10 November 2018, 5pm GMT

The first month into my first TEFL job in Italy I was asked to change my name from Giovanni to John "to make it sound more American" and I was asked not to be too ostentatious about my sexuality, i.e. allude to the fact that sexual identities can be a lot more fluid than some might like to believe. Yet, what's sexuality got to do with it? Does it really have a place in the classroom, at all? It might seem that it really does not, at first sight. However, once we start reflecting on our cultural references and on the relations of power that these entail, we might have to revisit our first impression.

Giovanni Licata is a teacher and teacher trainer at IH-Accademia Britannica in Rome. Having worked in schools across Europe, Asia and the US, he has developed an interest in sociolinguistics as well as teacher and learner identities in the ELT classroom. His dream is to open a wine bar in L.A. and serve Italian wines and freshly-made bruschettas.

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