Poetry in a Foreign Language Class: Selecting, Planning, Designing. Poetry in a Foreign Language Class: Selecting, Planning, Designing. E. Vasilyeva I. Stolyarova Day 2 Tuesday, August 12, – 16.50

Can poetry be used to facilitate language learning? Aspect of Language Teaching Poetry can be used to … Pronunciation Vocabulary Grammar Reading Listening Spoken Production Spoken Interaction Writing Culture

Can poetry be used to facilitate language learning? Aspect of Language Teaching Poetry can be used to … Pronunciation- When read out loud – practice rhythm, intonation patterns, sounds - When listened to – present or illustrate accents, sounds etc.

Can poetry be used to facilitate language learning? Aspect of Language Teaching Poetry can be used to … VocabularyIntroduce new words Memorize words in a context Enrich potential vocabulary??? How useful can the new words be?

Can poetry be used to facilitate language learning? Aspect of Language Teaching Poetry can be used to … GrammarIllustrate grammar points Enhance learning grammar points through constant repetition??? What should we do about non- standard grammar?

Can poetry be used to facilitate language learning? Aspect of Language Teaching Poetry can be used to teach… Reading-Anticipating the subject -Anticipating the major facts -Anticipating the subtext -Decoding stylistic devices -Understanding implicit meaning -Understanding the subtext -Summing up the major facts and events in the text

Can poetry be used to facilitate language learning? Aspect of Language Teaching Poetry can be used to teach… Spoken Interaction -Discussing understanding - Discussing impressions - Discussing problems raised in the poem

Can poetry be used to facilitate language learning? Aspect of Language Teaching Poetry can be used to teach… Spoken Production -Summarizing the poem’s most important points -Sharing and explaining opinions -Speaking about the problems raised in the poem

Can poetry be used to facilitate language learning? Aspect of Language Teaching Poetry can be used to teach… Listening???

Can poetry be used to facilitate language learning? Aspect of Language Teaching Poetry can be used to teach… Writing-Writing a response to the poem (e.g. a letter from one character to another) -Writing a composition about the problems raised in the poem - Creating a poem

Can poetry be used to facilitate language learning? Aspect of Language Teaching Poetry can be used to teach… Culture- Introducing cultural phenomena - Expand cultural horizons - Cultures in Dialogue: negotiating meanings and interpretations determined by our own culture and reaching out to the other culture

Can poetry be used to facilitate language learning? Poetry CAN be used for teaching a foreign language!!!

Can poetry be used to facilitate other aspects of education? Values Aesthetics General erudition General worldview Communication skills

How do we select poems for our language class? In a group discuss the poems and select the ones you could possibly use in you class. Explain your choices to the seminar audience. Make a list of the criteria you could recommend for selecting a poem.

How do we select poems for our language class? Length Topics and ideas Complexity of imagery Complexity of language Age appropriacy Curriculum requirements and restrictions Aims and objectives of learning and teaching in a particular lesson

Working with a Poem: Stages Pre-ReadingWhile-Reading Post-Reading Normally, there are 3 stages of working with a text: Pre-Reading, While-Reading and Post-Reading. In groups, please discuss how working with a poem differs from working with non-poetic texts at each stage. Please be ready to share your ideas.

Working with a Poem: Stages I.Pre-Reading: Get the students interested Eliminate the difficulties Direct students’ attention Activities: -Look at the title and guess what the poem is going to be about -Discuss facts and topics referred to in the text -Introduce the author and his epoch -Introduce the new words

Working with a Poem: Stages II.While-Reading: Cope with language or imagery difficulties Identify the major facts Identify the topic Activities: language and content -Read and write out the vocabulary you are not familiar with -Select neutral synonyms for poetic words -Write down the actions of the main characters -Sum up what happened in the first part/stanza

Working with a Poem: Stages III.Post-Reading: 1.Text-based ? Understand the author’s idea ( ? ) Exchange opinions and reactions to the text 2.Beyond the text Collect and share information about the problem raised in the text Discuss the problems raised in the text Activities: -Write a letter to a character -Have a debate about the problem you can see in the text -Create a comic to show your understanding of what the author meant

We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks, 1959 Let’s develop a possible lesson plan for high school students.

Selecting Read the poem, discuss it in groups and give your conclusion on whether it meets the criteria you developed earlier today.

Uses In groups identify the aspects of language learning this poem can be used for. You can rely on the table you filled in earlier today. Choose and set particular study aims and objectives you can achieve working with this poem.

Possible Study Aims and Objectives Aim: ▫Students will discuss solutions to the problem of social inequality and its effects on youth. Objectives: ▫Students will read We Real Cool by G. Brooks and practice inferring the major facts and the topic from a poem ▫Students will express their opinion about the poem (supra-phrasal unit, reasoning) ▫Students will suggest their solutions to the problem raised in the poem and comment on each other’s ideas (interaction)

Designing Stages Working in groups, suggest your own activities for the pre-reading, while-reading and post- reading stages.

Thank you for your attention!