L2 POETRY WRITING IN THE UNIVERSITY CLASSROOM

Abstract

The ability to write poetry in a particular language requires and is indicative of the highest level of the
language proficiency. This idea brought about a hypothesis that L2 poetry writing could be a valuable tool in
training specialists whose professions directly relate to excellent foreign language skills (translators and
interpreters, L2 teachers and instructors). Hence, the objectives of this paper are to determine students’ acceptance
of and demand for L2 poetry writing as a teaching method and to confirm the above hypothesis that this foreign
language teaching and learning methodology can be used as a powerful tool to improve the overall foreign
language command, strengthen students’ confidence in themselves in general and their linguistic abilities in
particular, enhance their L2 fluency, and boost their motivation for better performance in their studies.
The paper reviews and analyses seven different L2 poetry writing activities (illustrative examples
provided) practiced with students majoring in English in the university setting in Ukraine. It summarizes the
seven-year experiment of curriculum-adapted inclusions of L2 poetry writing activities in the academic process
in the L2 university classroom. The activities are collaborating on a play in verse, poetry writing contests,
poetry translation contests, ‘bonus’ poems, blogging poetry, newspaper poetry column, ‘collective’ poems.
The findings are as follows: implementation of such activities in the academic process is not only
favorably accepted by the students, but it also boosts their confidence and fluency in the language they are
learning and increases their motivation for better academic performance.
The L2 poetry writing activities described in this paper are “plug-and-play” solutions for practitioners
and a valuable asset for curriculum-makers in foreign language teaching.