Here’s a story you may have or will experience at some point as a Spanish teacher…
Mrs. Miller, a high school Spanish teacher from Florida, was excited for the new school year. However, she felt a bit nervous when she learned that she had a student who identified as gender neutral. It was the first time she had encountered this situation in her 20-year teaching career.
She wanted to make her student feel included, but she didn’t know how to address the situation. Mrs. Miller searched for resources online to understand gender-inclusive language in Spanish, but she couldn’t find a comprehensive guide. She also asked in Facebook groups and got some ideas, but nothing concrete to help her.
After some research, she decided to talk to her student privately to ask how they wanted to be addressed. The student explained that they preferred to be called by their name and not use gendered language like “él” or “ella.”
Mrs. Miller was relieved that her student was willing to help her understand, and she started incorporating gender-neutral language into her lessons. She also wanted to explain gender-inclusive language to the rest of the class, so she spent a weekend creating a lesson on the topic.
The class was receptive to the lesson, and the student felt more included in the classroom. Mrs. Miller felt grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow as a teacher, and she was proud to create a more inclusive environment for all her students.
How to Teach Gender-Inclusive or Gender-Neutral Language in Spanish
Inspired by Mrs. Miller story, we partnered up with Dr. Jenny Santilli to create the mini-course Understanding and Teaching Gender-Inclusive Language for Spanish teachers.
This 1-hour course will equip you with important resources to help you start teaching gender inclusive language in your classroom.
This course explores:
- What is gender inclusive language.
- Who’s using gender inclusive language.
- Why it is important to teach and model gender inclusive language.
- How you can incorporate gender inclusive language into your classes.
- How you can approach students as you teach it.
- How you can approach parents and families as you teach it.
- How you can approach administrators as you teach it.
Dr. Jenny Santilli’s course also includes this Bonus Tool Kit to help you with gender-inclusive language in your classroom:
- Lesson Plan in English and Spanish
- Sample Message to Parents and Families
- A List of Possible Objections to Using GI Language and How to Answer Them
- Self-inventory
- Glossary of Terms
- Online Resources for Further Exploration
If you need help with Gender-inclusive language, check out the full details and enroll now.
“Teachers, especially world language teachers, have an incredible opportunity to positively impact the well-being and mental health of students by embracing gender inclusive language in their classes.”
– Dr. Jenny Santilli, Understanding and Teaching Gender Inclusive Language Course Creator