TESOL Journal 27

Nonnative speakers of English often

approach writing with apprehen-

sion, but poetry, pictures, puzzles,

and paragraphs can help relieve

their anxieties. In this issue's tips,

five teachers present an array of

activities that will entertain as well

as instruct.

iPC L A S S RO O M

Sparking creativity in an ESL writing classis an ongoing challenge for many ESLinstructors, and poetry, in particular, can bea difficult form of writing for some ESL stu-dents to engage in if they feel unsure of theirlinguistic abilities. The following activitymay help alleviate ESL students’ anxietyand encourage them to explore the processof creating poems in an enjoyable way.

P ro c e d u re

1. Using a commercially available Magnetic Poetry kit, distribute about 15 individual words to each student. Each word is on a small magnetic strip. Give each student a metal board or plate on which to arrange the words, or use a metal surface in the classroom (e.g., desk, filing cabinet).

2. Give students about 10 minutes to create their poems using only the 15 words. Theydo not need to use all the words. The aim is to create a sense of meaning or emotion by arranging the words in some kind of order (see the sample student-authored poems at right).

3. Divide the class into pairs and ask the stu-dents not to show their poems to their partners.

4. Ask students to take turns dictating their poems to their partners. While they do so, have the partners write down what they hear being spoken. Then have the partnersreverse roles.

5. After all the dictations are done, ask the students to share their poems with one another and to compare their dictations with the poems composed by their partners.

6. Reassemble the class and ask for volun-teers to share their poems with the wholec l a s s .

Magnetic Poetry Wo r k s

This activity engages students in severalways. First, limiting students to only thewords handed out by the teacher reduces thepressure students may feel to generate theirown words when practicing writing poetry.In addition, students enjoy the novelty ofusing magnetic word strips. One of the mainreasons Magnetic Poetry kits are so popularis that they allow anyone to be a poet. Athird reason I have found this to be a popularactivity for ESL students is that it is anenjoyable and lively way to expose them tovocabulary. The basic Magnetic Poetry kitpurports to contain the 400 most common

C r eative Writing Using Magnetic PoetryKaren Bordonaro

a

m e

Spring 2001

28 TESOL Journal

words in U.S. English. Seeing and using thesewords in a poetry activity is a good way tointroduce students to some of this vocabularyand lay the foundation for further discussionabout vocabulary in the classroom.

On-line Option

This activity may also be conducted in acomputer lab. The Magnetic Poetry Website, at http://www.magneticpoetry.com,offers a Javascript application that allowsusers to arrange the words on-line. Theysimply point, click, and drag individual word

strips around on the screen. Users also havethe option of submitting their poems to thesite to share with other poetry lovers. Thissetting might be more appealing to ESL stu-dents who prefer the anonymity of the elec-tronic world to the personal interaction ofthe classroom.

Conclusion

Using magnetic poetry in an ESL classroomcan spark ESL students’ interest in creatingpoems. This activity makes poetry less per-sonally challenging than some other poetry

activities, yet it allows students to participatein meaningful creations while, at the sametime, exposing them to broader vocabulary.

Author

Karen Bordonaro is an adjunct assistantprofessor in Academic Development and afull-time reference librarian at CanisiusCollege in Buffalo, New York, in the UnitedStates. She holds an MA in TESOL, an MAin German, and an MLS, and is currentlypursuing a PhD in foreign and second lan -guage education at SUNY Buffalo.

O nce upon a time a and a and a and a little all live d

together in a little . The and the liked to sleep all day.

One day, the little found some grains of . "Who will help me plant this ?"

a s ked the little . "Not I," said the . "Not I," said the . "Not I," said

the . "Then I will," said the little . And she did. The grew tall, and soo n

it was time to cut it. "Who will help me cut the ?" asked the little "Not I,"

said the . "Not I," said the . "Not I," said the ."Then I will," said

the little . And she did. When the was cut, the little wa n ted to

grind the into . "Who will help me grind the ?" asked the little .

"Not I," said the . "Not I," said the . "Not I," said the . "Then I will,"

said the little . And she did.

The Little Hen

Clipart for Language AcquisitionJames A. Becker

Finding ways to reinforce new vocabularyand concepts for language learners is alwaysa challenge. Clipart programs on CD-ROMsor from Internet Web sites1 make findingappropriate images easy and allow teachersgreater choice, range, and flexibility thanmany curriculum packages. This tipdescribes several ways to use clipart to helpreinforce and contextualize your lessons. Ihave used these techniques mostly with pri-mary-level students, but they can be adaptedfor almost any age and proficiency level.One advantage of clipart is that images canbe enlarged or reduced in size to suit yourneeds. Ideally, a color printer should be usedto provide more appealing pictures.

Rebuses

One way I have used clipart is to createminiature pictures for a rebus, a story or rid-dle that uses pictures in place of words (see“The Little Hen” sample rebus in the sidebarat right).

Emerging readers respond positively whentexts are interspersed with familiar pictures. Icreate pictures that correspond to the litera-ture in my lessons. To encourage writing, Ihave students use the pictures to create theirown rebuses. If my goal is to have the stu-dents retell the story, then they substitute thewords with pictures to do so. It is very easyto expand on literature by changing the pic-tures (characters). For example, instead ofhaving a little hen, you can use a little turkey.To really capture students’ interest, try takingtheir pictures with a digital camera and inserttheir photos into the story.

Spring 2001