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Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

Been cooking up a new study abroad program in Paris for this coming summer!
arizona.via-trm.com/program_broc...

Open to both UA and non-UA students. No pre-requisites or langauge requirments.

Please feel free to share with anyone you think might be interested. 💜

U Arizona French & Italian New Study Abroad Program! Summer 2026. From Graffiti to Gruyère. This isn’t Emily in Paris, this is You in Paris! Experience Paris first-hand beyond popular myths and tourist maps. In this new faculty-led summer program you’ll immerse yourself in local cultures through food, art, language, music, fashion, and more. Highlights include:
• Visits to iconic institutions (Orsay, Rodin) and new classics (La Place, Le Mur) paired with walking tours to experience the pulse of ultra-contemporary art and meet DJs, breakers, and muralists — all while we ask “What counts as art?”
• Hands-on workshops with pastry chefs and tasting tours on “foodie street,” at local markets, and with award-winning artisans to experience food as culture.
• City walks that trace the steps of revolutionaries and bring to life the Belle Epoque, Jazz Age, and early Hip-Hop scene, and, ultimately, help us make sense of present-day life in these places.
This program is all about getting out of the classroom, where learning is experiential and immersive. French language experience not required. Courses count toward GenEds and a
major or minor in French. Options include:
• FREN 373: Hip Hop cultures
• FREN 280: Intro to French language, linguistics, and culture
• FREN 202z: Accelerated intermediate French
*Alternatives available

For more information contact Dr. Kris Knisely knisely@arizona.edu Eligible for the Fearless Abroad Scholarship. Visit humanities.arizona.edu/scholarships for more information

September 15, 2025 at 6:49 PM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

If you have any trouble accessing my chapter in Spanish or in English, please don't hesitate to get in contact with me so that we can fix that together: krisknisely.com/publications

La gente tiene ideas muy firmes sobre cómo podemos o debemos hacer lenguaje, hacer género y hacerlos juntos. Cuando desafiamos esas nociones restrictivas, esa misma gente puede tener reacciones intensamente negativas, cuando no directamente violentas. Cuando no nos ajustamos a las expectativas sociales sobre cómo debemos combinar el género y el lenguaje (ya sea en referencia a nosotres mismes o a les demás), a menudo parece que todo el mundo desde mindundis en Internet hasta cajeres en el súper, pasando por profesoris de instituto y por las supuestas autoridades lingüísticas (como la Real Academia Española o la Académie française)— quiere decirnos que no podemos hacer lenguaje como lo hacemos, que estamos lenguando mal, o incluso que estamos arruinando la lengua [...]. El lenguaje y el género se convierten en herramientas de opresión y control. Esta tendencia a pensar en algunas formas de hacer lenguaje como correctas y otras como incorrectas es particularmente común en contextos educativos y en discursos populares (o conversaciones del día a día) sobre educación (considérense, por ejemplo, Díaz, Mejía y Villamizar, 2022; Knisely, 2025d; López, 2023). Pero ¿pueden ser realmente erróneas nuestras formas de hacer lenguaje? ¿Podemos realmente arruinar la lengua? ¿Es el modelo de una lengua «buena» y única realmente útil —o siquiera posible— en la educación? En este capítulo tomamos en cuenta lo que nos enseñan las culturas trans del lenguaje sobre las posibilidades que existen para hacer lenguaje y lo que dice la investigación sobre las repercusiones de incluir culturas trans del lenguaje en nuestros entornos educativos. Ojo, spoiler: A través de esta exploración de lo que sabemos sobre las culturas trans del lenguaje y sobre la educación lingüística con justicia de género, llegaremos a comprender que ni nadie lengua mal ni se puede dañar el lenguaje, y que incorporar las culturas trans del lenguaje en la educación ofrece una amplia gama de beneficios para todes...

