Student Experiences of Gender-Inclusive Language in the Spanish Undergraduate Classroom

Even though Spanish conventionally has a binary grammatical gender system (i.e., masculine and feminine), various approaches have been taken in recent years to achieve a more equal linguistic representation of all genders (e.g., using both male and feminine at once such as “todos y todas” or adopting a new morpheme that is not associated with the traditional binary genders, as in “latinx” or “todes” instead of “latino” or “todos”). However, the gender-inclusive forms are yet to be accepted by many native speakers. Not unexpectedly, students who study Spanish as a foreign language are still unlikely to be exposed to gender-inclusive varieties (Morales-Vidal & Cassany 2020).
The Inclusive Language Instruction Research Group (LangIn) surveyed and interviewed undergraduate students of Spanish at the University of Minnesota about their experiences with and opinions of gender-inclusive language to examine how students learn and understand gender expressions and inclusivity in the language classroom. Furthermore, the study seeks to contribute to the creation of gender-inclusive classroom environments by articulating what kind of gender-related topics, materials, and pedagogy are desired by students themselves.
Presenters
Camille Braun is a PhD candidate in Hispanic Literature and Culture in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at the University of Minnesota. Her research explores artistic narratives which center the voices and expertise of people who use drugs in contemporary Spain.
Fernando González Lesniak is a Ph.D candidate in Curriculum and Instruction specializing in Second Language Education at the University of Minnesota. His research interests include acoustic phonetics, teacher education, translanguaging, social justice and gender-just pedagogies.
Yoko Hama is a Ph.D. candidate specializing in Hispanic Linguistics in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at the University of Minnesota. Their research interests include sociolinguistics, translanguaging, language and identity, especially in the context of Asian diaspora communities in Spanish-speaking countries.
Jacky James is a graduate student in Hispanic Linguistics in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at the University of Minnesota. Their research interests include language contact and language change, specifically involving inclusive language.
James Ramsburg is a PhD candidate in Hispanic Linguistics in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at the University of Minnesota. His research focuses on identifying and explaining dialectal variation, especially in the lexicon and morphosyntax.
Alejandra Takahira is a PhD student in Spanish and Portuguese literature at the University of Minnesota. She researches contemporary women authors of Asian ancestry in Latin America, and also works with contemporary cinema, feminist theory and race in Latin America.