WHAT DOES THE FEMALE-DOMINATED, ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDENT BODY IMPLY? A LITERATURE REVIEW FOR A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ CHOICE OF ACADEMIC MAJOR AND FUTURE CAREER SEEN FROM A GENDER PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

In an undergraduate English Language Education Study Program at a major education university in Makassar, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, a large female-dominated student body has been a phenomenon each year’s intake, at least in the last decade or so. In fact, the same phenomenon has occurred in the whole Faculty of Languages and Literature and the English Department where the English Language Education Study Program is a part of. There is a dearth in the current literature on gender and English language teaching, however, to explain such a phenomenon and address the fundamental question “What does the large English Language Education Study Program female student body imply?” and a number of specific questions (e.g. “What makes English Language Education Study Program attractive to more female than male high school graduates?”). Using a gender perspective, this paper presents a literature review for a research study proposed to address the above and other relevant issues.