Challenges and opportunities/propositions in poetry teaching and learning in literature in English at two Leribe schools

Abstract

Poetry is a genre of composition in verse form which expresses deep feelings, noble thoughts in a rhythmic, beautiful and embellished language written with the aim of communicating an experience. These attributes of poetry can be seen as having a role in learners’ development inside and outside the classroom. The learners can share their ideas and stories through learning poetry hence its value in learning and it is fundamental that teachers of poetry to high school learners are cognisant of the balance between competing tensions, including analysis in competition with appreciation, their prominence as both neophyte (apprentice) and expert readers of poetry, including the contradictory ideas of mastery of poetry that are, in history, at odds. This study examines the challenges and opportunities/propositions of poetry pedagogy and learning in two high schools in Leribe district. Focus group discussion and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from both teachers and learners about poetry challenges and opportunities in the English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom. The findings show that learners and teachers are aware that poetry has roles to play culturally, linguistically and historically, not foregoing a number of challenges attached to teaching and learning inclusive of dearth of knowledge for techniques to use in teaching. The study further reveals that some teachers avoid teaching poetry due to fear of the genre and inherently negative attitudes towards it. The conclusion drawn is that teachers should have portraits of good teaching in action and learners be part of poetry; as writers and readers, enjoying all the aspects of the genre