1. Responding to Challenging Issues of
Gender and Sexual Identity
Elizabeth Wadell
International Education Center at Diablo
Valley College
Pleasant Hill, California, USA

2. A student gave a presentation on "Homosexuality in
Morocco”….Afterward, the floor was open for
discussion/questions. One student asked the presenter's
opinion about whether homosexuality was "right or
wrong"--however, he was giggling as he said this… The
presenter stated his opinion, which brought more
discussion. One student, who is studying to be an
imam…, stated that it was a sin--as declared in the
Qu'ran. This brought up a huge debate...
The debate went back and forth until one student said,
"you don't understand the Qu'ran; you are wrong." This
is when I had to intervene and teach the students about
"safe space" in the classroom; that is, when they are in
the class, they must use respectful language and respect
each others' ideas, and that there are no bad and/or
wrong ideas.

3. Agenda
• Background
• Survey of US teachers
• Experiences of teachers in Morocco
• Suggestions for responding to challenging
situations about gay and lesbian identities

4. Background
• Identity—affects opportunities for interaction
and language learning (Norton Peirce, 1995)
• Gay or lesbian identity—hidden in class (Nelson,
2010; Kappra & Vandrick, 2006)
• Teachers’ experiences (Nelson, 2009; Curran, 2006; Peters, 2006;
Courtney, 2007)

5. US Teachers
• In my advanced conversation class students
select news articles to discuss with the group.
One of my students selected an article about
the growing popularity of civil unions in France
and elsewhere. The article included discussion
of how civil union laws affect homosexuals.

6. • I heard a male student (A) make [a comment]
to another male student (B) during a Find
Someone Who exercise. The question was
"Are you married?" and another was "Do you
have a girlfriend?" …. Well, student B said no
to both questions and student A said "What,
are you gay?"

7. • It really is a delicate balance because you
want to respect students' opinions and at the
same time protect students who might get
hurt.

8. Teachers in Morocco
• One young woman who grew up in France
self-identified as a lesbian, and she wrote
about […] another girl having been in love
with her [in high school. . .] in her first writing
assignment. While I was not shocked by the
content, I was very curious that a student
would adopt such a confessional approach to
her first paper. I didn't feel comfortable asking
her why she had done that, but I'm still
curious.

9. • We discussed how is it to be
different/marginalized/etc. in society and
what sorts of people struggle with this in
today's world most significantly.

10. Suggestions
1. Be aware that students may have “hidden
identities” (Vandrick, 1997) and how your
words may affect them.
2. Be respectful of students who tell you that
they are gay or lesbian.
3. Create atmosphere of respect/support in
class, and perhaps a class contract.

11. 4. Model showing respect to all students and
their beliefs.
5. Remind students that learning a new
language involves communicating with
people from other backgrounds and cultures,
so they should be tolerant of others.
6. Push students to critically examine
stereotypes.

12. 7. If students disagree about a topic like
homosexuality, push them to examine why
they think the way they do.
8. Use topic of homosexuality to discuss issues
of pragmatics, body language, and cultural
differences.

13. Conclusion