CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1 Introduction
Much has been written about the problems
associated with teaching poetry. More than other genres, poetry seems to elicit
the most groans from students. Language teachers often whine and complain their
uncomfortable feeling in teaching poetry, either because they are not sure how
to teach it effectively (owing to lack of pedagogical role models), or because
they find it elusive themselves.
Elting and Firkins (2006) argued
that teaching and learning poetry should not only be reading, interpreting and
presenting, but they came out with a creative and interesting method which ELL students can explore the aesthetic function
of language and, more widely,
develop confidence in using English as a communicative tool through the dramatization of poetry. Thus,
they provided two examples of dramatizing poetry have been given and tried on
the English Language Learners (ELL) students in Hong Kong. On the other hand,
choosing the right and appropriate methods in teaching poetry is also
important. As stated by Vodickova, M. (2009), she emphasized in her research
done to the Faculty of Education undergraduate students of Palacky University,
it is important to use methods which are pleasurable and non-threatening to be
applied in the poetry classes.
Thus, she highlighted that role-playing or drama provides more opportunities
for students in using the language which lead them feel that dealing with
poetry can be fun and serves them inspiration in their future career.
Poetry, as claimed by
many, is one of the most sophisticated forms of literary expression and hence a
difficult medium for language learners.
Questions might be addressed, such as how poetry can be taught in ways that
engage students, so that we can tap into its literacy-enhancing power. How poems can
effectively be used in English language classes in order to reinforce students'
knowledge of the English language vocabulary? In answering those issues,
Abraham Panavelil (2011) introduced an integrated and communicative approach
for teachers in teaching poetry as language skills
will not be taught in isolation but in an integrated way, incorporating a set
of text- based, student centered activities. This approach involves 3
activities; Pre-Reading, While-Reading and Post-Reading Activities which. By using the discussed strategies, Abraham found
out that the students have achieved the skills which make them able to
understand poetry linguistically, conceptually, creatively and aesthetically.
According to Cockett and Fox
(1999: 83) as cited by Vodickova (2009), they emphasize that the emotional
character of poetry is frequently neglected in schools at the expense of its
intellectual aspects. They suppose that the negative attitude of students
towards poetry is caused by the way teachers deal with poetry in lessons in
which they force students to analyze poetry without providing them with an
opportunity to enjoy poems emotionally. In some poetry lessons, students are
expected to passively accept the ideas and views of literary critics, which
would never occur to them.
This problem can be solved
with an acceptable approach to readers when they view or interpret the poems
differently. Vodickova agrees with McManus (1998) statement in which the reader
response theory of Louise Rosenblatt and Wolfgang Iser rejects the opinion that
every literary text has only one fixed meaning and emphasizes the importance of
the role of the reader as the interpreter of the text. This tolerant approach
to the interpretation of poetry gives students a lot of freedom to express
their own views, and it is especially important in foreign language lessons,
when students feel inhibited not only by the difficulties that poetry can
present, but also by expressing their thoughts in the foreign language. For
this reason, it is important to use methods which make students enjoy lessons
and select poems that deal with problems that young people encounter and
understand. In particular, narrative poems which contain a conflict or a topic
of loneliness, refusal, or a complicated relationship are very suitable because
they enable students to appear in situations in which they must solve conflicts
and think about relationships with people. And it is drama activities that
enable them to identify with the characters and to act like them, which leads
to some genuine communication.
There are
various strategies and methods for teaching a poem in a language class room.
Whatever strategies a teacher adopts in the class, the aim is that students gain a fuller understanding of the text. By performing
a poem using drama, the student is entering into a new
world, where things, events and people can be seen anew. It also encourages the student to infer meaning by both engaging with the language and interacting with
the poet’s world through action. Thus, performing poetry using is an effective
activity for breathing new life to the language classroom and an accessible way
for ESL students to develop a response to the poem.
2.2 DEFINING POETRY
Why teach and learn poetry? Such
question might be asked by many people. There are various definitions given by
scholars in defining the meaning of poetry. Teidt (2002) writes about how to
engage students with poetry effectively so that they will learn to enjoy
it. She sets the stage for using poetry
in the classroom by describing the special attributes of poetry. She begins with a quote from Kenneth Koch
(2000). “Poetry is a mystery, but it is the mystery children can participate in
and master.” Teidt goes on to list and
explain what else poetry is:
• Poetry is
special;
• Poetry is
elusive;
• Poetry is
personal;
• Poetry is a
form of communication.
Poetry is a great literacy
genre for learners to learn about for many reasons. Poetry allows learners to
express emotion and feelings in a way that other genres do not. It gives the
writer freedom to say as little or as much as they want. Learners are also able
to enjoy choosing topics that are of importance to them and their lives (Reilly,
2006). Poems are written to bring sense and perception to life and to widen and
sharpen our contacts with what surrounds us. They are concerned with
experience. Poets create and combine a
number of experiences, real or imagined so that the reader may gain a greater
understanding of the world.