Abstract: People have strong ideas about how we can or should do language, do gender, and do them together. When someone’s ways of doing language and gender challenge these restrictive notions, people tend to have intensely negative if not outright violent reactions. For those of us who flout expectations for doing gender and language together (whether in reference to ourselves or to the trans and nonbinary people in our lives), it often seems as though everyone –from a random stranger on the internet, to cashier at the grocery store, to the teachers at school, to so-called language authorities (like the Real Academia Española or the Académie Française)– wants to tell us that we can’t do language the way that we do, that our languaging is wrong, or even that we are ruining language. This tendency to think of some ways of doing language as right and other ways of doing language as wrong is particularly common in educational contexts and in the popular discourses (or day-to-day conversations) about education. But, can our ways of doing language really be wrong, can we really ruin language, and is a singular model of ‘good’ language actually helpful or even possible in education? In this chapter we will consider what trans cultures of language teach us about the possibilities that exist for doing language and what the research says about the impacts of including trans cultures of language in our educational environments. Spoiler alert: Through this exploration of what we know about trans cultures of language and about gender-just language education, we’ll come to understand that no one’s languaging is wrong, that language cannot be harmed, and that bringing trans cultures of language into education offers a wide-range of benefits to everyone.

September 2, 2025 at 7:46 PM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

Lengua mutante is in print and includes a chapter from me on trans cultures of language (including how the negative attitudes people have towards trans ways of doing language don't hold water -ya can't do language wrong or ruin it!- & miss the brilliance and agency of trans people doing language).

Book cover reads: Lengua mutante Reflexiones sobre lenguaje inclusivo Artemis Lopez (coordinator). Pie de Pagina. (Lenguaje inclusivo. antologia. feminismos.)

September 2, 2025 at 7:46 PM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

Are you trans and/or nonbinary (in the broadest sense of these terms)? Have you studied abroad or are you considering studying abroad in the future?

Please check out my awesome advisee's dissertation study.

[Please share widely with your networks 💜]

Studying abroad? Have studied abroad? Trans/NB/Gender Trans non-compliant? Research Participants needed! A queer-led dissertation on gender, language and power Takes ~15 minutes for survey! Complete the survey to enter a 50 gift card raffle! Find the Study Survey https:/ ttps://bit.ly/ALDiss /ALDiss Additional compensation for interview(s)! T Scan me Questions? Contact: leydic@arizona.edu leydic@ An Institutional Review Board responsible for research University Arizona reviewed research praject prajectand found acceptable, according applicable state and federal regulations and University policies designed protect the rights and welfare of participantsi inresearch.

August 12, 2025 at 9:17 PM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

FYI to anyone who may be looking for an online birth class by and for queer & trans people www.embodiedbirthclass.com Next class starts Mach 11. Tell your friends. 💜

decolonizing evidence informed critical self-advocacy queer parent/birth community trans/queer birth class next 4 week cohort starts march 11 pregnant/ttc/support folks & birth workers taught by trans genderqueer palestinian midwire embodiedbirthclass.com @3mbodied.birth A portion of funds donated to families in Gaza

March 3, 2025 at 9:44 PM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

ISO Language teachers for gender justice

Are you a language teacher who wants to learn more about gender justice & collaboratively make free resources to support the teaching and learning of nonbinary ways of doing languages other than English?

Interest form: bit.ly/GenderJustPL...

Please share!

Language teachers: Want free materials that are trans-affirming & gender-just? Join an online professional community to learn more about gender justice & collaboratively make them! I'm looking for teachers of languages other than English who would like to participate in a online professional community April 1-May 6 focused on deepening our understandings of gender-just language pedagogies and collaboratively creating open educational resources in the languages we teach, with support from researchers in trans applied linguistics and trans/nonbinary language experts. There is no cost to participate and 20 educators who take part in the learning community, create 1 or more OER to share, and take an exit survey will receive $100. Do you qualify? 1. Do you teach a language other than English (at any level, K-16)? 2. Do you have an interest in trans-affirming, gender-just language education? 3. Would you like to make professional connections with other language teachers and community experts? 4. Would you like to co-create open educational resources (OERs) including trans and nonbinary ways of doing language? April 1-May 6, 2025. Estimated 10-15 hours. Flexible scheduling. Free/$100: 20 educators who take part in the free learning community, create 1+ OER to share, & take an exit survey will receive $100. Fill out a short interest form or ask questions: https://bit.ly/GenderJustPLONS

February 28, 2025 at 12:19 AM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

ISO Trans/nonbinary people to hire as (non-English) language experts

Are you trans and know a language other than English? I'm looking for people who are in-community and want to collaboratively develop free language learning materials.

