(Part2)
One may object that, by repeating poems all over again or singing the same song at the beginning or at the end
of each lesson, students are taught language passively, without any conscious effort. However, it is proved by Geoff Plant, the author of number of books with rhymes and poems for language teaching,
learning poems enhance the turn-taking.<6> Students become more familiar with the language, they are less afraid of making mistakes, because they can easily predict the unknown word (through rhythm and rhyming) and because they experience a real joy of producing rhymes. Obviously, the nature of poems and songs is less formal than that of any other kinds of texts, and for that reason, the positive association towards the process of learning itself is created. Furthermore, to make the activities more active, different kinds of additional tasks can be carried out, such as: writing student’s own poem (or song), creative writing on the basis of a poem, role plays and many more.
Another objection towards the use of poems in language teaching that can be taken up, is that by teaching by means of songs and poems, other skills and abilities are neglected. Learning is not only about building up a
vocabulary store, but also getting to know about the foreign language culture, history and this has to be done through reading, listening or writing. The answer to this, is that we can choose poems that are rich in cultural references. They may serve as basis to history classes, and in this way, show the connections between literature and other disciplines. Ready- made songs may be also of a great use, and in case of lack of them, learners may come up with idea of creating their own lyrics, according to a specific subject. Through such an exercise, we also end up developing abstract thinking of our learners.
To conclude, the use of poems and songs in teaching vocabulary is unquestionable, especially at times, when teachers have to cope with numerous class groups, in which learners are often prejudiced towards the whole process of learning, or pedagogically problematic. Poems and songs come in handy in cases of indiscipline, attention deficit disorders and hyperactivity. They serve also therapeutic purposes, while working with the deaf or autistic people. That is why, as you can never be sure of who your future learners would be, it is worth becoming familiar with a variety of simple and catchy tasks, which can often do wonders in a classroom reality.
<1> H.G. Widdowson, Aspects of Language teaching (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990), p. 67.
<2> C. Wallace, Reading (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), p. 145.
<3> Ronald Carter, Michael McCarthy, Vocabulary and language teaching (Longman: New York, 1991), p.42.
<4> Carter, McCarthy, Vocabulary and language teaching, p. 45.
<5> Carter, McCarthy, Vocabulary and language teaching, p. 42.
<6> Geoff Plant, “Using Rhythm and Rhymes with children”, MED-EL’s Newsletters for Teachers and Therapists, No.1 (2002), p. 1.