Learners should be familiar
with some of the basic elements of poetry.
They need to become aware of the fact that the language of poetry is not
as different as it appears to be as well as the fact that poetry is a part of
their everyday lives. This is especially
important for learners at the secondary schools level. It is, therefore, necessary for teachers to
help them understand these concepts so that they can learn to appreciate
poetry. One way in which teachers can
achieve this is by teaching poetry through the use drama. This chapter will offer some insights into
the value of teaching poetry creatively using drama.
2.3 DEFINING DRAMA
Drama
has commonly been perceived as an activity with a group of participants
reciting dialogues from a pre-written script.
In reality, however, drama can be defined in a number of ways. Drama
activities can include plays performed in a theatre, role-playing, improvisation,
simulation or even language games. Holden
(1982) defines drama as any activity which asks the participant to portray
himself in an imaginary situation; or to portray another person in an imaginary
situation. The focus of drama is related to the world of 'let's pretend'.
Through drama a person can express himself through verbal expressions and
gestures using his imagination and memory. In this study, drama activities will
refer to classroom activities and the participants will be language learners
not the actors. She summarizes the values of drama in education as given by
educators and researchers in linguistics as follows:
- Drama
releases imagination and energy and this could be considered as an
educational objective. Drama also encourages students to exercise their
sensitivity and imagination and thus makes learning more realistic and
meaningful.
- As
an educational tool, the use of drama fosters the social, intellectual and
the linguistic development of the child. It centers around language
development, personal awareness, group co-operation, sensory awareness,
and imaginative growth.
- Drama
increases motivation and provides the incentive to work hard. The
activities using drama tend to be purposeful. The student sees the need to
communicate and concentrates on how to go about a task since drama
provides him with a meaningful context.
- Drama
fosters a sense of responsibility and co-operation among the students.
Drama activities normally take the form of group work and students cannot
afford to stay passive for too long. There is a need to belong to the
group and to complete the task. The students develop a sense of self-worth
of themselves as they work together.
- Drama
encourages students to exercise their sensitivity and imagination.
Temporary suspension of the ego occurs when students participate in
dramatic activities.
- It
motivates the teacher to meet the needs of the student. The drama
activities provide opportunities to understand the thoughts and feelings
of the students as they express themselves in the drama activities. From
the constant feedback provided by the activities, the teacher can plan
better strategies for more effective learning and teaching.
2.4 USING
DRAMA TO LEARN POETRY
Creating
drama with poetry is an exciting language learning experience. The technique
employs a multi-sensory approach to language acquisition by involving second
language learners physically, emotionally, and cognitively in the language
learning process. In their
article, Elting and Firkins (2006) cited what has been written by Hassan (1996)
that “introducing drama to embody the personal and creative response to the
poem rather than privileging a particular authoritative ormonologic
interpretation of the poem can extend this understanding.” They also support
that performance in poetry predominately refers to reciting the poem, in
essence an oral performance (Comeaux, 1994, p. 79). A good example of this is
what is popularly known as slam poetry –a recognized form of performance poetry
popular in America, which is gaining recognition all over the world. Slam poets
follow strict guidelines and must perform their original poems individually in
a designated timeframe. In slam competitions, winners are chosen by the
audiences’ applause. However, in this study, the approach will be the
performance in poetry which means dramatizing poetry – an embodied
interpretation of the poem. By placing the emphasis on dramatizing the poem,
the aim in the classroom is less about an understanding of the author’s exact
meaning than on students’ personal and creative interpretation. It is to make use
of the gaps in meaning left by the poet in the text. Hence, the student must
take an active role in the “filling in” of meaning (Elster, 2000, p. 71). Elting
and Firkins again support what has been said by Bauman (1986) that the
interpretation of meaning in oral performance is placed, its form, meaning and
functions are rooted in culturally defined scenes and events, so we need to
expect diversity in the dramatic interpretations students develop. Some
poems are mini-dramas, often written in dialogue form, and are suitable for
dramatization because they are short and usually have one simple, but strong
emotional theme. According to Tomlinson (1986), poems which express strong
emotions, attitudes, feelings, opinions, or ideas are usually more 'productive'
than those which are gentle, descriptive, or neutral. Students become engaged
in free flowing conversations as they interact with one another prior to the
drama. The students compare and contrast cultural behaviors and attitudes,
analyze and explore the linguistic and conceptual differences between the
written and spoken word, and interact cooperatively to orchestrate the drama.
The performance of poetry
through action and voice, in this sense drama will make learners use their
different body language, facial expressions, gestures, creative use of voice
and movements in taking the poem from “the page to the stage”.