Interest form: bit.ly/TLangExpert

Please share!

ISO Trans/Nonbinary (Non-English) Language Experts. Want to help make free trans-inclusive resources for language learning and get paid for your expertise? I’m looking for people to participate in an online professional learning network April 1-May 6 who are in-community and can bring their language and cultural knowledge to help us collaboratively develop free language education materials. Do you qualify? 1. Are you trans/nonbinary (in the broadest sense of these terms)? 2. Are you at least 18 years of age or older? 3. Do you know a language other than English? 4. Would you like to work with a language teacher to create trans-inclusive open educational resources? April 1-May 6, 2025 10 hours Flexible Scheduling. If matched with a teacher, you will receive $250 compensation for co-creating an educational resource. Fill out a short interest form or ask questions: https://bit.ly/TLangExpert

February 26, 2025 at 11:50 PM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

Nonbinary people who language in Japanese and English, check out this flyer from Yuka Takao! Maybe their study can be a lil distraction from the hellscape? 💜

ノンバイナリーのジェンダーアイデンティティの研究に参加してくださる日英バイリンガルを募集中です！
※募集締め切り：目標人数に達するまで無期限

皆さん、こんにちは！高尾ユカと申します。オーストラリアのウーロンゴン大学で博士課程の学生をしています。私の研究プロジェクト「日英バイリンガルのノンバイナリー・ジェンダーアイデンティティの探究：ジェンダーアイデンティティの肯定における言語、記号、シンボルの役割」に参加してくださる方を募集しています。

参加者条件は以下の通りです：
• 18歳以上であること
• 自身を日英バイリンガルであると認識していること※
• 日本で9年間の正規教育を修了していること（専門・専修・職業訓練校等を含む）
• 男性または女性に完全に当てはまらないと自認していること
• 現在オーストラリア、日本、またはアメリカに住んでいること
• 現在自己認識として強い精神的ストレスを感じていないこと
※この場合のバイリンガルは英語環境で６か月以上生活した経験とジェンダーアイデンティティに関する情報を英語でも理解できることを意味し、ネイティブレベルである必要はありません。英語圏以外の国で英語環境で生活した場合も対象となります。インタビューは参加者の希望に応じて日、英のみ、または両方交えながら行います。

ご協力いただける場合は参加者情報シートをお読みいただき、以下のリンクからアンケートにご参加ください。

参加者情報シートはこちら↓
https://bit.ly/3Ba9fsF

アンケートはこちらからご参加ください↓
日本語　https://redcap.link/iy1tvhrd　
英語　https://redcap.link/e7ox7xom

ご不明点などありましたら遠慮なくお問い合わせください。

高尾　ユカ
メール：yt784@uowmail.edu.au
Whatsapp: +819065172118

Seeking Japanese-English Bilingual Participants for a Study
on Nonbinary Gender Identities You are invited to participate in my research project investigating the role of language, signs, and symbols in developing and affirming nonbinary gender identities of Japanese-English bilinguals. Are you 18 or older?
Self-identify as a Japanese-English bilingual?*
*Bilingual in this study means having lived in an English-speaking context for 6 months or more and being
able to understand information about gender identity in English. This includes non-English speaking
countries where you spoke English as a main language. A native level of English is not required.
Completed 9 years of formal education in Japan (including
specialised and vocational schools)?
Not identify exclusively as male or female?
Living in Australia, Japan, or the US?
NOT experiencing high levels of emotional distress?
Do you meet the above criteria? Please check out more details and join the study using the
below link or QR code:
https://bit.ly/3UGLorx
For any inquiry, please contact Yuka Takao at
yt784@uowmail.edu.au or on Whatsapp at +819065172118.
This study has been reviewed by the Social Sciences Human
Research Ethics Committee at the University of Wollongong
(Reference: 2024/182).

January 31, 2025 at 12:14 AM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

For something more robust & accessible, check out #RedoingLinguisticWorlds (especially ch 1)

Knisely, K. & Russell, E. (2024). Redoing linguistic worlds: Unmaking gender binaries, remaking gender pluralities. Multilingual Matters. www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/...

