As an extension of her research with non-binary language learners in U.S. high schools, PhD Candidate Julia Donnelly Spiegelman gave a two-day workshop for French teachers this July in Quebec City, Canada. The institute, called the Institut de Français, UBC à Québec, is a French-immersion program for Canadian teachers of French as a Second Language (FLS) that integrates intensive language practice with educational professional development workshops. Julia’s invited workshop, entitled “Au-delà du binaire du genre en FLS [Beyond the Gender Binary in French as a Second Language],” helped participants to deepen their understanding of gender as a concept and their ability to articulate it in French, engage with the experiences and perspectives of trans and non-binary learners of French, and collectively build a body of gender-expansive resources for teachers of French. These include French-language resources about LGBTQ+ concepts and vocabulary, linguistic strategies, multimodal texts using gender-neutral language, inclusive classroom practices and materials, and academic research; they can be accessed here.

Julia also gave an invited webinar this summer for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), drawing from her survey research to develop 10 Best-Practice recommendations for affirming trans and non-binary identities in world language classrooms. These recommendations can be accessed here and a recording of the webinar is available to ACTFL members on the member platform.

More resources for gender-expansive world language teaching are available on Julia’s website.