2.4.1 FROM
THE PAGE TO THE STAGE
Whether it is the teacher
reading a story to class, imaginary role-playing with peers, the traveling
troupe of actors that visit the school or a show at the local cultural center,
it has been proven that students of all ages and diverse cultural backgrounds
have usually been exposed to various forms of drama. Whether actors or
audience, drama intrinsically appeals to all because of the freedom that it
affords to respond to words in action. Such a goal-oriented engagement with a
poet’s words can deepen students’ interest in and understanding of poetry
(Wolf, 1990, p. 3). Adapted from Elting and Firkins’ suggested drama approach in
teaching poetry and Muhammad and Fadzliyati’s (2010) Reader’s Theatre Approach,
the process of performance poetry in facilitating the students to take a poem
from the page to the stage will involve four (4) key steps according to Kolb’s
model; Forming Abstract Concepts, Active Experimentation, Concrete Experience
and Reflective Observation.
Before letting the learners
beginning the stages, the teachers have to consider the selection of the
materials to be used in the class. In selecting a poem it is most important
that teachers consider the level of English competency of their students. It is
to the benefit of the learners that the teachers consider the environment in
which they live and their students’ individual experiences. Selecting poems
that deal with city life or other familiar problems would serve them much
better. Having said this, selecting poems for learners, which deal with subject
matter beyond their day-to-day experiences, can broaden their cultural and
social horizons.
The aforesaid stages are as
follow:
1) First Stage
(Forming Abstract Concepts)
In the first stage that is
forming abstract concepts, the activity will be the reading of the poem. This
may transcend (in form and function) students’ usual reading experiences, so it
is suggested that this should be a shared experience between the teacher and
students. When the teacher reads poetry aloud, she helps to elaborate the world
within the text and connect the word to their own personal experiences reading
poetry. It is within this personal world that the student will progress from
reading the poem into developing a sense of meaning of the poem based on their
experiences. Hearing poetry aloud, when read individually, in small groups or
by the teacher, facilitates reading and the learner moves towards making
“connections between word and world” (Elster, 2000, p. 72). If a learner enjoys
a poem based on its shape, the rhythm or music of the choice of words the poet
has used, or if the meaning of a word triggers an emotional or personal
reaction. After the poetry reading, the learners will be divided into
cooperative learning groups consisting of three to four learners. Working in small teams toward a “real-life”
common goal (the performance) promotes positive interdependence, as each group
member’s efforts are required for success. This face to-face interaction builds
positive, interpersonal skills. It has been proven that groups of two to four
students work best. In groups larger than this the effectiveness of individual
involvement in the team is diminished. The final outcome of the performance is
dependent on the collaboration of all team members. The learners will then be
asked to prepare for their performance in which each group will be given a
stanza to act out. This will include the script writing (that
is, transforming the poem into
scripts that are made up
of dialogue between characters)
and editing their narration.
As a starting
point and a
guideline to write
the scripts and
narration, the learners
will be asked to identify
and use key
scenes, important characters,
critical moments and underlying and
fundamental messages and
values that they
can find in
the poem they read. During this
stage, the teacher will act as a facilitator who assisted the learners when
they need help with the reading, writing and editing of scripts and narration.
She will also contribute ideas and provided critical and constructive comments regarding
their scripts and narration.
2) Second
Stage (active experimentation)
In the second stage, that
is, active experimentation, the learners will practice their performance. They will
have to be coached in several aspects of presentation such
as delivering the
narration, facing the audience,
controlling voice projection,
reading from the script and maintaining eye contact with the audience. The other
learners will also have to practice synchronizing their actions with the
narration until each scene is satisfactory. One learner in the group will narrate,
while the others will mime or speak to show action. The narrator was the most
important individual because she
or he has
to read aloud
the lines and ensure the
story is clearly conveyed. Initially, there will be a need for the teacher’s
input and comments during rehearsals to improve the learners’ performances. The
teachers will video-record some of these rehearsals and shows to all the
groups. Viewing and discussing the video recordings will greatly help the
learners, as subsequent rehearsal sessions see marked improvements in terms of
their overall performance. Once the learners show the signs of independence and
are able to grasp the techniques well, the teacher slowly distance herself,
giving more freedom
to the learners
to explore and
enjoy themselves during the
practices as they
begin to experience
the learning with
their peers more independently.
3) Third Stage
(Concrete Experience)
The concrete experience will
take place where the actual drama performance is staged. Each group is given 5 minutes to present
their poetry assigned stanza. The researcher will videotape their presentation
for discussion and analysis purposes later on. The presentation sessions will
last in a double-period class. Wolf (1990) suggests a multi-modal approach to
the poetry performance that involves “read it”, “write it”, “speak it”, “hear
it”, “repeat it” and “perform it”.
