ENHANCING CREATIVITY IN THE COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM THROUGH POETRY AS A LITERARY GENRE

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to address the approaches and models of using literature as a language teaching tool and to suggest English teachers practical ideas about how to integrate the experience of writing poetry as a tool of teaching English especially to young learners and beginners. Poetry writing gives students an opportunity to transform their feelings into communicative force. As a literary genre poetry is not different from any other linguistic performance. It is the productive use of linguistic structures in order to achieve communication. In recent years language teaching methodology has been heavily influenced by the Communicative Approach. This paper also focuses on the possibilities of poetry writing in an interactive way through task-based learning activities in language classes. The aim of these activities is to maximise learners' understanding of poetry by first allowing them to try writing their own poetry in an interactive task-based language learning environment and secondly to provide teachers opportunities to use poetry as a language teaching device by adapting or adopting these activities. Issues related to classroom implications are given at the end of the study.