes of relational processes in the 3rd
edition
3rd
edition
Male Female
Possessive 23 16
Circumstantial 21 20
Intensive 67 50
51
Further analysis of the Attributes/Values reveals that the two genders are given fairly
similar portrayals. For example, in intensive clauses, both males and females are
described from various aspects, such as appearance, personalities, capabilities,

success and wealth. However, there remains a subtle difference between the two
genders: Males tend to possess more valuable entities than females. For example,
males are constructed in the ownership of ‘a football team’, ‘lots of restaurants’, or
‘80,000 followers’, whilst females have ‘some coloured pencils’, ‘a wetsuit’ or ‘a dog
and two cats’.
[E3-231] Blumenthal has lots of restaurants. [M]
[E3-906] I’ve got some coloured pencils. [F]
4.1.5. Representation of males and females in mental clauses
In mental clauses, males and females are presented in two participant roles, namely
Senser and Phenomenon.
4.1.5.1. Representation of males and females as Senser
Regarding the 2nd
edition, there is a domination of male Sensers over female ones in
almost all sections of the book and all four subtypes of mental processes, as detailed
in tables 4.9 and 4.10.
52
Table 4.9. Distribution of male/female Senser sections of 2nd
edition
2nd
edition
Male Female
READ 25 19
GRAM 22 12
DIA 10 11
Total 57 42
It is obvious from table 4.9 that 57 instances of male Senser are recorded, easily
surpassing their female counterparts (42 instances). Males are represented as Senser
more frequently than females in READ and GRAM, while the distribution of instances

for males and females is relatively equal in DIA.
As regards the subtypes of mental process, the instances can be broken down into four
subgroups: perceptive, cognitive, desirative and emotive. The distribution of each
group is detailed in table 4.10.
Table 4.10. Distribution of subtypes of mental processes in the 2nd edition.
2nd
edition
Male Female
Perceptive 8 5
Cognitive 6 8
Desirative 21 10
Emotive 22 19
Two features stand out from table 4.10. Firstly, a substantial majority of instances fall
under the desirative and emotive subgroups, and this domination is more evident in
the distribution of male Sensers. Second, males are more visible than
53
females in the perceptive, desirative and emotive subgroups, with the biggest
difference established in the desirative one.
In the perceptive, cognitive and emotive mental clauses, male and female Sensers tend
to feel or think about similar topics. For example, in the cognitive process of discover,
the topics stated in the function of Phenomenon consistently refer to science.
[E2-446] Isaac Newton discovered gravity. [M]
[E2-688] She discovered many comets and a galaxy. [F]
However, in the desirative clauses, the desires expressed by male Sensers are much
more diverse. In particular, most desires held by females are confined to the
boundaries of work and career (e.g. [E2-695] ‘I want a career in conservation after
university.’ [F]). By comparison, males’desires cover many topics, such as schooling,

recreation, travelling (e.g. [E2-147] ‘I want to go to university.’[M]; [E2-155] ‘He
wanted to have an adventure.’[M]). This difference can be attributed to the
quantitative dominance of males over females in the desirative group.
Compared with the findings in the 2nd
edition, there are some differences in how
males and females are constructed as Senser in the 3rd
edition.
Table 4.11. Distribution of male/female Senser in the 3rd
edition
3rd
edition
Male Female
READ 40 28
GRAM 16 23
DIA 22 12
Total 78 63
54
Table 4.11 presents the numbers of instances of male/female Senser in the 3rd edition.
A total of 78 instances of male Senser are recorded, favorably compared to 63
instances for females. Regarding gender representation in each section, male Sensers
appear more frequently than females in READ and DIA, whereas female Sensers are
more visible in GRAM.
Concerning the distribution of the four subtypes of mental clauses, table 4.12 unfolds
that the most instances fall under cognitive and desirative subgroups. Coincidentally,
males comfortably outnumber females in these two subgroups. On the other hand,
more female Sensers are found in the emotive mental clauses, while a perfect balance
between males and females is established in the perceptive group.
Table 4.12. Distribution of subtypes of mental processes in the 3rd
edition
3rd
edition
Male Female
Perceptive 10 10

