In recent years, several books have been published that address different diversity issues in the L2 classroom (e.g.,Gerlach 2020; Paiz, 2020; Banegas, Beacon and Berbain 2021). These publications mark an important step towards more inclusive L2 classrooms which provide input on a wide variety of issues and topics and cater to the needs of a diverse group of learners.
That the term diversity addresses a large number of different aspects is shown in a quote assigned to Kormos and Smith (2012) in Banegas, Beacon and Berbain (2021, p. 5):
Diversity is an inherent trait of human beings as part of a plural humanity, evidenced in identities, perspectives, cultures, beliefs, endeavours, contexts, intentions, needs, and languages. Hence, diversity needs to inform the construction of the learning environment, syllabi, and curricula, "affording full accessibility to all.
In this paper, I will focus on how bullying, and mental and physical health issues can be addressed in the English as a foreign or second language classroom with the help of three graphic novels, "Allergic" by Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter (2021), "Heartstopper Volume 1" (2018) and "Heartstopper Volume 2" (2019) by Alice Oseman.
The paper will examine which formulaic expressions are used to enquire about a person's mental or physical well-being, which conventionalized formulae may be used in healthcare settings, which utterances may be used in situations in which LGBTIQA+ individuals are bullied, as well as different possible reactions to bullying behaviour. The talk therefore addresses two areas that have received relatively little attention to date in the EFL classroom, utterances showing verbal and physical violence towards LGBTIQ A+ students, as well as expressions and formulaic sequences needed by students suffering from allergies, which can be life-threatening chronic illnesses.
Making students aware of what constitutes bullying, which language may be used in bullying and how bullying may affect individuals can be achieved well with graphic novels that feature both the written word but also additional imagery providing further insights into how language use affects individuals. Providing learners with language relevant allergy sufferers not only raises awareness on how allergies affect individuals, and how seriously they may impact an individual's health but also provides both allergy and non-allergy sufferers with relevant vocabulary items should they find themselves in situations in which they either encounter and allergy -related health issues themselves need to assist someone who is suffering from an allergy and needs foreign language support / mediation.
The talk will provide an analysis of relevant formulae and vocabulary items and will also address how the graphic novels could be used in secondary EFL classrooms.
References
Berbain, M., Banegas, D., & Beacon, G. (2021, Eds.) International Perspectives on Diversity in ELT. Springer.
Gerlach, D. (2020). Kritische Fremdsprachendidaktik: Grundlagen, Ziele, Beispiele. Narr.
Oseman, A. (2018). Heartstopper: Volume 1. Hodder
Osefman, A. (2019). Heartstopper: Volume 2. Hodder.
Paiz, J.M. (2020) Queering the English language classroom: A practical guide for teachers. Equinox.
Wagner Lloyd, M., & Nutter, M. M.(2021). Allergic. Scholastic.
