Raising Awareness on Gender Issues in Higher Education: A Pilot Intervention in EFL Teacher Training from Spain

Abstract

There are biases and discriminations in relation to gender identity and sexual orientation issues in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom, either through outdated and sexist materials or even teacher discourse and beliefs, as, according to several studies, teachers unconsciously transmit their negative attitudes and stereotypes to their students. As it has been proven by different studies, conducting training for teachers and future teachers with respect to non-normative sexual orientations and gender identities brings positive results. Thus, this paper proposes a pilot classroom intervention designed to train pre-service teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) from the Bachelor’s degree in Education Studies and the Master’s degree in Teaching Secondary School, enrolled at the University of Burgos, Spain, during the academic year 2020-2021. The results of the intervention reveal the necessity of raising future teachers’ awareness on the different non-normative sexual orientations and gender identities, in order to create more inclusive classes for all students and teachers.