Teaching English through Poetry

Lecturer:

Lauren Harrington
EF Boston

Teaching English through poetry

The aim of this lecture is to provide:

Inspiration Approaches and techniques

Practical ideas

First of all
Teach English through poetry, not to teach the poetry itself You don't need to be a literature expert to teach English through poetry Just have a love for the poem you are introducing. Enthusiasm is the key.

Some pros and cons

Time-consuming
Copyright rules The wrong poem is worse than none at all.

The right poem can foster a love of English.

Things to do:
Explain the reason you are teaching Some students may need extra motivation Reassure students that their needs are being met.

Why?
So why teach poetry?

Poems are versatile

Poetry can be a catalyst

Students find a poem a welcome change

Poems can be
involving motivating memorable

Why teach poetry?

Challenge
Daily interactions with native speakers Poems are authentic texts Poems are often rich in cultural references

Language enrichment
Discover new vocabulary in an authentic text Search for clues to the meaning of the word Focus on stress, rhythm and similarities of sound Improve pronunciation

Promote freer verbal expression.

What should you teach?

Take into account:
interests language level maturity level

How ?
will you use the poem? can you introduce it? can you make it more accessible to your students? can you make sure they understand it?

Pre-reading activities
worksheets, quiz, a questionnaire

sentence stems
statements to be ranked and discussed predict endings to verses events occurring after the end of the poem.

Warm-up activities
background music show pictures get students to think

Reading the poem

rehearse and perform read the poem play a recording identify the stresses and pauses. clap out the rhythm

Communicative speaking activities

talk with a partner, in small groups and as a class. share ideas. monitor and feed in ideas and vocabulary give feedback personal response discuss the characters and theme debate the moral issues.

Beyond the poem

Role plays

Interviewing a partner
Dramatizing the poem

Compare poems on related topics

Encourage students to develop their own responses

Responding in Writing
Add more lines or stanzas Parallel writing Write a letter to a character Write what happened before or after the poem Switch between formal and informal language Fifty word summary

Writing activities
Letters Diary entries Radio plays Newspaper articles Newspaper advice columns Synonyms or antonyms

Conclusion
Poetry is a search for ways of communication; it must be conducted with openness, flexibility, and a constant readiness to listen. Fleur Adcock

One more thing

You can't fake enthusiasm.
If you enjoy the poem you are teaching, your students will most likely enjoy it as well.

Further reading
Literature in the Language Classroom Collie & Slater 1987 Using poems to develop productive skills by Christina Smart, British Council, Hungary 2002