#LGBTQIA2 in ELT resources, part 1

A map showing countries where LGBTQIA2 is criminalised. Taken from https://www.humandignitytrust.org/lgbt-the-law/map-of-criminalisation/

(Lack of) Representation of LGBTQIA2 in ELT materials has been written about, researched and discussed for many years - and I'm not going to espouse the reasons why this is an important subject, nor am I going to refer to research I have done, because I'm not a researcher. However, the map above (from here) shows where in the world being part of the LGBTQIA2 is a criminal act. Some (read: ALL) of the punishments are shocking. This is not a political post, though.

I'm thinking of the students from these countries who go to English-speaking countries to learn English. I'm also thinking about the ELT students who haven't been exposed to LGBTQIA2 representations and who, occasionally, may not understand what it means to be LGBTQIA2.

So, as part of building the Inclusion in ELT Resource List, I thought I'd share some information.

It would be remiss of me not to start with Tyson Seburn and his research into the subject, as well as his mock-up of a sample unit:

In this particular post from Tyson, there are some excellent links to previous research conducted - and some of this research is many years old, which leads me to the realisation that LGBTQIA2 inclusion is still in its infancy. This doesn't mean that there is no representation in some of the materials out there, but the ones that are there may be tokenism or not discussed in a sensitive way. This post, also by Tyson, is a very revealing discussion.

The above image is from Intimate Migrations and I have Emily Bryson and her blog post to thank for revealing this to me. The Intimate Migrations resource was published by the University of Glasgow in 2018 for use in ESOL classes and a focus on living in Scotland. However, it's a fantastic resource and doesn't just include LGBTQIA2 families. Emily was very kind to point this resource out to me and I'm very grateful. You might also want to check out Emily's book, the A-Z of ESOL and especially the chapter for 'D is for Diversity'. In Emily's blog post, she also gives some useful links to other blogs, which I heartily recommend you have a look at.

The School's Out charity, an LGBT education charity, also has some good resources. A lot of the material is geared towards non-ELT students, but a lot of it could be adapted and exploited for use in the ELT classroom - see the ESOL resources they suggest, as well as the LGBT Objects, which looks fascinating.

Stonewall also has education resources that may be worth looking at. They have, for example, an LGBT History resource pack for primary, secondary and SEND, (available as pdf) but could be adapted for an ELT classroom.

There are many more resources out there, some yet to be found or shared and some yet to be written. But for now, this is what I've got.