Cognitive 27 17
Desirative 26 16
Emotive 15 20
In the perceptive, cognitive and emotive groups, male and female Sensers tend to feel
or think about similar topics. A case in point is the topic wildlife animals, which is
experienced by both male and female Sensers.
[E3-889] From the jeep, we could see giraffes, elephants, and zebras [F]
[E3-423] My little brother noticed some lions. [M]
55
As for the desirative group, male and female Sensers have little in common. Desires
harbored by females fall under such notable topics as relaxation, housework and
cooking. Meanwhile, males are inclined to show desires related to career and
especially exploration/adventure.
[E3-751] She needs to clean the bathroom. [F]
[E3-235] He wanted to be an explorer. [M]
4.1.5.2. Representation of males and females as Phenomenon
The analysis unfolds that the frequency counts of both male and female Phenomena
are relatively low, and that males take on the Phenomenon role more frequently than
females. More specifically, in the 2nd
edition, males act as Phenomenon in seven
instances, compared to four instances for females. The 3rd
edition sees a much more noticeable difference: There are eight male Phenomena,
comfortably outnumbering one female Phenomenon. Here are some instances of male
and female Phenomena:
[E2-387] He is going to meet the girl he loves. [F]
[E3-626] She likes Leonard and Sheldon. [M]

4.1.6. Representation of males and females in verbal clauses
In verbal clauses, males and females are represented in two participant roles: Sayer
and Receiver.
4.1.6.1. Representation of males and females as Sayer
Tables 4.13 details the distribution of male/female Sayer in the 2nd
and 3rd
editions.
56
Table 4.13. Distribution of male/female Sayer
2nd
edition 3rd
edition
Male Female Male Female
READ 23 8 16 10
GRAM 18 17 13 12
DIA 5 3 1 7
Total 46 28 30 29
As shown in table 4.13, in the 2nd
edition, males are represented as Sayer in 46
instances, over 1.5 times more than females (28 instances). The distribution of
instances for males and females is relatively equal in DIA and GRAM; however, in
READ, male Sayers appear almost three times more frequently than their female
counterparts. A wide range of process verbs are adopted to construct both males and
females, such as say, answer, shout, tell, and ask. Some processes are exclusively used
for males (e.g. call, whisper, order, describe); on the other hand, processes lie and
continue are used for females only. For example:
[E2-283] He whispered to the girl, ‘That's really amazing’. [M]
[E2-687] She continued, ‘I don't understand.’ [F]
Some differences can be figured out in the 3rd
edition. There is a roughly equal
engagement of the two genders in the Sayer role in this edition. Males are represented
as Sayer more frequently than females in READ, while females take the lion's share
of the pie in DIA. GRAM displays a balanced distribution of verbal processes between

males and females. Some process verbs (e.g. say, speak, tell) are used for both
genders. Besides, processes describe and reply are used to construct only males, while
call, shout, blame and explain are found in only females. For instance:
57
[E3-286] Later he described the monster to his friends. [M]
[E3-853] ‘Good luck’, shouted my mom. [F]
4.1.6.2. Representation of males and females as Receiver
The findings reveal that both males and females do not frequently take on the role of
Receiver, and that males seem to assume this role more frequently than females. In
the 2nd edition, the difference between the numbers of male and female Receivers is
fairly subtle (10 versus 8 instances). However, in the 3rd edition, the difference
between males and females seems much more noticeable (8 versus 3 instances). Here
are some examples of male and female Receivers:
[E2-531] George asked him why he was in the garden. [M]
[E3-463] The man tells the woman to drag the documents into the folder.
[F]
4.1.7. Representation of males and females in behavioral clauses
In behavioral processes, male and female participants are found in the role of
Behaver. Table 4.14 details the numbers of instances of male/female Behavers.
Table 4.14. Distribution of male/female Behavers
2nd
edition 3rd
edition
Male Female Male Female
READ 12 5 10 1
GRAM 21 16 5 6
DIA 0 1 1 1
Total 33 22 16 8

