Poetry in Learning

When was the last time that you read something and it squeezed your heart just ever so slightly? Maybe it invoked in you a feeling of loss, of longing
or pure and innocent playfulness.

The words were foreign but the language of beauty bared onto paper was clear. Someone, someone just like you, had the courage to let it all spill out onto clean white paper. And shared it with you.

As a teacher of English, and a lover of languages, it can often be challenging to get your learners of English as a foreign language, as excited as you are about the power of words.

Some students may feel intimidated enough by the thought of having to expose themselves to making a mistake in front of peers, and now I expect them to write poetry?

As daunting as the initial suggestion may seem, it is a great tool for any foreign language learner. It allows the opportunity to play with words, thoughts and ideas that do not subscribe to the usual syntax rules.

It allows for freedom on paper, and it’s often a great insight for me as a teacher, to a side of my students that I don’t get to see otherwise.

You may think that writing poetry would only be for your more advanced students, but as soon as the concept of a rhyming word is understood, your students can start having fun with it.

For the younger groups, help them brainstorm and write down words on the board to work with. Its important here that there are no right or wrong end results – let them be as silly as they want to be!

For older, more advanced groups, I collect some works of poetry and present it either as a reading or as a video. It is truly amazing to see some of the students’ responses to a particularly striking piece of poetry. It is a great opportunity for students to discover new words, worlds, and wisdoms.

Surely not every student that I introduce to poetry will have an immediate affinity for it, but certainly every student that has produced creative writing of their own and shared it with the class, has stood in awe of their own capabilities.

Language allows us to connect with others and ourselves, and poetry allows us to do so, beautifully.

By Mrs Inge Muller