Redoing Linguistic Worlds: Unmaking Gender Binaries, Remaking Gender Pluralities Edited by Kris Aric Knisely and Eric Louis Russell

Language & gender are interconnected social & relational acts through which we constantly remake our worlds. But what happens when our ways of doing gender cannot be neatly categorized into traditional binary systems, including the social groupings of roles, practices, & identities & also the forms & structures through which we do language? This book explores the undoing & redoing of gender binaries in non-Anglophone communities & contexts, in & through their linguistic & social reimaginings. Each contribution reflects on this ongoing change & its place in our everyday lives, including the ways that its outcomes are both contested & fluid. This volume represents an important step in scholarship in language & gender, one that stands to inform a public increasingly aware of these remakings & one that calls on all of us to stand in the tensions of our own humanity & look through it for how our languaging might 'do' imaginary worlds that are more equitable, connected, & just for us all.

January 30, 2025 at 1:42 AM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

For a broader overview of the brilliance that is trans people doing language & why we should all care, check out

Knisely, K. (2023). Gender-justice beyond inclusion: How trans knowledges & linguistic practices can & should be re-shaping language education. MLJ. 107(2), 607-623.

Gender-justice beyond inclusion: How trans knowledges and linguistic practices can and should be re-shaping language education Kris Aric Knisely The University of Arizona The impetus for trans inclusion in language classrooms and research has been amply articulated. As scholar–educators in a network of disciplines and departments where languages are taught, learned, and researched, the time has long since been here for us to work toward forms of gender justice that honor and revel in the knowledges and linguacultures of trans people (Knisely & Paiz, 2021; Knisely
& Russell, 2024).1 Yet, despite this clear imperative, many of our students continue to report uneven engagement with trans ways of being, knowing, and languaging (Knisely, 2024b; Spiegelman, 2022).
Our fields—which so often claim to foster global and intercultural connections, to promote the development of critical literacies, and to do diversity, equity, and inclusion or social justice work (whether
by these or other names)—

January 30, 2025 at 1:42 AM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

Knisely, K. (2024). Toward trans multilingualisms: student attitudes toward &experiences with trans linguacultures in French. International Journal of Bilingual Education & Bilingualism, 643-655. doi.org/10.1080/1367...

These are knowledges that students are overarchingly ready for & interested in.

There is increasing recognition of the imperative of gender justice in language education. Despite this momentum, reflected as it is in ongoing calls to resist cisheteronormativity and in a growing body of literature on the benefits of gender-just pedagogies, movement toward a distinctly trans approach to applied linguistics and toward trans multilingualisms remains woefully uneven and often entirely absent. One of many contributing factors is anecdotal speculation about student resistance that has persisted unchecked, particularly given limited data on student experiences with developing trans-inflected multilingualisms. To respond, this study explored the attitudinal stances taken by 59 undergraduates in a fifth-semester French course in the United States toward trans people, knowledges, and linguistic practices using a pre-course/post-course mixed-methods survey design. Results indicated that most students had no prior experience with trans linguacultures in their French-language coursework, contrasting with broad interest and readiness to learn about these topics. Although students varied in their attitudinal stances, results also demonstrated that an overall openness to, interest in, and valuing of developing their own trans multilingualisms was only enhanced by the 16-week course experience, adding to the robust body of evidence urging scholar-educators to work toward increasingly gender-just forms of language education.

Intro [...] As Kosnick writes, ‘the world needs genderjust languagers. And there is no better place than the language classroom to assemble, engage, and actualize gender-just practices together,’ (2023, 32). This imperative is sometimes articulated through an institutionalized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) lens, but, gender justice is about far more than inclusion alone; it is about the development of critical, contemporary literacies that ‘revel in the knowledges and linguacultures of trans people,’ and finding our greater potential…

January 30, 2025 at 1:42 AM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

Knisely, K. (2022). Gender-justice and the development of intersectional thinking: Evidence from an intermediate French course. CFC Intersections. 1(1), 147-160.

And this one shows students who learn about gender justice are (>17x) more likely to think with more complexity & consider power.