As for the gender representation in the 2nd
edition, in terms of frequency counts,
male Behavers easily surpass their female equivalents (33 versus 22 instances).
58
Most behavioral processes are found in GRAM with 21 males and 16 females,
which stands in stark contrast to DIA with only one behavioral process.
Concerning the process verbs, both males and females are constructed with the same
pool of process verbs, including watch, sing, dance, listen, sleep and die. Watch is
used the most, with practically equal frequencies for females and males. Both females
and males watch TV, films, DVDs, yet only males watch sports and football (e.g. [E2-
272] ‘On Saturdays, we always watch football on TV together.’[M]).
Male and female Behavers are found with roughly equal frequencies in the behavior
of singing and dancing. A major difference is that females are mostly portrayed as
being capable of singing or dancing, whereas most males are depicted as incapable of
singing or dancing. For example:
[E2-517] He sings badly. [M]
[E2-518] Logan is dancing very badly. [M]
There is a little difference in male and female distribution in the 3rd
edition. Males
appear in 16 instances, exactly twice as many as females (eight instances). In DIA and
GRAM, the number of instances for male Behavers is roughly the same as that for
females. Tipping the balance is READ, where 10 instances contain male Behavers,
compared to just one instance for females.
The process watch appears in the most instances with equal distribution between
females and males. Both male and female Behavers watch TV and DVDs, but only
males are presented as watching football and Olympics (e.g. [E3-460] ‘He's gonna
watch the Olympics on Saturday.’ [M]).
59

Apart from the process watch, males and females are constructed in different
behavioral processes. Only males are constructed with the processes listen, die, rest,
dance and sit, while the process verbs sing and wake up are used for females only. It
is noticed that in the clauses of the processes sing and dance, no judgement over
singing or dancing ability is included. For example:
[E3-844] My sister is singing in the shower. [F]
[E3-270] He danced with Meghan Trainor. [M]
4.1.8. Representation of males and females in different social parameters
This section presents the findings of the representation of males and females in terms
of such parameters as household chores, occupational roles, and hobbies and interests.
4.1.6.1. The portrayal of males and females in household chores
Household responsibilities include tasks such as cleaning, washing, cooking that have
to be done regularly at home. Besides, activities that are closely related to
homemaking and childcaring, such as taking the children to school, are also counted.
It should be noted that the process go shopping is not counted in this parameter
because go shopping is normally associated with fun and pleasure; therefore, it will
be counted in the Hobbies and Interest parameter. Nevertheless, the process do the
shopping is counted here since it is generally done as a chore and not for fun.
Figure 4.1 shows the number of male and female participants involved/not involved
in activities associated with homemaking and childcaring.
60
Involved Not involved
5
2
7
1
2
1
0
1

3
222
MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE
2ND 3RD
Figure 4.1. Male and female portrayals in household chores
In the 2nd
edition, the involvement of males and females in homemaking and
childrearing is comparatively equal. Males are found to undertake homemaking tasks
in 12 instances, a little higher than females with 10 instances. Another subtle
difference is that only females are depicted as helping with the housework, such as in:
[E2-606] ‘I help with the little children.’ [F]
The number of males and females related to this parameter is higher in the 3rd
edition. Males are found to undertake household chores in 17 instances, slightly
fewer than females (at 25 instances). Apart from this frequency difference, both
genders perform a wide range of household activities (e.g. washing, shopping,
cooking, hoovering), and both are depicted as assuming the responsibility to help
with the housework. For example:
[E3-137] I do my best to help with the housework. [M]
[E3-612] My sister Emma and I try to help her with the housework. [F]
It is also clear from figure 4.1 that there are a few depictions of females and males
refusing to get involved in housework. The distribution of these depictions is
relatively equal among males and females. Here are some examples:
61
[E2-342] He never helps with the housework. [M]
[E2-875] My mum hates cooking. [F]
[E3-708] Sally never loads the dishwasher. [F]
[E3-255] My brother max has a lot of arguments with our parents about

housework. [M]
4.1.6.2. The portrayal of males and females in occupational roles
Figure 4.2 shows that the two editions seem to mirror each other in the depictions of
males and females in occupation areas, with the dominance consistently falling into
males. In the 2nd
edition, males are ascribed with occupational roles in 20 instances,
three instances more than females. The dominance of males is much clearer in the
3rd
edition, with males and females appearing in 25 and 15 instances respectively.
5
2
0
2
7
1
5
1
2ND 3RD
Figure 4.2. Male and female portrayals in occupational roles
Besides this quantitative difference, males enjoy a wider scope of occupations than
females. In both editions, the jobs performed by males are quite varied, and many of
these can be deemed as well paid, or high-status (e.g. politician, astronomer, scientist,
engineer). Meanwhile, females are confined to a limited selection of jobs
62
(e.g. lifeguard, fashion designer, athlete). Here are some male and female portrayals
in occupational roles:
[E2-224] Nicolaus Copernicus was a famous astronomer. [M]
[E3-234] Michael Asher is a British explorer. [M]
[E2-731] I've got a part-time job as a lifeguard […]. [F]

