GENDERED VOICES IN CLASSROOM

Abstract

This study investigates gender-based differences in classroom discourse practices among university lecturers in Pakistan, with a specific focus on English-medium instruction at the tertiary level. The data was collected from 14 recorded and transcribed lecture sessions (delivered by seven male and seven female lecturers). This research employs a mixed-method approach. It combines thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) with corpus-assisted quantitative techniques using AntConc (Version 4.3.1) developed by Anthony (2024). Four key themes emerged: instructional clarity and explanation strategies, authority and classroom control, student engagement and questioning styles, and politeness, hedging, and interpersonal alignment. The findings reveal that male lecturers favored authoritative, content-heavy discourse characterized by imperatives and display questions. While female lecturers adopted more relational, inclusive, and dialogic discourse, frequently uses metaphors, referential questions, hedging, and inclusive pronouns. Quantitative frequency analysis supported these thematic patterns, demonstrating gendered preferences in discourse features. The study highlights pedagogical value of reflective discourse awareness and recommends integrating discourse training into teacher education to develop inclusive and student-centered TESOL instruction. This research contributes to gender-sensitive pedagogical discourse studies in underrepresented South Asian contexts.