MÁSTER EN FORMACIÓN DEL PROFESORADO DE EDUCACIÓN SECUNDARIA OBLIGATORIA, BACHILLERATO, FORMACIÓN PROFESIONAL Y ENSEÑANZA DE IDIOMAS Reading and writing poems using relevance theory with figures of speech TRABAJO FIN DE MÁSTER. CURSO: 2011-2012 ESPECIALIDAD: Lengua inglesa APELLIDOS Y NOMBRE DE LA AUTORA: Ayuso San José, Elvira DNI: 47520416R CONVOCATORIA: Septiembre TUTOR: Jaime García Solana. Departamento de didáctica de la lengua y la literatura (español, francés e inglés). Facultad de Educación
Transcript
MÁSTER EN FORMACIÓN DEL PROFESORADO DE EDUCACIÓN
SECUNDARIA OBLIGATORIA, BACHILLERATO, FORMACIÓN
PROFESIONAL Y ENSEÑANZA DE IDIOMAS
Reading and writing poems using relevance theory with figures of speech
TRABAJO FIN DE MÁSTER. CURSO: 2011-2012
ESPECIALIDAD: Lengua inglesa
APELLIDOS Y NOMBRE DE LA AUTORA: Ayuso San José, Elvira
DNI: 47520416R
CONVOCATORIA: Septiembre
TUTOR: Jaime García Solana. Departamento de didáctica de la lengua y la
literatura (español, francés e inglés). Facultad de Educación
2
3
MÁSTER EN FORMACIÓN DEL PROFESORADO DE EDUCACIÓN
SECUNDARIA OBLIGATORIA, BACHILLERATO, FORMACIÓN
PROFESIONAL Y ENSEÑANZA DE IDIOMAS
Reading and writing poems using relevance theory with figures of speech
TRABAJO FIN DE MÁSTER. CURSO: 2011-2012
ESPECIALIDAD: Lengua inglesa
APELLIDOS Y NOMBRE DE LA AUTORA: Ayuso San José, Elvira
DNI: 47520416R
CONVOCATORIA: Septiembre
TUTOR: Jaime García Solana. Departamento de didáctica de la lengua y la
literatura (español, francés e inglés). Facultad de Educación
4
I would like to dedicate this work to my family, particularly to my parents Felipe
and Amor.
Thank you for your support and encouragement.
5
I would like to thank for their support, suggestions and comments the following
persons:
- Mrs Pilar Marín Ferrer, English teacher in the Instituto García Morato (Madrid) for her
advice, support, encouragement and knowledge about teaching English as a foreign
language.
- Mr. Jaime García Solana, teacher and tutor of the Universidad Complutense de
Madrid for his knowledge and advice about teaching English as a foreign language.
figures (epithet, metaphor, comparison, antithesis, irony) and pragmatic figures
(personification, apostrophe).
The following lines will be brief definitions about the above-mentioned ones:
The rhyme is the ensemble of consonants and assonants that the poet uses in the
verses.
The anaphora is the repetition of words or phrases.
The epithet is the qualifier adjective that adds a quality to the noun, but it does not
modify its meaning.
3 There are some critical authors as Roberts (1991): the relevance principle is difficult in order to apply
because of weakness in precision. Mey and Talbot (1988) or Walker (1989) state that it is a reductionist theory.
14
The metaphor expresses a word or a phrase with a different meaning to the common
one but a relation of similarity between the two meanings is there.
The comparison sets relations of superiority, inferiority and equality among the objects.
The antithesis brings face to face antonymous terms in context.
The irony consists of trying to grasp just the contrary what it is saying.
The personification attributes human qualities to irrational or inanimate characters. 4
The apostrophe expresses the personification to the reader in the discourse, he or she
is being appealed and this produces a sudden and effective turn to the exposition.
Adrian Pilkington in 2000 starts his book “Poetic effects” in acknowledge of Sperber
and Wilson. In addition, he contributes to the pragmatic vision and the relevance theory
in reference to the poetic use of figures of speech and stylistic effects.
The mentioned figures of speech are the ones related to Sperber and Wilson: a broad
section about the metaphor, an analysis of the anaphora and the effects in verses.
