Linguistic Perspectives On Sexuality In Education

This book brings together leading academics and practitioners working in the area of language, gender, sexuality and education, consolidating recent developments and moving the field forward in a contemporary context. This unique and timely volume captures current themes, debates, theories and methods in the field, and will be of interest to scholars and practitioners working around the world in the areas of Applied Linguistics, Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Education, Sociology and Discourse Studies.

A path-breaking study of the role played by language in constructing sexual identities in schools. It will be of keen interest to a wide audience of educational practitioners and academics in the fields of applied linguistics, gender studies and English language and linguistics.

Presenting new and exciting data from lesbian and gay conversations, narratives, representations of lesbians in film and erotic fiction, and representations of prominent gay men in newspapers, this book looks at some of the ways lesbians and gay men construct identity from among the symbolic resources available within lesbian and gay communities.

What pedagogic challenges and opportunities arise as gay, lesbian, and queer themes and perspectives become an increasingly visible part of English language classes within a variety of language learning contexts and levels? What sorts of teaching practices are needed in order to productively explore the sociosexual aspects of language, identity, culture, and communication? How can English language teachers promote language learning through the development of teaching approaches that do not presume an exclusively heterosexual world? Drawing on the experiences of over 100 language teachers and learners, and using a wide range of research and theory, especially queer education research, this innovative, cutting-edge book skillfully interweaves classroom voices and theoretical analysis to provide informed guidance and a practical framework of macrostrategies English language teachers (of any sexual identification) can use to engage with lesbian/gay themes in the classroom. In so doing, it illuminates broader questions about how to address social diversity, social inequity, and social inquiry in a classroom context.

Representations of gender in learning materials convey an implicit message to students about attitudes towards culturally appropriate gender roles for women and men. This collection takes a linguistic approach to exploring theories about gender representation within the sphere of education and textbooks, and their effects on readers and students within an international context. In the opening section, contributors discuss theories of representation and effect, challenging the conventional Althusserian model of interpellation, and acknowledging the challenges of applying Western feminist models within an international context. Following chapters provide detailed analyses focusing on a number of different countries: Australia, Japan, Brazil, Finland, Russia, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Germany, Qatar, Tanzania, and Poland. Through linguistic analysis of vocabulary associated with women and men, content analysis of what women and men say in textbooks, and discourse analysis of the types of linguistic moves associated with women and men, contributors evaluate the extent to which gendered representations in textbooks perpetuate stereotypical gender roles, what the impact may be on learners, and the ways that both teachers and learners interact and engage with these texts.

This edited book examines how sexuality and sexual identity intersect and interact with other identities and subjectivities – including but not limited to race, religion, gender, social class, ableness, and immigrant or refugee status – to form reinforcing webs of privilege and oppression that can have significant implications for language teaching and learning processes. The authors explore how these intersections may influence the teaching of different languages and how pedagogies can be devised to increase equitable access to language learning spaces. They seek to open the conversation on intersectional issues as they relate to sexuality and language teaching and learning, and provide a conversational space where readers can engage with the notion of intersectionality. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of applied linguistics and language education, gender and LGBTQ+ studies, and sociolinguistics, outlining possible future directions for intersectional research.

Runner up, British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL) Book Prize 2023 This book combines teaching-informed research studies and research-informed teaching accounts which explore English language education that engages with (a)gender and (a)sexual diversity. Informed by critical theories, critical literacy, post-structuralism, queer theory, and indigeneity/(de)coloniality, the critical perspectives in this volume consider gender and sexuality as dimensions of human life and aim to promote sexual, gender, emotional and relational wellbeing together with the construction of cultural horizons and citizenship. The chapters are organised around three interdependent areas of inquiry: 1) how educators design pedagogies and curriculums around gender diversity and sexuality, 2) how students and teachers navigate issues of gender diversity and sexuality in practice, as well as 3) how issues of gender diversity and sexuality are (not) addressed in the materials for teaching and learning English. The contributors are all teacher educators-researchers and therefore have vast experience in enacting, implementing, designing, and examining the field of English language teacher education from/for the classroom with a gender perspective in diverse settings, with chapters come from Argentina, Bangladesh, Canada, Germany, Norway, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, the UK and Uruguay.

This lively and accessible textbook provides a clear introduction to the relationship between language and sexuality.