Annotated Bibliography Preview

Katz, E. (2008). Working with LGBT International Students. International Educator, 17(6), 56-61.

While this article specifically discusses methods for working with LGBT international students in that can be ultilized by college advisors and administrators, the ideas presented can surely be adopted by TESOL instructors as well. What I love about this article is that it does not pretend that the topic is an uncomplicated or simple one: Katz provides a strong list of barriers that administrators frequently and likely face when attempting to reach out to LGBT international students. These include large-scale issues such as being  located in a conservative region of the country as well as small-scale issues such as getting students to attend the programs one intends to implement. Suggestions including involving other LGBT groups on campus and having straight allies aid in your planning are great ideas.

Nelson, C. (2009). Sexual Identities in English Language Education: Classroom Conversations. New York: Routledge.

This book by an author who has many publications in the topic of TESOL and its relation to sexual and gender identity will be an excellent source from which to gain meaningful research. The book discusses many topics related to sexual identities in the teaching of the English language, including the best methods and ideas to use when teaching students with differing sexual identities in the classroom such as bisexual, lesbian, and transgender—not only how to support them, but how to also think transculturally. Nelson also critically discusses how stereotypes of LGBT students are often present, how to challenge these stereotypes and encourage the students to do the same, and how to integrate lesbian and gay themes into the classroom.

Nelson, C. (1993). Heterosexism in ESL: Examining Our Attitudes. TESOL Quarterly, 27(1), 143-150.

This article, also by Nelson, I think is a wonderful addition to my research due to the fact that it was presented at a conference and was transcribed in the journal. I think it gives it somewhat of a different context or air: spoken versus the normal academic written language. Nelson discusses seven particular attitudes possessed by people that are problematic to lesbian and gay students. Nelson states that is important to critically review these attitudes in order to better be able to support our lesbian and gay students effectively. She also asks her listeners and readers to consider is they’ve ever encountered any of these attitudes before.

O’Mochain, R. (2006). Discussing Gender and Sexuality in a Context-Appropriate Way:  Queer Narratives in an EFL College Classroom in Japan. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 5(1), 51-66.

O’Mochain is an English language teacher who seeks to do specifically what his title suggests. By reflecting upon his own efforts as a language teacher, he attempts to generate an examination of a classroom situation that brings into inquiry questions of gender and sexuality. He notes that he is also seeking to complete this in a contextually appropriate way, as many classrooms, such as the one he taught in, may be a difficult setting due to their uncommon discussions about and openness regarding sexuality.