Pilkington revises two types of metaphor: the poetic one and the cognitive one. The
poetic one is a creative metaphor, the reader has to draw to find assumptions that the
concepts share. There are more contextual effects. The cognitive one is the metaphor
as a conceptual structure. The structure of the metaphor means a number of
correspondences between two concepts. He suggests that the reader is interested in a
special image of feelings, it focuses on a strong implicature, it stimulates their
suppositions in context with the aim of reaching the optimum interpretation; this takes
place in the analysis of parts’ repetition of a statement. Regarding the verses’ effect, he
specifies the rhythm, the metric variation and the tone. There are some processes
which imply diverse suppositions, active in the communication as parts of a statement.
He draws with the idea that the poetic effects must add emotional communication;
there is a connection between the emotion and the poetic effects. The poetic effects
express and communicate emotional states.
The use of Spanish authors writing about Spanish as a foreign language is relevant in
order to take advantage of their proposed exercises and explanations about the figures
of speech.
4 José Antonio Mayoral and José Luis García Barrientos show definitions and examples of figures of
speech in their books.
15
Salvador Pons Bordería grasps our attention to the theory that supports my paper in
his book “Conceptos y aplicaciones de la teoría de la relevancia” (Concepts and
applications to relevance theory). I emphasise his key applications for my paper: the
metaphor, the irony and the figurative and literal language.
The metaphor is explained by the relevance. He makes a clear example with a stone
throwing at a pond and it creates ripples on the surface of a pond. The metaphor refers
to a thought and it shares and produces some implicatures in the listener.
The irony according to the relevance is in the interpretation (the speaker transmits a
specific thought and chooses the opposite meaning). Torres Sánchez5 states that there
are three requirements in the irony: the place (where, the statement reflects another
statement produced by different circumstances, there was no irony in these
circumstances), the source (who, the person who produced at the beginning of the
situation) and the dissociated attitude (how, the listener must identify that the speaker
distances from the initial meaning).
He clarifies our doubts about figurative and literal language. From the knowledge of the
speech act, the listener has the objective of finding out what the speaker desires to say
and the speaker transmits the thought he considers relevant; we contemplate the
difference between literal and figurative language. In fact, they are two points of a scale
that the speaker uses for his communicative purposes and caused by questions of
relevance.
María Victoria Escandell contributes to the need of pragmatics. She states the distance
between the statements we say literally and the statements we desire to say
absolutely. These statements might be simple but if we take into account a foreign
language and a context of poetry, the difficulties appear.
Her book “Introducción a la pragmática” (Introduction to pragmatics) clarifies and brings
closer the pragmatic to the public. Her chapter devoted to Sperber and Wilson implies
the explanation of the relevance theory with its consequences and critics. It is a clear
introduction in order to start a paper about pragmatics and focus the topic on a specific
aspect.
5 María Angeles Torres Sánchez focuses our attention on the irony in her book “Aproximación
pragmática a la ironía verbal”.
16
Her article in Vademecum6 about the contributions to pragmatics provides the teaching
and learning of second languages or foreign languages with some practice. The
aspects are politeness, speech acts, implicatures, approach, factors and aims. As
regards the communication, we can see clearly her relevant approach. Her examples,
sentences simplify and help the reading.
Related to this last pragmatics article, I mention Salvador Gutiérrez Ordóñez in his
book “Ejercitarás la competencia pragmática” (Practising pragmatics competences). He
fulfils a revision about the principles and pragmatics theories in order to finish with
some examples and exercises about the speech acts, a real and tremendous help to
the students. It is essential knowing how to combine theory and practice in the
pragmatic competence.
Graciela Reyes and her team composed by Elisa Baena and Eduardo Uríos publish in
2005 two books named “Ejercicios de pragmática” (Exercises of pragmatics).
I will contemplate the chapter five devoted to the relevance theory in the first book. First
of all, there is a theoretical introduction to the terms human cognition (information that
produces cognoscitive effects appropriated to the change of an effort in a minimum
process), ostensive-inferential communication and relevance principle (the speakers
have not to know or learn it; it is an application to all the speech acts. If the speaker
fails and he is not relevant, the important thing is his spread). Their exercises are
deducing the context, point out relevant sentences, estimating the relevance and
analysing conversations.
