Constructing Gender Identities in Peer Groups in an EFL Classroom

Authors : Asuman Fulya Soğuksu, Fatma Bıkmaz

Pages : 1345-1398

Doi:10.30964/auebfd.1726607

View : 76 | Download : 152

Publication Date : 2025-12-15

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This study examines how girls and boys construct gender identities within peer groups in the context of English learning experiences in an EFL classroom. Drawing on a critical ethnographic approach, the research was conducted with 34 tenth-grade students and their English teacher at a public high school. Ethnographic data were generated through participant observation and interviews. The data analysis, informed by Foucault\\\'s concept of “games of truth,” reveals the multiple constructions of gender within friendship groups, how class mediates gendered norms, intergroup power relations, and the dominant masculinity performed by the popular boys. The findings also show that alternative gender performances are marginalized and that disciplinary gender norms are reproduced in the classroom. Additionally, the study demonstrates that, for certain students, immunity from regulatory mechanisms and inclusion in group dynamics without exclusion are possible. These findings have implications for English language learning processes, as well as for future research.
Keywords : Yabancı dil olarak İngilizce, akran grupları, toplumsal cinsiyet, sosyal sınıf, eleştirel etnografi

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