Thinking queer with Vietnamese EFL textbooks

Abstract

ABSTRACT Queer is an inclusive term that embraces Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+), among other sexual identities. Thinking queer examines how fixed meanings or knowledge, or a particular image or identity, can be challenged, unfixed, unlearned, inquired, and placed into new learnings and understandings. In this paper, we think queer together with terms, images, and dialogs in Vietnamese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) textbooks. We adapted the Critical Visual Discourse Analysis (CVDA) and methods of critique to guide our thinking with the two questions: 1) How are gender roles represented in Vietnamese EFL textbooks? and 2) Are there queer terms, images, dialogs represented in Vietnamese EFL textbooks? If so, how are they depicted? The findings revealed biases in gender roles and invisibility of queer representations. We conclude by offering pedagogical implications for future studies.