I will point out the chapter seven: figurative language in her second book. The figures
of speech cause diverse effects in context, emotions; they modify attitudes and
concepts. She mentions the irony, the metaphor, the repetition. The irony in keeping
with the relevance is the break of expectations; it expresses a negative attitude towards
the statement on the speaker’s side. Thus, she points out the ideas of Sperber and
Wilson. When the listener makes a large effort of processing, then there will be more
effects in context and its translation will be more poetic effects. The metaphor requires
more inferential effort; it can be used in literature, advertising and common
conversations. Therefore, it creates a range of relevant implicatures in context.
6 Vademecum: for the teachers’ formation, teaching Spanish as second language or foreign language.
Sánchez Lobato and Santos Gargallo (2004). María Victoria Escandell stresses the intern structure of a request because of its helpfulness to the foreign public.
17
The repetition creates a sensation of importance and impatience. It is desirable that it
creates common impressions and spreads statements related to emotions, attitudes
and feelings. The exercises are drawing theories, comparing objects, explaining figures
of speech in conversations or articles about newspapers or advertising, imagining
situations.
Last but not least, Leonor Ruiz Gurillo leads a research group GRIALE; she deals with
the pragmatics analysis of the irony and its didactic application to the Spanish teaching
as a foreign language since 2002.
Her book “Hechos pragmáticos del español” defines the pragmatics, the pragmatic
meaning in order to clarify the discourse subject, the discourse form, the discourse
representation, the verbal irony and the metaphor. The chapter discourse
representation stress the relation between relevance theory and discourse.
As regards the irony, she has recourse of the colloquial conversations, she revises the
theories. I stress her present work at GRIALE: establish a typology of ironical
statements useful to the Spanish teaching. Related to the metaphor, she observes the
types, the theories and the metaphoric role when the journalists speak about wars and
terrorists attacks.
1.3. Research questions, variables and hypotheses
The main idea of this research work is the relevance theory with regard to the figures of
speech.
The idea from which I start this research is the use of literature, the figures of speech
focused on a group of Spanish students that learn English as a foreign language. They
emerge from the hypothesis as what authors and approaches will be used.
I aim to prove the difficulties toward we are opposing when we are exploring a new
language and we are not native speakers. In this case, it is English for Spanish
speakers. The special tool will be the use of figures of speech as a beginning and
ending to some reachable aims.
18
As we can observe in the last section “literary review”, the authors will find the answers
in the communication. My research questions are related to the concrete ideas: how we
communicate using a poem, what literary communication is, which the relation among
the culture, language and communication on the poems is.
In addition, I emphasise the importance of reading poems; even if they are difficult, our
students will have the challenge of reaching and drawing the relevance. Keeping with
the relation between the poems and the difficulty, my main question is how to
introduce, explore the literary world of the verse, the figures of speech in an English
class and write a poem.
According to this, I can point out the variable for my paper. The independent variable is
the antecedent, the stimulus that causes a result and the influence in possible answer.
It is the methodology using with the students of L1 Spanish preparing for passing their
exams in a course of 1 of bachillerato (high school).
The other variable is the dependent one, the result which causes the antecedent (the
independent variable), namely, the consequence from which the data are drawn. They
are the questionnaire responses of Spanish students in my present paper.
From my viewpoint, I can take advantage of my experience as language student and I
observe the difficulties when you try to understand a literary text in a foreign language.
They appeared problems between the English and the Spanish, for example loan
translation, misunderstanding. The focus of poems and short stories is a major boost to
the reading and learning of a foreign language. Thinking as a teacher and researcher, I
deduce the obstacles of my students: draw the meaning, grasp the poet’s attention and
creation of their own poems.
The motivation in the foreign languages courses is key, important and relevant. I can
not close this chapter without underlining the motivation. My research, my topic implies
the literary use, the figures of speech as working tools. I can assume that the learning
needs some help: a good basis, a good and collective atmosphere of work in the class.
The promotion of learning by pairs, in team, the mutually help between teacher and
students increases the possibilities to reach the unthinkable. In addition, if you succeed
in a difficult attainment, you appreciate more.