Language educators are increasingly recognizing the importance of pedagogies that engage with students as whole persons, particularly from a gender-just and intersectional paradigm. However, action on this ethical impetus is often limited by a nexus of inadequate training, materials, and research. Using data from 112 US undergraduate students of intermediate-level French, this study investigates the possible relationships among gender-just practices and the development of students’ intersectional thinking. Results suggest that gender-just pedagogies are a viable tool for increasing students’ exposure to, awareness of, and ability to engage in thinking about intersections and intersectionality.

Les professeurs de langue se rendent de plus en plus compte de l’importance d’approches pédagogiques qui envisagent les étudiants comme des personnes entières, en particulier à l’aune d’une approche intersectionnelle et juste pour les personnes de tout genre...

krisknisely.com/publications

January 30, 2025 at 1:42 AM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

Knisely, K. (2022) Gender-just language teaching and linguistic competence development. Foreign Language Annals, 55(3), 644-667. doi.org/10.1111/flan...

This study even makes clear that students who learn about trans knowledges and linguistic practices do BETTER on traditional measures of accuracy.

The data have shown that grammatical accuracy positively correlates with gender-just language pedagogies refuting anecdotal speculation about competing demands & providing an added argument in favor of gender justice; students who learn about trans knowledges & linguistic practices make significantly fewer grammatical & lexical errors than those who do not. Not only do students make fewer errors, they also appear to gain accuracy in the use of forms & structures that are notoriously challenging for language users even at the highest levels of proficiency. This relationship is further strengthened by an early-&-often approach. Similarly there's no evidence to suggest that gender-just pedagogies have negative consequences with regard to complexity; student utterances are significantly more accurate and display no sig difference in average length when trans knowledges & linguistic practices are taught. Thus, it is clear that when we allow for complexity in how gender is taken up in and through language, we do not place ethics in competition with student outcomes but rather in service of them.

The results of this study "disprove speculations that trans linguistic practices detract from student mastery of traditional grammatical content and they show that the Académie Française's argument that inclusion renders language learning more difficult and thereby exclusionary is not only unfounded but, in fact, the inverse of reality," (Knisely, 2022, linguistic competence development, p. 15)

January 30, 2025 at 1:42 AM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

And related resources, powered by generous virtual coffees (ko-fi.com/krisknisely) and other forms of mutual aid 💜

An infographic of starting ideas for applying TAQIBPs to sites of language teaching and learning. A pdf version that should cooperate with screen readers can be accessed at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/600e13632c69ea16574db37d/t/624e703e3e48c521855d7612/1649307711328/Starting+Ideas+for+Applying+TAQIBPS_Knisely_CCLicensed_HighRes_Correct+Citations.pdf The following are the two publications on which the information in this infographic is based: Knisely, K. (2022). Teaching trans knowledges: Situating expansive possibilities in an intermediate French course. In S. Bouamer & L Bourdeau (Eds.) Diversity and Decolonization in French Studies: New Approaches to Teaching. Palgrave Macmillan. 165-180. Available open access at: https://rdcu.be/cKP37
Knisely, K. (2022). A Starter Kit for Rethinking Trans Representation and Inclusion in French L2 Classrooms. In EN. Meyer & E. Hoft-March (Eds.) Teaching Diversity and Inclusion: Examples from a French-Speaking Classroom. Routledge. 22-33.

Infographic reads: A Starting list of principles for Ethical Engagement with communities to which you do not belong. Kris Knisely, PhD [krisknisely.com] 1. Listen: Minoritized people may have their perspectives suppressed, ignored, or afforded less space and power, but are not without perspectives and experiences to share. Minoritized people are not voiceless. * (link to footnote); Be Accountable; Self-Reflect; Commit to doing better [Not all of the text can fit in this description. Visit the following page to download a PDF version that should work well with screen readers. In case of any access issues, contact me and I will find a solution with you. https://www.krisknisely.com/resources-for-educators]

January 30, 2025 at 1:42 AM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

Knisely, K. (2022). Teaching trans knowledges: Situating expansive possibilities in an intermediate French course. In S. Bouamer & L. Bourdeau (Eds.) Diversity and Decolonization in French Studies: New Approaches to Teaching. Palgrave Macmillan. 165-180.

