POETRY

Using poetry with mixed ability language classes: Brain Tomlison

The main objective of using poetry in language lessons is to find a means by involving the learners in using their language skills in an active and creative way, and thus to contribute to their development communicative competence.

Creative value: Poetry can open and enrich the content of language lessons.

Affective value: Stage the learners encounter with a poem in such way as to maximize its impact and thus to involve the learners actively response to the poem.

Achievement value: Pre – reading activities focused on the content rather than the language.

Individual value: develop creativity

Stimulus value: Stimulate intelligence and creativity using the language in order to follow up the activities.

Potential depth: linguistic surface.

Affective potential: poems in which expresses strong emotions.

Contemporary language: Variety. Avoid students daunted by poems whose language is remote in time and style.

Brevity: Short poems.

A few provisos: poetry can achieve values.