I predict surprises because each person is a world, feelings and emotions. Therefore,
my students will write their opinions and answers; each one as relevant as the other.
19
2. Methodology
2.1. Participants and course
The participants are one group: first of Bachillerato, the pupils of English as a foreign
language in a high school of Madrid (Spain). Their native language is Spanish; they live
in the surrounding neighbourhoods. Their ages range from 16 to 18 years old.
The group is comprised of 33 students: 10 female students and 23 male students.
There are two male students with foreign background: Poland and Dominican Republic.
Their level is a B.1 with regard to the ECFR (European Common Framework of
Reference). Their key point is their limited use of the figures of speech in order to reach
the main aim: writing an English poem and improving their English as a foreign
language.
The contribution to the figures of speech is part of my research process. English
sessions last 50 minutes and are scheduled for Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. A
part of the group (17 students) has another English subject dealing with listening and
speaking skills: Ampliacion (optional subject, enshrined in the National Curriculum:
LOE 2006, Real Decreto 1467/2007 Bachillerato structure and minimum education).
This optional subject is scheduled for Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and
Thursdays.
20
2.2. Materials
Thoroughly, I shall contemplate the EFL materials related to my research. Particularly, I
will focus on three poems chosen to improve English and the pupil’s coursebook.
My research process is a return to the 19th century and a brief relation to our century
thanks to English and American poetry. The poets are Roger McGough, Edgar Allan
Poe and Robert Louis Stevenson. Their poems have provided the students with their
creativity and naturalness; thus my activities have been a new motivation. These
factors deal with the union of diverse aspects such as grammar, culture, English
knowledge with English communication and the study about figures of speech from a
different approach. This approach is the relevance theory. A deep explanation will be
provided within 2.3. Procedures and research method.
According to the previous information, I shall examine and analyse briefly some English
coursebooks as a foreign language. It will be focus on the literary exercises and their
relation with relevance theory. Choose a coursebook is a difficult task because of the
diversity in the publishing market. This sample is a reflection of the new wave at the
beginning of the 21th century. The publishing companies show their uses, their
exercises and their teaching English to the users.
I will examine three English coursebooks and their extra readers’ books. The common
features of the three ones are the publication year after the Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages (2002) and the English level.
- Natural English Intermediate Student’s Book, authors: Ruth Gains and Stuart Redman
ISBN: 9780194373258 Published: 01/01/2003 Oxford University Press
The contribution to the literature appears briefly in the reading materials with some
fragments of literary work. The reading exercises deal with questions about the text,
the experiences. The original aspect is the use of humour through cartoons and the
listening and reading activities. It is a good beginning but it would be improved the
literary aspect with some extra activities and guided exercises in new editions.
21
- Bridges 1, authors: Alan Williams and Margaret Baines
ISBN 978-9963-47-897-2 Published in 2011 Burlington Books
The coursebook shows nine topic-based units with two “bridges” to history and
literature. The culture is shown in some boxes and readings through the units. The
students can know the aspects of Anglo-Saxon culture.
The literature is presented in the “Bridge to literature” in order to expand the
knowledge. The British (Burman-born) Saki shows us his quotes and we read
fragments of their short stories. The exercises are questions related to the author,
vocabulary. The contribution to the literature and figures of speech does not give
enough detailed information.
This book is used in my practicum period for the bachillerato students.
- On Screen 1 for Bachillerato, authors: Virginia Evans and Jenny Doley
ISBN: 978-1-78098-839-9 Publishing in 2012 Express Publishing-Edebé
The coursebook has nine themed modules, lively topics in order to grasp student’s
attention. A relevant aspect is the work in pairs and groups.
The contribution to the literature appears in the section “Culture spot”. There are
activities to encourage critical thinking and the Web research, some exercises about
finding in fragments, filling the gaps. Perhaps, the graded readers can improve the
figures of speech and their knowledge because the exercises are slight.
The extra reading activities would be improved with the reading hour. The publishing
companies have a variety of books: graded and original with well-known stories to
grasp the student’s attention with the reading indeed and the exercises.
