Creative tasks help students realise that learning a
foreign language is more than tests and grades. It is mainly about communication
and passing on our message to the world. The more autonomous a class is, the
more creative you can become with your students. I have found that such tasks
promote motivation which is an integral part of the learning process.
- Poetry as a way to teach a foreign language.
It has been argued by many linguists that poetry can
promote learning. It provides a medium through which children can use grammar
structures in a non –threatening, creative way, in order to express thoughts
and feelings. It helps them personalise knowledge through expression. I have been running the Poetry Club in my
more advanced classes for a couple of years now and the results have been
amazing. I have found that it assists students gain confidence in the target language.
- All one needs to teach Grammar poetry, as I like to
call it is a poem template. You can find hundreds on line. Here follow some
examples of poems my 6th grade students wrote in the beginning of
the year.
Cinquain type
Winter
Winter
Coming with snow and
rain
In our country
In one month time
Covering the blue sky
with grey clouds.
By Alkeos V.
Five senses poem
Loneliness
Loneliness looks like a black sky
Loneliness smells like an old love
Loneliness feels like a lost house
Loneliness sounds like a sad song
Loneliness tastes like a black tear.
By Marina K.
- As our knowledge of grammar became more profound, so did our writing. We started exploring notions and ideas, rather than objects. Here follows an example of anti-war poems written by the same class a couple of months ago.
Earth
Earth
Home of life
Fan of ecology
Who loves humans
But hates them too
Who fears the End
Who believes in
changes
Who expects that her
seas will be cleaned
Who wishes that ozone
hole won’t get bigger
Blue planet
Friendship and trust
(A wh- poem)
Friendship and trust
Helping each other
In a world of fighting
When most people are
angry
Because we still have
hope
By Zoe K.
- Once the creative juices started flowing there was no way back...
- We made posters of our work and I even spent some time making small videos of it. They really loved it. For obvious reasons I have removed the student's real name from the video below.
- Last week we "published" our first Poetry Collection.The young poets are now preparing for our first Poetry Night.
Click here to view the Poetry Collection cover.