(Psst ddfccollective.weebly.com/)

Chapter 11. Teaching Trans Knowledges: Situating Expansive Possibilities in an Intermediate French Course. Kris Aric Knisely. As a part of a long historical arc, contemporary language educators are increasingly recognizing the critical impetus to engage with gender in expansive ways for justice, equity, and intercultural, symbolic, and linguistic competence development. Despite a proliferation of general educational resources, a paucity of training and materials for French language educators persists. This chapter builds upon broad, starter-kit approaches (e.g., Knisely, 2021b, 2021c; Knisely & Paiz, 2021) to address the continued challenges that educators experience in reimagining their French language classrooms as sites for expansive linguistic, pedagogical, and cultural possibilities and in applying trans knowledges to the everyday. The primary objective of this work is to support educators... Full abstract & chapter at: https://rdcu.be/cKP37

January 30, 2025 at 1:42 AM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

Knisely, K. (2022). A Starter Kit for Rethinking Trans Representation and Inclusion in French L2 Classrooms. In E.N. Meyer & E. Hoft-March (Eds.) Teaching Diversity and Inclusion: Examples from a French-Speaking Classroom. Routledge. 22-33.

"gender-just teaching entails an unequivocal investment in trans lives and concerns and a parallel divestment from systems and practices that lead to oppression" -Kris Knisely 2021

"The work of social justice is always ongoing. There is no end to the process of liberation and, in following, process and product are always entangled (Spade, 2015 1-2). The idea that equity and justice can be achieved through checklists, toolkits, and examples is a desire rooted in whiteness and in normativity (Ahmed). We must release this idea that things can be fixed so as to learn to sit with any discomfort we may feel and to learn how to begin to exist in community with TGNC people, including our students. It is in and through learning to be accomplices in equity and justice that you will learn to move beyond the suggestions, resources, and examples herein. My ultimate goals are to provide sources for further reading alongside initial insight into concrete ways that materials, pedagogical strategies, and the broader curriculum can be adapted to provide equitable opportunities for TGNC language learners, affirm TGNC lives, & increase respectful engagement with TGNC ppl." -Knisely

In language teaching just as in the broader world we cannot separate language from the people using, doing, and continually (re)shaping the language. In this way, identity is an inherent part of language learning and use. Mounting professional calls for diversity and inclusion (e.g., ACTFL) echo, at least in part, this assertion. To respond, educators can and should explicitly attend to identity (re)construction in their pedagogical approach. This is in keeping with research demonstrating the ways in which identity-focused pedagogies facilitate second
language (L2) development (Darvin & Norton). As is the focus of this chapter, this creates space for educational stakeholders to recognize and contend with the profound importance of critical and respectful engagement with gender and sexuality in contemporary society. Framing and often driving this conversation in L2 teaching, scholars in queer applied linguistics have begun to directly attend to sexual and gender diversity in L2 curricula, textbooks, research, and pedagogy (Nelson; Paiz; Sauntson). However, trans, non-binary, and gender-non-conforming (TGNC) bodies, lives, and concerns remain marginalized in L2 teaching & learning and are even more scantly treated in French specifically (e.g., Kosnick; Provitola). Owing largely to a lack of training and materials, most instructors, students, and institutions alike are ill equipped to treat TGNC topics and to meet the needs of TGNC learners. As such, this chapter aims to provide a jumping-off point for educators new to queer pedagogies, broadly, and to French ALx specifically. It is critical to make clear that the work of social justice2 is always ongoing. There is no end to the process of liberation and, in following, process and product are always entangled
(Spade). The idea that equity and justice can be achieved through checklists, toolkits, and examples is a desire rooted in whiteness and in normativity (Ahmed). We must release this idea that things can be fixed

January 30, 2025 at 1:42 AM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

Here are receipts:

Knisely, K. & Paiz, J.M. (2021) Bringing Trans, Non-binary, and Queer Understandings to Bear in Language Education. Critical Multilingualism Studies. 9(1), 23-45.

Read for free:

cms.arizona.edu/index.php/mu...

journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/cms/article/...

