Gender and sexuality in foreign and second language education: Critical and feminist approaches

Abstract

Introduction Over the years, a number of scholars have engaged in the study of how gender mediates second (L2) and foreign language (FL) learning in and out of the classroom. Several recent books and state-of-the-art reviews (Chavez, 2000; Ehrlich, 1997; Pavlenko, 2001a; Pavlenko et al., 2001; Sunderland, 2000a) provide a detailed discussion of these studies and do not need to be repeated here. Instead, in the present chapter, I will use a feminist poststructuralist framework to synthesize the findings of the recent studies and to discuss their implications for critical and feminist pedagogies in FL/L2 education. Feminist poststructuralism and critical inquiry in FL/L2 education While there are several approaches to feminist poststructuralism and critical inquiry, I see them sharing a common aim. Thus, I define feminist poststructuralism , outlined by Cameron (1992, 1997), Luke and Gore (1992a), and Weedon (1987), and critical inquiry in applied linguistics , outlined by Pennycook (2001), as approaches to language study that strive (a) to understand the relationship between power and knowledge; (b) to theorize the role of language in production and reproduction of power, difference, and symbolic domination; and (c) to deconstruct master narratives that oppress certain groups - be it immigrants, women, or minority members - and devalue their linguistic practices. Similarly, recognizing differences between various pedagogical approaches, in the present chapter, I group together FL/L2 critical and feminist pedagogies that acknowledge and incorporate gender and draw on feminist poststructuralist thought in education (Davies, 1994; Jones, 1993; Luke & Gore, 1992a; Stanton & Stewart, 1995).