ANSWER:   

Summer is an appropriate time to reflect on our teaching and to try out, at leisure, a number of new activities. As we promised in our article last June, we would suggest a number of additional poetry activities for all ages.

Poetry is indeed an excellent way to help our learners develop their writing skills. At the same time, as we have already discussed, it helps them develop their "feel" for words and for the language itself.

As we conduct the "sensitizing" activities (See our Linguaglobe Column of 03/06/2013)  our learners start realizing that  words acquire a completely different impact.  They see that even the most "ordinary" of words can actually stand for much more:  that is, words can become symbols and thus, they can  have a number of meanings,  depending on the way each word is being used or on the context. For example,  a chair  can be any chair we use to sit on or to rest, but it can also be used as a symbol for power, authority, old age, sickness, dictatorship, and so on,  when put within a different context. Thus, the understanding that words can be symbols and that they can  have a number of  figurative meanings, other than their literal ones, can best be demonstrated either through reading and analyzing poetry or through writing poetry.

At the same time, however, poetry writing activities enable the EFL teacher to encourage the development of concepts and the learners' ability  to reflect and to develop an awareness of the "self" and, often enough, of their latent talents.  The teaching aim, of course, is to bring enjoyment into the classroom  and to create a sense of achievement,  as regards the learners. As the learners "play" with language, it gradually  becomes  a part of them, building their confidence and thus, their "fluency"  in writing as well as in speaking.

As a result,  poetry writing activities become confidence building activities,  which lead to the learners' development of self-esteem and of peer esteem as they learn to share their feelings, to listen to those of their  fellow learners, to communicate, to accept and to appreciate.

As the predominant age of EFL learners in Greece is between the years of seven to sixteen, the building of self-confidence and the development of peer esteem and of self-esteem are especially important, as they are fundamental characteristics  which  help create mature and considerate  adults.

The following poetry activities illustrate the ideas discussed above:

Activity 1:

"A Self-Esteem Poem"

Level: Elementary - Advanced

Age:  11+

Language & Skills focus: Sentence writing; proofreading and editing; answering Wh-questions; a self-esteem activity; recitation; fostering imagination; emotional intelligence; intrapersonal intelligence.

Materials: writing paper and pen

Procedure:

1.      Ask learners to inhale and exhale two to three times so they can feel more relaxed. Then, ask them to close their eyes and to think of  themselves, who they are, their feelings, their thoughts.

2.      Then, tell them to answer, in writing, each one of the questions  you will be asking them. Ask the learners to answer, using a complete sentence. Tell them to avoid long and complex sentences ("prosy"), and to write each answer underneath the one above. 

3.      Ask the following questions, pausing after each one, so the learners  have the time to respond:

*What's your name (first name)?

*What are you?

*Where do you come from?

*What do you believe in?

*What do you dream of?  

4.      Use the paper of one of the learners so you can demonstrate the editing/writing of the "poem". In most cases, learners have followed  instructions and have answered with a complete sentence. 

        Example:

         What's your name?                          My name's Elena. 

         What are you?                                 I'm a young girl.

         Where do you come from?          I come from

                                                                                Athens. 

         What do you believe in?                I believe in

                                                                                beauty. 

         What do you dream of?                 I dream of oceans

                                                               and blue birds.

5.    Tell learners to strike out the repetitve  "I" or the "prosy" sentences like "I come from," wherever possible and to use a comma instead of a full stop. Then, to re-read their poem and to give it a title. Demonstrate by editing the example above:

         "A Dreamer"

         I'm Elena,  (or even just Elena,)

        a young girl,

         from Athens.

         I believe in beauty and

         dream of oceans and blue birds. . .

6.      Ask the learners to recite their poems when they have finished editing. Remember to applaud after each recitation.

Activity 2:

"Poetic Statements"

Level:  Pre-Intermediate - Advanced

Age:  Teenagers - Adults

Language & Skills focus: Collective poetry writing;  sentence completion;  proofreading and editing; vocabulary revision: nouns, adjectives and verbs; confidence building; recitation; fostering imagination; emotional intelligence; interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences.

Materials: writing paper and pen

Procedure:

1.      Divide the class into three large groups, A, B, and C.

2.      Tell learners to think of  "peace" and of what it means to each one of  them.  Then, tell them that  they will be given a half sentence which they will need to complete in writing.

3.     Give Group A  the half sentence,  "Peace is. . . "

           and ask each learner of the group  to complete the

   sentence by using a noun, e.g.,  "Peace is

   harmony." 

4.       Give  Group B the half sentence,  "Peace feels. . ."

 and ask each learner of the group to complete the

 sentence with a suitable adjective, e.g.,  "Peace

 feels warm."

5.        Give Group C the half sentence,  "Peace . . . "  and

           ask each learner of the group to complete it, using

           a verb, e.g.,  "Peace unites."

6.         Then, ask each group, starting with Group A,  to

           give you their complete sentences. As they do,

           choose three from each Group and write the

           collective poem on the board, without repeating

           each time the phrases,  peace is,  or  peace feels, 

           etc., after the initial sentence of each group. (See

           example below.)

           "Peace"

           Peace is love,

           a smile,

           a blessing.

           Peace feels gentle,

           beautiful,

           friendly.

           Peace gives,

           forgives,

           re-creates and

           heals.

           Peace is love. . . [1]

7.      Once the collective poem has been completed, ask

           the learners from each major group to re-group so

           there will be new groups formed by at least three

           learners  from Groups A, B, and C. Then, ask them

           to use their complete sentences and to write a new

           poem, following the example on the board. 

There should be no misunderstanding, however:  poetry writing activities are used to develop the skill of writing and to make teaching and learning a pleasant experience. We do not create poets. We teach through self-expression. The aim of these techniques is to give a sense of achievement and to enhance self-esteem. And it is a rewarding experience to see learners (and people, in general), who have often said that they do not like poetry, feel totally "enchanted" and very proud when told that they have written a "poem."  This is the "magic" of poetry. This is the enchantment of language and  the beauty  of its power.

Suzanne Antonaros - Lilika Couri