Knisely, K. and Paiz, J.M. (2021) Bringing Trans, Non-binary, and Queer Understandings to Bear in Language Education. Critical Multilingualism Studies. 9(1), 23-45.
Language education represents a site for identity (re)construction, mediated through language acquisition and use (Atkinson, 2011). As students develop linguistic abilities, they also develop a multilingual sense of self. Pedagogies that engage with students as whole persons inherently encourage identity-focused reflection and may facilitate more ethical teaching (Norton, 2013; Moore, 2016). Increasingly, literature considers sexual diversity’s role in language curricula, textbooks, research, and pedagogy (Nelson, 2009; Paiz, 2018; Saunston, 2017). However, herein, there is a marked focus on lesbian and gay considerations—perpetuating trans, non-binary, gender-non conforming (TGNC), bisexual, and queer invisibility (Knisely, 2020a, 2021a; Paiz, 2020). This paper addresses how TGNC lives and concerns can interface with the process of language education, highlighting its importance for applied linguistics, language teachers, and learners. Ultimately, the authors present a toolkit for integrating TGNC understandings of the world into language-learning contexts, outlining potential advantages and challenges as they relate to creating more critical and equitable pedagogies.

An infographic on TAQIBPS (Trans-affirming queer inquiry-based pedagogies) by Kris Aric Knisely, PhD (krisknisely.com). The PDF version here should be compatible with screen readers, but if for any reason it does not work, please let me know and I will find a way to make it accessible to you: https://www.krisknisely.com/resources-for-educators Here's a preview of the text: This is literacy today. -- “Learning how to talk critically and fluently about sex and sexuality [sic and gender diversity] composes a significant part of becoming literate in our society. Being able to address sexuality issues intelligently, critically, and comfortably is vital if we are to participate in some of the most important debates of our time,” (p.2 of Alexander, J. (2008). Literacy, sexuality, pedagogy: Theory and practice for composition studies. Utah State UP). To the right of this quote is: Our students are ready, even if training and materials are slow to catch up. -LGBTQ+ topics make up[...]

January 30, 2025 at 1:42 AM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

This complex relationship to language and gender is not only something we can be teaching, it is something we should be teaching. It is the only ethical choice and it leads to greater contemporary literacy, among a host of benefits for everyone.

Benefits of gender-just language education 1. Ethical 2. Inclusive 3. Contemporary Literacy 4. Understanding Language 5. Linguistic competence 6. Intercultural Competence 7. Symbolic Competence 8. Intersectional thinking

Including trans knowledges and linguistic practices via gender-just langauge pedagogies Responds to ethical imperatives to:
include learners and educators of all genders,
provide a foundation for contemporary literacy, which entails an ability to critically, fluidly,
flexibly, and intersectionally discuss gender and all other aspects of being and belonging,
foster a more accurate and robust understanding of language as a complex adaptive
system and contend with the ways that this inherent variation and change produces rich
and complex relations among linguistic co-cultures.
Supports intercultural and symbolic competence development.
Gender-just pedagogies can foster an ability and desire to communicate effectively, appropriately,
and ethically with people whose cultures are other than one's own. Such pedagogies can also
prepare students to position themselves and others as multilingual subjects, to advocate for
themselves and others, and to otherwise understand, reframe, and manipulate relations of power.
Supports the development of intersectional thinking.
Research has demonstrated that gender-just pedagogies are a viable tool for increasing students’
exposure to, awareness of, and ability to engage in intersectional thinking. In one study, students
who learned about gender justice were more than seventeen times more likely to demonstrate
intersectional awareness than those who did not.

for citations and more information: krisknisely.com/plan-for-justice

January 30, 2025 at 1:42 AM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

Longer tldr
English: www.oasis-database.org/details/np19...
French: www.oasis-database.org/details/8g84...

Want more infographics like these? Check out www.krisknisely.com/resources-fo...