Oxford University Press uses a table to choose the right level of graded reader. The
level is from ESO 1 to Bachillerato 2, the series of graded readers with different colours
and stages. The length and the number of words are considered. The topics are
diverse: from Dorian Grey to Formula ONE or Treasure Island.
22
Burlington Books classifies their readers in original and activity series. The original
series ones take into account the levels of ESO 1 to Bachillerato 2. The activity series
ones are considered to the levels of ESO. They differ from the colours, the length. The
topics are classic adaptations, original stories and non-fiction options: a wide range.
Express Publishing Edebé classifies the readers in five categories: graded, classic,
illustrated, showtime and favourite classic. The classification of the levels is related to
the Common European Framework of References: starting with A1 and finishing B2.
We can read American and English literature and encourage students to use and
create their artistic skills.
Examine the series of English coursebooks show the time, the new periods in the study
and teaching English. The foreign languages methodology is present, past and future
of trends in the history. The key point is the publication of Common European
Framework of References, because of their unification, support and promotion of the
communication.
From my viewpoint, choose one coursebook and explore all their exercises are a total
mistake. The best option would be the variation, the diversity of exercises about
different coursebooks, in order to show the possibilities in teaching English. In addition,
it is relevant to create convenient and own materials because of the diversity of
problems in each situation. Regarding to extra books called readers, we observe the
same variety. English and American literature is as wide and broad as the two
countries; furthermore there are other English speaking countries.
23
2.3. Procedures and research method
Each research process entails some defining phases or stages in order to achieve the
final aim. The organisation of a research paper is extremely relevant; due to each detail
can change the process evolution.
First of all, I did my topic election: pragmatics. This topic is wide and broad; I focused
on the relevance theory, the study about figures of speech, particularly how to teach
figures of speech with the reading and writing of poems. The research shall be together
with the activities, the tests with the possible answers, etc.
After, I have found a theoretical foundation in order to support the weight of research
and to contribute to the enlightenment of doubts. The mains authors are Paul Grice,
Dan Sperber, Deindre Wilson, Adrian Pilkington and the contribution of the Spanish
experts.
Then, the diagnostic test was started with questions about what I wished to find with
this topic, my hypotheses and the organisation of my activities and tests.
The assessment of students was devoted to the analysis of tests, from which it will be
scanned information about students’ answers. Those answers will be considered
thanks to the problem statement.
Last but not least, I used to close my research, reflect on the whole process and to
leave an open door about future and exhaustive researches due to my self-interest. I
point out this research for their relevance and importance acquired.
The measurement instruments are the tests, enclosed the annexes. I shall show some
tests written by the students in the annexes. The tests will be answered by the students
during my teaching practice. They are considered about qualitative approach in order
to scan qualities and describe them.
The tests are fundamental in order to scan data. For this reason, the election of
questions is a hard task, as difficult as choosing the topic of the paper. These tests
share a unique aim; even if the questions are different. The types of questions can be
classified (YES/NO answers, multiple answer, hypothetical situations, open answer).
24
2.3.1. Pre-test – 27th April 2012
It is the beginning of tests, then I did not do any previous class according to my topic or
my activities related to the topic. I brought up only the previous Friday before the pre-
test that I was dealing with a research process according to a particular case of the
English study as a foreign language: the figures of speech.
My first experiment and test by way of general survey was the question “Do you know
how to recognise the figures of speech in poems?”They were raised hands answering
alternatively YES or NO, or depending of the text difficulty.
From my point of view, preparing deep previous tasks in a defining topic leaves aside
the surprising element and the reflection that my students have to do.
The pre-test plays a key function: introducing the students to a reflection with regard to
their knowledge about figures of speech. First, they appear general questions about the
reading, the habits, the possible situations related to literature; we will gradually
approach to the topic with clinical precision, namely from the general one and well-
known to the less common one and more accurate. 7
2.3.2. Test- 8th May 2012
The second test introduces new statements and questions to the students. Now, the
students know something else about my topic, but not all the information in order to
preserve or not to contaminate their personal thoughts.
This test prepares the students to my activities. Perhaps, they do not consider the
importance, the relevance of those questions exhaustively but they are an open door in
order to work and start scanning some relevant data for the teaching proposal and the
whole paper. For this reason, I shall do this test before the activities, the teaching
proposal.
