A Learning Experience of the Gender Perspective in English Teaching Contexts

Abstract

Eighteen Colombian English teachers participated in a course with an emphasis on gender and foreign language teaching in a Master's program in Bogotá. This text describes the design, implementation, and the learning in this educational experience. The analysis of the course was based on a view of learning as a process of participation rooted in the praxis of English teachers' classrooms. This experience reveals that gender is a relevant category in the frame of English language teacher education as it provides teachers with tools from a broader social and educational perspective. This reflection also leads to implications for teachers' practices with a gender perspective.Key words: English teachers, gender and foreign language education, language teacher education, learning, participation.Dieciocho profesores de inglés participaron en un curso con énfasis en género y la enseñanza de lengua extranjera, en el marco de un programa de maestría en Bogotá. Este texto describe el diseño, la implementación y los aprendizajes que surgen en esta experiencia educativa. El análisis del curso se basa en una comprensión del aprendizaje como el resultado de un proceso de participación en la práctica de la enseñanza de los docentes. Esta experiencia revela que género es una categoría importante en el marco de la educación de la enseñanza del inglés, por cuanto aporta elementos desde una perspectiva social y educativa. Esta reflexión revela algunas implicaciones para la práctica de docentes sensibles a la categoría género.Palabras clave: aprendizajes, educación de docentes de inglés, género y educación en lengua extranjera, participación, profesores de inglés. 140Mojica & Castañeda-Peña Introduction One of the major commitments that the field of Education has assumed in the last decades worldwide is the incorporation of the gender perspective. Education is the means by which it is possible to reach gender equity 1 and foster gender justice and fairness (Connell, 2011; unesco, 2015). In this sense, Colombia, like many other countries around the world, has attempted actions such as improving access to education particularly for girls/women; however, this has not been enough to transform gender relations in the school. The school is considered one of the social places for the gendered cultural reproduction; therefore, it has been suggested that the gender perspective be incorporated into the teaching framework, the curricular contents of all subjects, and into all teachers' professional development (Alcaldía de Medellín & Subsecretaría de Planeación y Transversalización, 2010;Calvo, Rendón, & Rojas, 2006;Fuentes Vásquez & Holguín Castillo, 2006).Foreign language teaching contexts are not exempt from the responsibility of incorporating the gender perspective to help educational institutions battle gender inequities. These particular learning settings 2 also display that meanings related to gender turn, in many occasions, into sexist practices, hegemonic ideas, or differential treatments that disfavor students' learning experiences ...

Exploring the Gender Perspective in English Language Teaching (ELT): Voices from ELT Practitioners in Philippine Higher Education Institutions

“…In hindsight, these English language teachers believe such a benefit is true because they view gender equality and equity as necessary rather than optional values. Compared with teacher-participants from other studies—who were initially unmindful about the role of gender in ELT (Banegas et al, 2019 ; Mojica & Castañeda-Peña, 2017 ), the Filipino ELT practitioners seem to be knowledgeable about the essential role of gender in English language education from the onset. In addition, some of the participants tend to recognize the existence of gender-fluid concepts, such as queer identities and the difference between sex and gender.…”

“…A number of researchers have also assessed gender representation in textbooks (Ariyanto, 2018 ; Curaming & Curaming, 2020 ; Lee & Mahmoudi-Gahrouei, 2020 ; Tarrayo, 2014 ). In terms of the teacher-perspective ELT, notable discussions have centered on the experiences of Argentinian student-teachers in incorporating the gender perspective in ELT (Banegas et al, 2019 ; Mojica & Castañeda-Peña, 2017 ). Collectively, ELT educators first struggled in incorporating minute notions of gender-fair language (Lomotey, 2020 ) and issues in their classroom discussions, but they gradually appreciated the importance and benefits of integrating gender-equality values into their pedagogical practices (Banegas et al, 2019 ; Norton & Pavlenko, 2004 ).…”

“…Collectively, ELT educators first struggled in incorporating minute notions of gender-fair language (Lomotey, 2020 ) and issues in their classroom discussions, but they gradually appreciated the importance and benefits of integrating gender-equality values into their pedagogical practices (Banegas et al, 2019 ; Norton & Pavlenko, 2004 ). These studies have concluded that the integration of the gender perspective into ELT pedagogy leads to (1) creating a supportive and open space for LGBTQIA+ learners (Sauntson, 2012 ), (2) educators reflecting on and challenging their own gendered beliefs and experiences, and (3) teachers being more conscious of other people’s diverse gendering ways (Banegas, 2020 ; Banegas et al, 2019 ; Mojica & Castañeda-Peña, 2017 ).…”

CLIL and Comprehensive Sexual Education: A Case of Innovation From Argentina

“…With interrelated foci, scholars have addressed gender as a multifaceted construct in second language learning: inclusive pedagogies (Sauntson, 2018), identity (Nguyen & Yang, 2015;Norton & Pavlenko, 2004), lgbt learners' trajectories and classroom participation (Evripidou, 2018a; Moore, 2016), interaction from feminist poststructuralism (Pavlenko, 2004), teacher preparation (Mojica & Castañeda-Peña, 2017), teachers' perceptions (Evripidou, 2018b), coursebooks (Ariyanto, 2018;Gray, 2013), teacher-developed materials (Govender, 2019), and awareness raising in educational communities (Pakuła et al, 2015). These studies, from a praxiological notion, are unified by the following stance: elt cannot ignore human action; it should adopt an attitude that allows learners to understand the purposes behind human behaviour and the diversity of actions found across institutions and social practices.…”

A Gender Perspective in Initial English Language Teacher Education: An Argentinian Experience

“…One exception is a study carried out at a Colombian university. Mojica and Castañeda Peña (2017) remark that foreign language teaching contexts must include a gender perspective. To this effect they created an optional module called Identity and Language Learning at a master's programme for English language teacher.…”