Insights from a transgender student in the EFL classroom: from individual perspective to institutional change

Abstract

Among other minority groups, the trans community is systematically repressed by a hegemonic heteronormativity. In the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching area, the perspective of this collective is equally absent. This study aims at gaining insight from a transgender student on his impact and perception within the EFL classroom to make secondary-school EFL contexts more inclusive regarding transgender. An exploratory case study constituted the basis of this article via an open interview with a transgender student. By exposing him to input stereotyping gender and marginalizing the trans community, their perception of the danger of the LGBTQIA+ community beyond the classroom was elicited. Different measures were discussed as potential improvements whose implementation could ensure safer environments and a more inclusive teaching experience. Further research could obtain insight beyond the trans community to assess the awareness and compromise towards the collective from individuals who are not part of it.