7 See pages 8-9 of the Annex.
25
The questions can be classified by six groups or categories of answers:
1. Yes/no answers: the reading hour, the literary information in their coursebook
Bridges, and draft for their first impressions.
2. Ranking answers: type of literary genre, form of literary book.
3. Use or frequency: reading of literary books.
4. Hypothetical situation: writing a literary sheet increase…
5. Number: number of English books read.
6. Free answer: relevant information in a literary sheet, main problems in order to
recognise the figures of speech.8
2.3.3. Teaching proposal
Reaching this point, I can start the task of the creation of my activities with regard to my
topic and my students. As I have said in the previous page, the activities start before
the two first tests. In addition, I state that the activities are home-made and created to
this particular case in 2.2 Materials, from English and American poetry.
My organisation is scheduled in three lessons or periods. I shall use the three Ps
(presentation, practice and production).
The first lesson is devoted to a brief presentation of the authors. Edgar Allan Poe was
the creator of the science-fiction, stories about detectives, in other words, mystery and
horror themes. I choose the poem “The bells” (see page 3 of the annex) because of its
musicality and its use about figures of speech. First, we read in silence and then we
start reading aloud, identifying some figures and explaining their relevance. Poe shows
some figures in the first stanza, for example metaphor, repetition, epithet, rhyme. In
addition, we acquire new vocabulary. The mystery comes with the runic rhyme, asking
the students in order to search about this word in italics.
8 See pages 10-11 of the Annex.
26
The second lesson starts with the leading and previous question about the runic rhyme.
A good beginning will be a key point and the students get involved and motivated for
the rest of the lesson: a good atmosphere of work at the classroom. Then, we read
again “The Bells”. This poem is an instrument of telling us how a bell is and how it
sounds. It is the beginning of the guidance of the students to my personal aim: trying to
use the ostensive-inferential communication, the relevance theory for teaching English.
Therefore, this poem is a description of one element, in this particular case a bell but
we can choose whatever object, feeling, meal or period. I will ask the students to think
in one element. Imagination is a key feature in poetry, we have to know and teach how
to develop it. Then, all together choose a star. We start describing the features of the
star. I ask and guide with my questions. What I wish to create in the students’ mind? A
poem made in group. The questions are in order to express the figures of speech.
Helping the students with questions like what the star is? What the star’s colour is?
Where the star is, how a star twinkles? What a comparison will be possible with a star?
We are dealing with metaphors, epithets, comparison and the rest of the figures of
speech. Finally, we read the second poem: “the Moon” (see page 3 of the annex) by
Robert Louis Stevenson: a true example with the moon as the centre of the poem. The
lesson finishes with the homework: writing a poem using the learnt strategies. The
strategies are the steps of the poem’s writing in group: the rhetorical questions about
the stars.
The third lesson starts with the reading of the poem “The Moon” (see page 4 of the
annex) by Roger Mc Gough: simple and sophisticated. I will give some extra time in
order to read and check their poem. Then, some students perform their poem to the
class and read aloud.
We can clearly see the three stages: presentation, practice and production.
2.3.4. Test 11th May 2012
The third test is placed in the middle of the lessons, it introduces again statements,
strategies and questions. Now, the students own a personal knowledge about the
poetry. I will focus on poetry and then the figures of speech. The test’s questions
prepare the students to the final project: the poem’s writing. The students consider a
poem’s writing as a main obstacle. For this reason, I shall point out the relevance of the
teaching proposal and a good organisation and practice.
27
We can classify the questions in six groups or categories:
1. Yes/no answers: reading English poems, figures of speech in mother tongue.
2. Number: English writers, figures of speech in an English poem.
3. Frequency or use: reading of English poems.
4. Hypothetical situation: strategies with a poem, use of figures of speech.
5. Ranking answers: list of figures of speech.
6. Free answer: use of poetic effects, reading English poem.9
2.3.5. Post-test 18th May 2012
This last test is a way in order to continue the work of the pre-test. It has elapsed three
weeks (from the 27th April to the 18th May 2012). The students have been acquiring the
particular and delimited knowledge of the figures of speech in the poems.