To request free copies of publications? Check out www.krisknisely.com/publications

Nonbinary and inclusive French Oral communication strategies PDF version chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/600e13632c69ea16574db37d/t/60199fb274c91b7639c31da4/1612292023751/NonbinaryFR_Starting+strategies_Oral+Communication+Infographic_Knisely_CCLicensed_2.pdf

January 30, 2025 at 1:42 AM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

Tldr: People do language & gender in limitless ways & the sky isn't falling (don't believe fearmongering). There isn't one 'right' way of doing language and people who want to understand, will (we figure it out together). Here are a few ways people might language as/about nonbinary people in French:

Le français nonbinaire et inclusif a starting list of forms and strategies krisknisely.com/plan-for-justice

je, tu, il, elle, iel, ol, ul, al, nous, vous, ils, elles, iels, ols, uls, als*

moi, toi, lui, elle, ellui, nous, vous, eux, elles, elleux

celui, velle, cellui, ceux, celles, celleux

M, Mme, Mx

mon, ma, maon, mes, ton, ta, taon, tes, son, sa, saon, ses, notre, notre, nos, votre, votre, vos

me, te, le, la, lae, nous, vous, les

un, une, un.e, des, le, la, lae, l', les

*Parmi d'autres possibilités!
**Punctuated affixes for written communication only

Direct and indirect strategies for nonbinary French

Pdf version https://arizona.app.box.com/s/svyo8768panjvh2jgoh5gdulia8zh45y

January 30, 2025 at 1:42 AM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

Knisely, K. (2020). Le français non-binaire: linguistic forms used by non-binary speakers of French. Foreign Language Annals. 53(4). 850-876. doi.org/10.1111/flan...
Free read-only copy onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author...

Knisely, K. (2020). Le français non-binaire: linguistic forms used by non-binary speakers of French. Foreign Language Annals. 53(4), 850-876. doi: 10.1111/flan.12500

In response to shifting sociocultural constructions of gender and the emerging visibility of non‐binary subject positions, grammatically binary linguistic systems, such as French, are being challenged, subverted, and adapted. This paper describes and analyzes formal, structural, and ideological aspects of how contemporary French speakers are confronting and innovating beyond the gender binary, highlighting the lack of scholarly attention and increase in public salience afforded to these issues. Survey data from 174 adult speakers of French are used to outline the forms used by non‐binary Francophones, the degree of form variance, and the self‐reported comprehensibility ratings of these forms. The findings establish consistent trends in the non‐binary language forms used and their comprehensibility, while highlighting the importance of variance for individual agency in non‐binary Francophone communities. These findings are foundational to a consideration of the of teaching non‐binary forms in foreign language classrooms and curricula for inclusivity and competence development.

January 30, 2025 at 1:42 AM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

CFP 3rd conference on teaching gender-inclusive language (free & virtual) Presentation proposals due 10 January 2025. More info: dornsife.usc.edu/center-for-l... Proposal submission: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

University of Southern California Center for Languages and Cultures in partnership with the University of Arizona Gender-Inclusive Language Instruction: Inclusivity in Action 3rd annual conference Free and Online April 4 2025 dornsife.usc.edu/clc

December 5, 2024 at 8:40 PM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

Finishing up prep for Saturday -- It's not too late to register for the free, fully online DDFC conference this Friday and Saturday! Whatever way the next few days go, for me, it'll be good to be with colleagues doing this work. For more information: ddfccollective.weebly.com/conferences....

Gender-justice in French language education: Coalitional capacity-building efforts & Open-access materials & A Workshop on gender-just languaging Kris Aric Knisely krisknisely.com @krisknisely !krisknisely.bsky.social

November 5, 2024 at 10:10 PM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

Registration is open for the 2024 DDFC Conference, "Pooling Open-Access Resources: Designing for Justice and Access"!
This virtual conference will be conducted via Zoom on November 8 and 9, 2024. Registration is free: ddfccollective.weebly.com/conferences....
Please share widely!

Diversity decolonization & the French curriculum collective. 2024 conference. Pooling open-access resources: designing for justice & access. Free and virtual. 8 November 12pm-5pm EST 9 November 10am-6:30pm EST. Details and registration: ddfccollective.weebly.com/conferences.html

September 18, 2024 at 8:26 PM

Kris Knisely

@krisknisely.bsky.social

#RedoingLinguisticWorlds is at #BAAL2024 ! Did you catch that 60% off discount code? BAAL60

A table from publisher Multilingual Matters filled with flyers and books including Redoing Linguistics Worlds and Political Activism in the Linguistic Landscape and The Assessment of Multilingual Learners and many other book titles that I couldn't read. There is also code BAAL60 for 60% off at multilingualmatters.com

September 6, 2024 at 6:00 PM

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