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In:Bridging Boundaries: Interdisciplinary perspectives on Hispanic Linguistics
Edited by Gregory L. Thompson and Scott M. Alvord
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 46] 2026
► pp. 166–193

Chapter 7
¿Les niñes?

Teachers’ attitudes toward gender-inclusive language in the L2 Spanish classroom

 | North Carolina State University
 | North Carolina State University
 | North Carolina State University
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
The present investigation explores U.S. Spanish teachers’ general opinions, usage, and teaching of innovative gender-inclusive morphology (e.g., -@s, -xs, -es) in comparison to the standard, binary forms -os and doubling (-os/-as). While previous studies have revealed that gender identity, age, level of education, geographic location, and native language correlate with opinions and patterns of usage (Michnowicz et al., 2023; Noe-Bustamonte et al., 2020; Pesce & Etchezahar, 2019; Slemp, 2020), considerably less research has addressed how teachers perceive and use these forms (Fuentes & Gómez Soler, 2023; Hiers, 2022; Lomotey, 2020). Analyses of responses to an online questionnaire distributed to 128 U.S. Spanish teachers revealed that women and non-native speakers of Spanish had the most positive opinions regarding innovative inclusive forms. Additionally, non-native speakers of Spanish reported significantly greater usage and teaching of the innovative morphemes in comparison to the native speakers and heritage speakers of Spanish. Finally, assessment of preferences on when to introduce (innovative) gender-inclusive morphology revealed that while most teachers preferred that forms be introduced early (i.e., elementary, first-year courses), nearly half of the native speakers indicated that these forms should never be taught. Together, these results suggest that (1) positive attitudes toward innovative morphological forms do not necessarily result in frequent usage or instruction, and (2) non-native speakers of Spanish are the leaders in promoting the teaching of innovative forms in the United States. The importance of these findings is discussed in relation to Spanish language pedagogy and program administration in the United States.
Article outline
  • 1.What is gender-inclusive language?
  • 2.Previous research
    • 2.1Gender-inclusive language in Spanish within
      and outside of the United States
    • 2.2Gender-inclusive language in the L2 classroom
      • Research questions
  • 3.Method
    • 3.1Participants
    • 3.2Survey
    • 3.3Data analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1General attitudes toward innovative gender-inclusive morphology
    • 4.2Usage and teaching of innovative inclusive forms
      • 4.2.1Usage of innovative inclusive morphology
      • 4.2.2Teaching of innovative inclusive forms
    • 4.3When to introduce innovative gender-inclusive morphology
    • 4.4Summary of results
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
  • Appendix
References (37)
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