Their initial knowledge and diverse skills have increased due to the organisation, the
activities. Therefore, the pragmatic competence is the focus and their answers or
reflections will be taking into account for the analysis.
The post-test is the piece of the puzzle in order to finish my research, in addition to the
poems written by the students. Therefore, the students have developed the activities
and have understood the relevance of the final test.
The questions are focused and classified in seven groups:
1. Yes/no answers: poems in your mother tongue use of draft or outline.
2. Preferences: reading versus writing English poems.
3. Time: writing an English poem.
4. Use or frequency: use of dictionary.
5. Ranking answers: increase of English skills, list of figures of speech used in
your English poems.
6. Hypothetical situation: use of strategies about writing an English poem.
7. Free answer: aim of your poems, obstacles about writing an English poem. 10
9 See pages12-13 of the Annex.
10 See pages 14-15 of the Annex.
28
I endeavoured to apply a methodology, an approach which would be relevant
according to the studied theory. First, I have been introducing and inducing the topic to
the students. I have been her personal guide as author and they let persuaded, they
have reflected on their thoughts thanks to the questions of the tests. The poems
created by the students are the final project which will belong to them and will be the
display of effort, imagination, and feelings. Simple words can create a personal
writing11.
2.4. Reflections about the teaching proposal
Fulfil a teaching proposal always entails the best thoughts. Naturally, those thoughts
will be translated into practice, in other words, the teaching proposal concerned will be
a real practice in short term. I consider that it could be useful for teaching English as a
foreign language and it has to be tested in order to add or improve any aspect.
My research paper centres on the relevance theory and the figures of speech. I think
that there are different and diverse ways in order to approach them. The public do not
know the diverse use of metaphors, ironies in the day-to-day and these go unnoticed.
For this reason, we have the tendency to be reserved about the understanding of
figures of speech and we believe that it is difficult to point out and identify the figures in
poems, short stories. This personal remark can be applied both/either natives and
English students.
Thus, I present that the relevance from a literary, historical and cultural point of view is
related to the poems and stories written by Roger Mc Gough, Robert Louis Stevenson
and Edgar Allan Poe, in addition to the contribution to teaching English as a foreign
language.
I will start stating that it is difficult to choose a group of author, writers about the English
(language) in order to teach my particular concern about figures of speech. English
literature is related to many countries with different and diverse traditions, costumes,
and cultures. Teaching English as a foreign language needs the diversity, the
differences of cultures as boost to language and teaching. For this reason, I choose
English and American literature in honour of culture.
11
The Portfolio is another part of the CEFR, another tool in order to record the poems (learning language achievement done by the students).
29
The 19th century was wonderful in the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Edgar Allan Poe
(American) shows us the science-fiction, the horror stories as the pioneer. His
language is figurative and rhythmical in order to teach intonation about our foreign
language: English. His well-known poem “The raven” describes the obscurity, the
repetition with the sound “o”: mystery versus rhyme12. The emotions are developed by
the figurative language.
Robert Louis Stevenson (Scottish) remembers the adventure and horror in his novels:
“Treasure Island” and “Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. The students love the
adventure, the mystery, the suspense. youth literature of this writer links the teacher’s
mind to the students’ ones. Stevenson has a relation to Poe, he is critical of Poe’s
writing. This critical point is another link between the two authors as a circle. It is
important to explain the students our reasons because it is another link. The poems of
Stevenson are a key instrument for my proposal. A description of the moon can be a
story.
Roger Mc Gough (English) is my 20th century contribution. A poet of 20th century is my
personal tribute to this century. I have tested that poetry is not an old aspect. Roger
shows us theirs books, CD, gallery and UK touring in his Web Page, in other words, he
is updating as the world. Indeed, he is the announcer of the program “Poetry please” in
BBC Radio 4. A good example and a good listening to the students can be done with
this humanist poet.
The poetry is a form of creative and personal text. We can use thousands of poems or
short stories in order to teach culture, costumes, uses of aspects of language, figures
of speech. They are a good tool trying to improve some mistakes about English. The
best experience is the use.
12 Drawn on the Poe’s Museum Web Page http://www.poemuseum.org/teachers-poes-technique.php