4) Fourth
Stage (Reflective Observation)
After the drama performance,
the reflective observation will be used as a debriefing and reflecting session,
where the learners
will discuss and reflect on
the poem and
each group’s video-taped performance. There will be two (2) aspects in
this stage; the first is personal
evaluation, where the
learners reflect on their own
characters or roles played,
and how they
now understand (or
misunderstand) the characters,
and how they can now relate to
the poem read. The second aspect is peer evaluation, where each group comments
on each other’s performance. But more
importantly, they analyze, critique and comment on other groups’ interpretations
of their assigned stanza, raising serious questions about their current or
existing understanding of the text, how they arrived at their new understanding,
and the extent to which they were valid (Hall & Piazza, 2008).
2.5 THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER
In
this drama approach, students have more responsibility for their own learning.
However, this does not diminish the importance of the teacher in the instructional
process. It is the responsibility of the teacher to guide the language learning
process by:
·
modeling pronunciation,
intonation, stress, rhythm, and oral expression;
·
facilitating
comprehension of vocabulary, idioms, cultural aspects, and plot;
·
stimulating interest
and conversation, and interacting with the students;
·
establishing an acting
workshop atmosphere;
·
creating a
student-participatory language learning experience.
2.6 DRAMA
ENHANCES LEARNERS’ UNDERSTANDING, INTEREST, AND MOTIVATION
The Ministry of Education (MOE) has its own reasons
when incorporating literature in the secondary school syllabus. The objectives
of the Malaysian English literature programme are that students should be able
to develop,
…an ability to enjoy the experience of reading
literature, understand and respond to literary texts in different periods and
cultures through an exploration of areas of human concerns as depicted in the
selection of short story, novel, poetry and drama.
(Ministry of Education, 2007, pp. 1-2)
By
looking at the stated objectives above, the main aim is for the learners to
have enjoyable and pleasant experience when dealing with literature (short
stories, poems and novels). In this case, the teaching and learning poetry
should not be made difficult and ‘dry’ in the classroom in order to achieve
this objective. The use of poetry as drama in the English as a second language
(ESL) classroom enables the students to explore the linguistic and conceptual
aspects of the written text without concentrating on the mechanics of language.
Students are able to develop a sense of awareness of self in the mainstream
culture through the dramatic interpretations of the poems. Second language
acquisition becomes internalized as a direct result of placing the learners in situations
that seem real. The students use the target language for the specific purpose
of communication. They experiment with non-verbal communicative aspects of
language (body language, gestures, and facial expressions), as well as verbal
aspects (intonation, rhythm, stress, slang, and idiomatic expressions), while
interpreting the poems. The students begin to feel the language and gain the
confidence to interact outside the classroom using the target language.
Zafeiriadou (2009) says that drama fosters and sustains learners'
motivation as it is fun and entertaining and because it engages feelings it can
provide a rich experience of language for the participants. Drama as a process
is inevitably learner-centred because it can only operate through active cooperation.
Susan Stern (in Sam 1990), who looks into drama in
second language learning from a psycholinguistic point of view, emphasizes that
drama heightens self-esteem, motivation, spontaneity, increases capacity for
empathy, and lowers sensitivity to rejection. These tremendous benefits of
drama facilitate communication and provide an appropriate psycholinguistic
climate for language learning by addressing multiple intelligences of the
students.
As Chauhan (2004) points out, using drama in
teaching English as a foreign language classes gives a context for listening
and meaningful language production, forcing the learners to use their language
resources and, thus, enhancing their linguistic abilities. It provides
situations for reading and writing. What makes drama activities and/or
techniques valuable in foreign language classes is that they make learners
experience language in operation and provide motivation to use language
embedded in a context and a situation. The "acting- out" process makes
the learners adopt a new position and this helps them being creatively involved
(ibid). Role-play is one of the drama activities and it has a significance role
in developing communicative competence and drama in EFL classes enables the use
of role-play. Boudreault (2010) lists the positive aspects of role-play and
says that it is important because it teaches cooperation, empathy for others,
decision making skills, encourages an exchange of knowledge between students
and with the teacher and students. It also encourages leadership, team work,
compromise, authentic listening skills and practice with real life
savior-faire.
CONCLUSION
The
use of poetry in the ESL classroom enables students to explore the linguistic
and conceptual aspects of the written text without concentrating on the
mechanics of language. The dramatization of poetry is expected as a powerful
tool in stimulating learning while acquiring a second language because the
learners become intellectually, emotionally, and physically involved in the
target language within the framework of the new culture. Poetry rich in
dialogue provides students with a dramatic script in which drama places the learners
in situations that seem real.