[E3-806] My stepsister Rose is a scientist. [F]
4.1.6.3. The portrayal of males and females in hobbies and interest
Figure 4.3 presents the number of instances revealing the hobbies and interests of
males and females.
Music/Singing Sports Other activities
15
21
3
6
20 14 13
11
8
10 8
6
2ND 3RD
Figure 4.3. Male and female portrayals in hobbies and interests
At first glance, the aggregate involvement of females and males in hobby and interest
areas is differently presented in the two editions. More specifically, the number of
gender-related participants in the 2nd
edition is almost twice as much as the figure for
the 3rd
edition (88 versus 47 instances).
63
Regarding the distribution of males against females, the two editions have many
features in common. The first similarity is that males and females almost equal each
other in terms of frequency counts. In the 2nd
edition, males and females are found in
43 and 45 instances respectively; such balance is also established in the 3rd
edition,
with 24 for males and 23 for females. Another common point resides in the
involvement of females and males in two areas – Sports and Other activities. In both
books, males are more likely to engage in sports activities, whilst females more often
indulge themselves in such activities as watching TV or playing computer games.

There is, however, a tangible difference between the two books in the area of
Music/singing. In the 2nd
edition, the engagement of females is higher than that of
males, while the 3rd
edition witnesses a reversed pattern.
Here are some instances of male and female portrayals in hobbies and interests:
[E2-517] He sings badly. [M]
[E3-313] Max is going fishing on Saturday afternoon. [M]
[E2-798] I went for a walk in the park with our dog. [F]
[E3-709] Lisa always plays computer games after school. [F]
4.1.9. Discussion on the findings of gender representation in the written
texts
4.1.9.1. Gender representation in the written texts in the 2nd
edition
64
Table 4.15 summarizes the distribution of males and females in different participant
roles in the 2nd
edition.
Table 4.15. Distribution of male and female participant roles in the 2nd
edition
Male Female Total
Existent 1 0 1
Behaver 33 22 55
Sayer 46 28 74
Receiver 10 8 18
Senser 57 42 99
Phenomenon 7 4 11
Carrier/Token 163 98 261
Actor 287 219 506
Goal 9 8 17
Beneficiary 1 2 3

Total 614 431 1045
% 58,76% 41,24% 100%
Both males and females are predominantly represented as Actor and Carrier/Token.
The roles of Senser, Sayer and Behaver are employed with average frequencies, while
both genders are rarely constructed as Receiver, Phenomenon, Goal and Beneficiary.
Despite these similarities, males are more visible than females in almost all participant
roles (except for Beneficiary). In total, males perform nearly 60% of the participants
available in the linguistic-gendered clauses collected. The decisions of representing
males and females as which participant in which process types lie on the textbook
authors. Therefore, this higher visibility enjoyed by male participants may serve as an
indicator of the authors’ ideologies and viewpoints.
65
The dominance of males as Actor in this book may convey the idea that males are
represented as being more active, competent and stronger because they are assigned
to be the doer of the action. Men are stereotypically perceived as more active,
independent and capable agents than women, and this perception has been deeply
entrenched in some communities and cultures (Gordon, 1997, as cited in Gharbavi &
Mousavi, 2012). This could be the reason why the preponderance of males as Actor
has been recorded in many other studies on language textbooks (e.g. Sari, 2011;
Gharbavi & Mousavi, 2012; Emilia et al., 2017).
The finding that males function more as Sayer may come as a surprise, given the
traditional stereotype of females as being more talkative than males. However, from
the ‘transitivity’ angle, those who perform the role of Sayer are understood as holding
the floor and taking control through their speaking. This means that males’ regular
presence as Sayer may not indicate a challenge against the conventional stereotype;
instead, it could imply the frequent treatment of males as the more dominant sex, or
the protagonist, whose words are worth reporting. The prevalence of males as Sayer
is also found by Gharbavi & Mousavi (2012), who, however, attributes this result to

