Gender and Sexuality in English Language Education — our book’s out!

Report on pioneering research into the constructions of gender and sexuality in English language education, with a focus on Poland, is out now. I do hope that the huge effort we put in the study itself and the book will pay off by having real-life impact, i.e. making teachers, publishers, and Ministry of Education advisors more aware of diversity issues in the context of EFL and education in general.

Gender and Sexuality in English Language Education

Below is a back cover blurb from Gender and Sexuality in English Language Education: Focus on Poland.

“With a focus on Poland, Łukasz Pakuła, Joanna Pawelczyk and Jane Sunderland empirically explore gender and sexuality in relation to classroom interaction and textbooks in the primary and secondary English language classroom. Based on data from a range of classrooms, the book shows how gender stereotyping in textbooks has not disappeared, that heterosexuality is the only sexuality in evidence and that heteronormativity is salient. Importantly, though, through teacher- and student-talk and classroom interaction generally, these representations can be and are negotiated and challenged. The book also offers practical suggestions for teachers, educators and publishers to make the English language classroom a truly inclusive social space.”

The book is a free-access publication and can be downloaded here (or by clicking on the cover image above).

Supplementary material is being prepared at the moment, it will include brochures with extracts from the research as well as recommendations for diversity-inclusive policies and practices. Both Polish and English versions will be made available.