The document discusses using poetry in language learning. It argues that poetry can be enjoyable to teach, enhances emotional and cultural growth, and improves teaching practices. Two example poems are analyzed - "The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping" by Grace Nichols, which explores the shopping experience of a plus-sized black woman in London, and "No Problem" by Benjamin Zephaniah, about facing racism and stereotypes while maintaining pride in one's identity. A variety of activities are suggested for students to analyze themes, language, and personal reflections in response to the poems.

1. Poetry in Language Learning
Anna Isabel Fernández Córdoba

2. Why use literature in the ELT?
IT CAN BE:
• A joy to teach.
• It enhances our emotional & cultural growth .
• A way to improve our teaching practise.

3. Hope
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
Emily Dickinson

4. What is literature?
A DEFINITION:
“We will take literature to mean those novels,
short stories, plays and poems which are
fictional and convey their message by paying
considerable attention to language which is rich
and multilayered”
Lazar,G. (1993) Literature and language teaching, CUP.

5. Methodology
Carter, R & Long, M (1991) Teaching Literature,
Longman.
The three models:
1. The cultural Model
2. The Language Model
3. The Personal Growth Model
Using an Integrated Model:
• Enhances students’ cultural awareness
• Develops students’ language skills
• Contributes to students’ personal development

6. Why should EFL students be exposed to
poetry?
• It is enjoyable and engaging and creates
opportunities for personal expression.
• It reinforces learners’ knowledge of lexical and
grammatical structures.
• It inspires them to take risks in experimenting with
the target language.
• It fosters critical thinking.
• It promotes greater cultural tolerance.
• It develops students’ literary competence.

7. A set of activities for two poems
• It is designed to be used with teenage and adult learners of English in
3rd level of EOI.
• There is practise for the four skills and for what John McRae calls the
fifth skill: thinking.
• Students are encouraged to trust their interpretations and reading of
the poems and to reflect on their own experiences in connection with
the poems.
• The questions posed are aimed at different levels of understanding of
the poems, and try to help students work out for themselves what the
texts mean.
• There are language-based vocabulary activities to help them deal with
the poems and encourage them to find the meaning of words from
context.
• The two contemporary poems are “The Fat Black Woman Goes
Shopping” by Grace Nichols and “No Problem” by Benjamin Zephaniah.

8. • Both poems are multicultural and deal with racist issues in
contemporary Britain.
• There are factual reading comprehension activities that focus on
the factual meaning of the poem and on the other hand there are
activities concerning the language of the poem which focus on the
linguistic and literary qualities of the text: unusual uses of
collocation, binary oppositions, figurative language, rhyme and
style….
• There are activities designed to encourage inference and
interpretation, to make students reflect on their own experiences
in connection with the poems.
• Finally creative response activities are designed to encourage
students to take risks and play with the language creatively and
imaginatively (McRae, 1991) either speaking or writing.

9. The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping
by Grace Nichols
Shopping in London winter Nothing soft and bright and billowing
is a real drag for the fat black to flow like breezy sunlight
woman when she walking
going from store to store
in search of accommodating The fat black woman curses in Swahili/Yoruba
clothes and nation language under her breathing
and de weather so cold all this journeying and journeying
Look at the frozen thin The fat black woman could only conclude
mannequins that when it come to fashion
fixing her with grin the choice is lean
and de pretty face salesgals
exchanging slimming glances Nothing much beyond size 14
thinking she don’t notice
GRACE NICHOLS
Lord is aggravating

10. The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping
by Grace Nichols
WARM UP ACTIVITY
SPEAKING PRACTISE:
• When was the last time you went shopping for clothes?
• What did you buy?
• Did you try it on? Was it the right size?
• Was the shop assistant helpful? Why/not?
• Do you enjoy shopping for clothes? Why/not?
READING ACTIVITIES
1. Jigsaw reading. Your partner has the first half of the poem and you have
the second one. Explain to your partner in your own words what the
poem is about.

11. STUDENT A:
• Read the first stanzas of the poems and explain them to your partner in your
own words.
• Now ask each other questions about each other’s picture to find similarities
and differences between them.
Shopping in London winter
is a real drag for the fat black woman
going from store to store
in search of accommodating clothes
and de weather so cold
Look at the frozen thin mannequins
fixing her with grin
and de pretty face salesgals
exchanging slimming glances
thinking she don’t notice
Lord is aggravating

12. STUDENT B:
• Read the first stanzas of the poems and explain them to your partner in your
own words.
• Now ask each other questions about each other’s picture to find similarities
and differences between them.
Nothing soft and bright and billowing
to flow like breezy sunlight
when she walking
The fat black woman curses in
Swahili/Yoruba
and nation language under her breathing
all this journeying and journeying
The fat black woman could only
conclude
that when it come to fashion
the choice is lean
Nothing much beyond size 14

13. The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping
by Grace Nichols
READING ACTIVITIES
2. In the poem there is a clear contrast between London and the black woman’s
country of origin. Link words in the poem to each of these ideas:
BRITAIN BLACK WOMAN
______________________ ________________________
______________________ ________________________
______________________ ________________________
BRITISH WOMEN BLACK WOMAN’S COUNTRY
______________________ ________________________
______________________ ________________________
______________________ ________________________
3. After reading the poem, which do you give more positive connotations to the
British shop assistants or the fat black woman? Think of two adjectives to
describe each of them.