an assumedly patriarchal rule that females must function as listeners and listen to what
males say. Nevertheless, this assumption is not valid in our study since males are also
found to act as Receiver even more frequently than females do.
The stronger inclination of males towards the Senser role was also an unanticipated
result, considering the findings in previous studies. For example, females were found
at the Senser role twice more frequently than males in Gharbavi & Mousavi (2012);
similar results were reported in Emilia et al. (2017).
66
It is also a popular stereotype that females are generally emotional and sensitive, hence
a stronger possibility of their thoughts, emotions, and feelings being probed into than
that of males’. The higher frequency of males as Senser in this book might be
explained by the possibility that males are treated by the textbook writers as more
dominant character, or as the protagonist.
One of main purposes of analyzing the mental processes is to uncover whether males
and females are represented as feeling and thinking about similar or different
Phenomena. The results reveal that in the perceptive, cognitive and emotive clauses,
male and female Sensers tend to feel or think about similar topics. This close
resemblance possibly implies that males and females are portrayed as equal Sensers
who experience the same world.
The dominance of males as Carrier/Token can be possibly explained along the same
line as the case for Sayer and Senser. It is highly likely that the textbook writers
portray the characters they consider more important with more details or with a wider
range of attributes to make these characters more interesting to read about. Therefore,
the representation through relational processes can, at certain levels, indicate which
gender is more frequently given the prominence or the protagonist status.
Two other observations deserve discussing here. Firstly, concerning intensive

relational clauses, only males are frequently associated with personal achievement,
success and wealth (e.g. famous, rich), which is in complete agreement with some
earlier studies (e.g. Lee, 2016). The exclusive attachment of these attributes to males
can be seen as a realization of the stereotype that males are more capable and
competent than females. Secondly, males are represented as
67
Possessor much more frequently than females, which is also found in the studies of
Sari (2011), and Gharbavi & Mousavi (2012). This portrayal may have its roots in the
deeply-entrenched patriarchal norms, which rules that males are supposed to be in
control of more property and possession.
Regarding gender representation in terms of household activities, the instances are
distributed evenly between males and females in each parameter. This result stands in
contrast to many previous textbook studies, some of which found a disproportionate
representation of females as homemakers (e.g. Gupta & Lee, 1990; Lee & Collins,
2010). However, it is noted that the stereotype of daughters being responsible for
helping with the housework is reinforced in this book (e.g. [E2-612] ‘I help my mom
to make dinner.’ [F]). No instances illustrating such responsibility assumed by males
are found, matching perfectly with previous results (e.g. Lestariyana et al., 2020).
In terms of occupational roles, though females are implied to have a job in many
instances, rarely are they assigned to a specific occupational. The range of jobs
attributed to males is of a greater diversity, and most of them are well-paid, high
status, and stereotypically male-dominated ones (e.g. politician, sumo wrestler,
astronomer, lawyer, doctor). This finding provides further support to many other
studies, such as Barton and Sakwa (2012), Ansary and Babaii (2003). Overall, it
seems that females are beginning to be portrayed as working people, yet there
remains some reluctance in assigning certain occupational roles to those who are
stereotypically expected to fulfil the role of housewives/homemakers. The

dichotomy between males as breadwinner and females as homemakers is
subliminally communicated in some places. For example
68
[E2-175] He has got a wife and three children. [M]
[E2-189] My father has got three wives and twenty children. [M]
[E2-232] He had four children. [M]
It is found that both males and females are characterized in the relationship with other
family members like sister, brother and cousin. However, only male Possessors have
wives and children. There are no instances where a woman is portrayed as having a
husband and two children. This is of particular interest because the phrase ‘have wives
and children’ does not merely mean that the male Possessor has a particular
relationship with specific individuals. The phrase may also carry the connotation that
the Possessor is held responsible for these individuals (his wives and children) and
should therefore bring home the bread.
Hobbies and interests are rarely gender-neutral and cannot easily be divorced from the
social norms imposed on each gender. For example, music and singing are generally
associated with females, while sports-related activities are conventionally assumed as
a male-dominated area (Lestariyana et al., 2020). Notably, both stereotypes are
perpetuated in this book. Besides, such non-sports activities as walking the dog or
going shopping are considered socially feminine, and coincidentally, these activities
are primarily associated with females in this book.
4.1.9.2. Gender representation in the written texts in the 3rd
edition
The distribution of males and females in different participant roles in the 3rd
edition
is somewhat different from the 2nd
one.

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