What Goes on beyond the Closed Doors: Voices from LGBTQ EFL Students

Abstract

This study examines LGBTQ undergraduate students’ perceptions of their English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom climate. With a snowball sampling technique, the researchers went into one university in Thailand and gathered data from 12 self-identified LGBTQ students to learn about their perceptions of their EFL classroom atmosphere in terms of their EFL teachers, their classmates, their subject matter, and their classroom environment. Findings revealed positive classroom climate perceptions for these participating LGBTQ students and showed significant relationships between classroom climate and their EFL teachers and classmates. Nonetheless, some participants did not feel as safe in a university. They reported their experiences of some forms of bullying such as name-calling and disapproving stares. Their concerns provided evidence for university officials to potentially designate a space particularly for LGBTQ students.