14. The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping
by Grace Nichols
4. Do you think the poem offers a black
perspective on white society or rather white
perspective on black experience?
5. In the poem you will find examples of “Patwa”
a spoken variety form of language which
involves a combination of English vocabulary
with African structures. Can you find examples
of pronunciation features of patwa suggested
by spelling alterations in the poem?
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________

15. The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping
by Grace Nichols
6. Does the fat black woman enjoy shopping? Find evidence in the poem
that backs up your answer.
7. Now watch clip 1 and describe what you see to your partner. Then swap
roles your partner watches clip 2 and describes it. Then together find the
differences and similarities between both clips.
CLIP 1:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed7C3gAXQNA&feature=related
CLIP 2:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTtVVHg41kU&feature=related
8. Discuss in small groups whether you think the woman’s shopping
experience in London would have been different if she were:
1) A slim and pretty 3) A rich black woman
woman 4) A White woman
2) A black man

16. The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping
by Grace Nichols
9. Now write your own poem starting “A woman
goes shopping” and post it on twiHaiku:
Twitter Poetry, is a free Twitter application that lets you share your
thoughts, feelings, views or ideas about anything in a poetic manner.
Express genuine thoughts and feelings, in accordance with the particular
object, event or phenomenon.
A woman goes shopping:
she is a slow walker,
a slow talker.
Strong and yet sweet
her smile opens doors
and that she adores,
on a breezy summer morning.
http://www.makeliterature.com/twihaiku/twitter-poetry

17. No problem by Benjamin Zephaniah
PRE-READING ACTIVITY
1. These are the first four lines of the poem, what do you think it is going
to be about?
I am not de problem
But I bear the brunt
Of silly playground taunts
An racist stunts
WATCHING DUB POETRY
This is a dub poem, dub poetry is a political writing genre closely linked to Reggae
music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhaXDfIGGzA

18. No Problem by Benjamin Zephaniah
I am not de problem
But I bear de brunt These conditions may affect me
Of silly playground taunts As I get older,
An racist stunts, An I am positively sure
I am not de problem I have no chips on me shoulders,
I am born academic Black is not de problem
But dey got me on de run Mother country get it right,
Now I am branded athletic, An juss fe de record,
I am not de problem Sum of me best friends are white.
If yu give I a chance
I can teach yu of Timbuktu Benjamin Zephaniah
I can do more dan dance,
I am not de problem
I greet yu wid a smile
Yu put me in a pigeon hole
But I am versatile.

19. No Problem by Benjamin Zephaniah
WHILE READING
2. Listen to the poem again and fill in
white /dance/ black/
the gaps with one of the words in academic/ smile/ athletic
the box :
I am not de problem
But I bear de brunt
Of silly playground taunts These conditions may affect me
An racist stunts, As I get older,
I am not de problem An I am positively sure
I am born ___________ I have no chips on me shoulders,
But dey got me on de run ________ is not de problem
Now I am branded ________, Mother country get it right,
I am not de problem An juss fe de record,
If yu give I a chance Sum of me best friends are _______.
I can teach yu of Timbuktu
I can do more dan _______, Benjamin Zephaniah
I am not de problem
I greet yu wid a ________
Yu put me in a pigeon hole
But I am _________.

20. No Problem by Benjamin Zephaniah
GLOSSARY
1. To bear the brunt:
Put up with the worst of some bad circumstance, as in It was the
secretary who had to bear the brunt of the doctor's anger .
2. A stunt: A feat displaying unusual strength, skill, or daring.
3. A taunt: To reproach in a mocking, insulting, or contemptuous manner.
4. To have no chip upon my shoulder: to blame other people for something
bad which has happened to you and to continue to be angry about it so
that it affects the way you behave.
AFTER READING
1. In this poem, Benjamin Zephaniah uses “non-standard” English . This is often used
as a technique to say challenging or radical things or to emphasise that they are not
part of the ‘establishment’. Can you find examples of it in the text? What region is
the poet from? _________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________

21. No Problem by Benjamin Zephaniah
AFTER READING
2. Whose voice can you hear in this poem? What experiences are described by the
poetic voice? Who do you think is 'yu' and 'dey‘ in the poem?
3. In the first stanza we find a contrast between external perceptions of the poetic
“I” and the poetic “I’s” self-perception, can you list them below?
External Perceptions Self-perceptions
______________________ ________________________
______________________ ________________________
______________________ ________________________
4. In the first stanza the line “I am not the problem” is repeated four times and
finally in the second stanza it changes into “Black is not the problem”. What do
you think is the main idea in the second stanza? What is the poet’s dilemma?

22. No Problem by Benjamin Zephaniah
5. How do you think the last two lines change the poem? If we take them
away, does the poem’s tone change? What do you think is the tone of the
poem? Serious, reflective, ironic, satirical?
Discuss
I. What do you think about people’s attitude to the poet?
II. Do you think these attitudes have changed? Or can you find examples of
similar attitudes in your daily life?
III. Make a list of examples of prejudice you have witnessed.
IV. Can you avoid being prejudiced?

23. CREATIVE WRITING
º
Your task is to write your own ‘poem’, ‘e-mail’, “song”, “blog post”, expressing a
similar conflict involving prejudice and stereotype and its consequences.

24. Wrapping it up
REFLECTION TIME
1. After working with both poems what do you think they have in common?
2. What are their differences?
3. Do you agree that both poems challenge the reader to think outside the box?
4. Fill in the box below with information about both poems:

25. Poet Grace Nichols Benjamin Zephaniah
Title ‘The Fat Black Woman’ ‘No problem’
Themes The poem tackles the sensitive
subject of racism in a light-
hearted way.
Standard No- the poet often uses Patwa
English? words’. Many standard spellings
are incorrect and the poet’s
dialect is used.
Imagery Many images are used.
Comparisons between ‘frozen
thin mannequins’ and the soft
and warm black woman.
Feelings?
Fill in the gaps in this
table based on your
knowledge of the
two poems.