Gender and sexuality made (ir-)relevant in the Polish EFL classroom

Linguistic Perspectives on Sexuality in Education: Representations, Constructions and Negotiations, 2021

Back in 2018 I witnessed an instance of verbal behaviour which-I believe-would be categorised as hate speech, for instance, in the UK, yet regrettably remains unpenalised in the Polish legal system. A social media group intended for teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Poland, I used to be a member of, featured a post asserting that non-heteronormative students should not be treated on a par with the heterosexual majority. It contained denigrating and devaluating claims about such students. What is more bewildering and saddening, it was authored by a teacher. Would you expect an instant reprimand on the part of the group community defending the rights of such student minority? I certainly did. For this reason, I was rather taken aback to read only a few moderately critical comments that were followed with somewhat vehement replies by the author becoming even more verbally aggressive. My reaction was instinctive: to label the behaviour appropriately, refute the ludicrous argumentation and direct the fellow group members to relevant research literature. If I recall correctly, I was supported by merely one more member and at the same time chastised by the group admin for "name calling", that is, using the word homophobe. In an ensuing private conversation with a group administrator, I was advised of the fact that the group was not intended for "social polemics" as it was conceived of as a platform fostering discussions on language teaching only, as if language could be taught in a social vacuum. Deeming it pertinent to the case in point, I indefatigably pursued this subject by creating a new post informing fellow teachers of the insidiously perilous dangers of maintaining uncritical attitude towards using homophobic language in educational settings, including acts of suicide, and cross-referenced a report on gender and sexuality in the Polish EFL I co-authored (Pakuła et al. 2015). This was met with a preventive measure, according to the admin, of deleting it in order to avoid an "ideological war" on the forum as this was "a space for people of divergent worldviews". I can only recall my feeling of disillusionment and disappointment. In the report I mention, one of the interviewees who had been an EFL textbook reviewer for a number of years christened EFL practitioners members of a vanguard group due to their insightful knowledge not only of the language per se but also of the broader socio-cultural context. This, however, at least in this case, can be only cast away as mere wishful-thinking. A vision of an inclusively oriented teacher need not be utopian, though. However, in order to arrive at this, a certain set of criteria need to be fulfilled. First and foremost, the vital role of teacher training programmes needs to be widely acknowledged (Bellini 2012, Paiz this volume). They ought to incorporate explicit content related to LGBT+ students and

TESOL Quarterly, 2004

Actas de Congreso de III Jornadas Nacionales del Profesorado de Inglés, 2022

The aim of this investigation is to provide teachers with new tools in order to create a non-sexist atmosphere including non binary kids and teenagers in the classroom. We will suggest different resources to avoid misgendering acts and to update the language used by teachers so it can be respectful towards gender dissidences. It will be also important to analyze how misgendering can affect children -and adults- in quite a negative way to understand its relevance as regards our job. Topics and concepts such as non-sexist language, non binary language, natural gender and gendered languages, will be explored as well as the use of “new” pronouns and how they function in possible utterances used in class. We will study the historical and global changes in language as regards gender exposed by authors as, for instance, Levy Hord, Matías Veneziani, Judith Butler, and Gabriela Mansilla will be taken into account for this purpose. NOTA EDITORIAL: Las opiniones y contenidos de los resúmenes y/o comunicaciones publicadas en el-Actas de Congreso de III Jornadas Nacionales del Profesorado de Inglés, son de responsabilidad exclusiva de los autores; los trabajos sólo han sido editados en su formato para su digitalización.

Daniel Ferraz, 2016

One of the great challenges faced by foreign language education in Brazil is to deal with the multiplicity of philosophies, theories, and practices. The National Curricular Orientations suggest that we connect linguistic pedagogical practices with sociocultural and critical ones. Thus, this work investigates gender and sexuality studies (LOURO, 1997) in the perspectives of undergraduate English language students of a Brazilian Federal University. The methodology is qualitative, and the action research method was applied. Hence, based on data collected from a discipline of academic writing, we discuss how students address such themes, specially homosexuality and homophobia (BORRILO, 2010). We also discuss if these themes should be included or excluded from language classes. RESUMEN: Uno de los desafíos que enfrenta la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras en el país es hacer frente a la multiplicidad de filosofías, teorías y prácticas. Las Directrices Curriculares Nacionales, por ejemplo, pretender reconciliar las prácticas de enseñanza de idiomas con las prácticas socioculturales y críticas. En este sentido, este trabajo investiga las cuestiones de género y sexualidad (LOURO, 1997), en vista de los estudiantes de filologia en ingles de una universidad federal de Brasil. La metodología es cualitativa y el método aplicado fue la investigación-acción. Por medio de una investigación realizada en el curso de escritura académica, discutimos cómo los estudiantes de filologia enfrentan estos temas, especialmente la homosexualidad y la homofobia (BORRILO, 2010). Además, se discute si estos asuntos deben ser incluidos o excluidos de las clases de lenguas extranjeras. PALABRAS CLAVE: educación linguística, los estudios de género, la sexualidad .

TESOL Journal, 2018

Queer issues in English language teaching (ELT) have received increasing attention in recent years. This has included calling for interfaces between queer theory and ELT theorizing and descriptions of what is at stake in heteronormative classrooms, as well as exploring normative discourses reflected in language learning materials. Despite this considerable progress, there is still much work to be done regarding how teacher trainers and practitioners might go about queering practice. This article seeks to explore how English as a second language (ESL) classrooms can be meaningfully queered to create safer and more respectful spaces for students to engage with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues in a second language. This discussion begins by looking at how ESL teacher training can be queered, for example, including representation from queer TESOL literature and modeling queer teaching practices. The conversation concludes by arguing that there also exists a need for teachers to seek out ways to queer commercially available classroom materials.

Sexuality & Culture

This introduction to the special issue provides a snapshot of why gender in our lives and in language education matters. We also summarize each of the articles featured in this special issue. Inspired by the growing body of research into gender and language education across the globe, directions for future studies in this area are also highlighted. We contend that any educational practices and artifacts are ideologically and institutionally gender-laden. We hope that this special issue can be the point of departure for exploring more gender issues at different levels of language education (e.g., schools, universities, and virtually-mediated education spaces) in the pursuit of gender responsiveness.

1991

Empowering the English Language Teacher in a Multipolar Environment, 2025

The field of English Language Teaching (ELT) has seen a growing recognition of the importance of gender and sexuality in recent years. This chapter aims to shed light on the complex relationship between gender, sexuality, and ELT, providing insights for teachers, practitioners, and researchers. It covers various aspects of these topics, including feminist and queer pedagogies, the influence of gender on teacher identity and careers, and the representation of gender and sexuality in ELT textbooks. It also reveals the transformative potential of feminist and queer pedagogies, the challenges faced by female English language teachers due to societal expectations and marginalization, and the persistent biases and stereotypes in the ELT textbooks. Finally, the chapter emphasizes the need for more inclusive and equitable practices in ELT, advocating for the integration of diverse perspectives and the revision of teaching materials to create a more just and empowering learning environment for everyone.