Haikus for Teaching Grammar to EFL/ESL Students and other Second Language Students

George Bradford Patterson II, US

George Bradford Patterson II is an English Language Teaching Specialist with a Masters Degree in Language Education and a Concentration in English as a Second Language(ESL) from Rutgers – The State University of New Jersey, USA May, 1982 and a BA in Religion, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, January, 1974, including an additional major in Spanish. He has taught ESL/EFL in the USA, Asia, and Latin America, and was also a Bilingual Substitute Teacher of English and Spanish in the Philadelphia Public School System in 1984. E-mail: borgesmagic@hotmail.com

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Introduction
Main part: Grammar
Concluding activity
References

Introduction

This is a second language teaching technique and also a peace linguistics technique for teaching grammar to EFL/ESL students, including other second language students, at the intermediate, , advanced intermediate, and advanced levels at the secondary, tertiary, and adult levels in which the second language student teacher writes a haiku on the blackboard like the one below and focus on some grammatical points, e.g.:

Sample Haiku

In a twinkle of a star,
lotuses blossom
on a blue lagoon.

Main part: Grammar

You may also get students’ attention to several grammatical points in the sample haiku, above, such as

• the contrast between the prepositions – “in” and “on” – in the prepositional phrases – “In a twinkle “ and “on a blue lagoon” – and also their contrast to “of” in the prepositional phrase –“of a star”.
• the contrast between “blossom” which is the present tense and “blossomed” which is the past tense.
• the contrast between the plural noun, “lotuses”, and the singular noun, “lotus”.
• the contrast and similarity between the prepositional phrases – “In a twinkle of a star”; “on a blue lagoon” - from the standpoint of peace linguistics, specifically alluding to “serenity” or “tranquility”.

Concluding activity

Then, divide the class in pairs or small groups, distribute slips of paper with a haiku written on each one, and have them analyze them grammatically, including in a peace linguistics context that includes peace and justice like environmental preservation, elimination of weapons of mass destruction, civil rights, human rights, economic justice, and cultural and linguistic rights. The members of pairs or small groups must work together and depend on each other. At the end of this activity, the second language teacher and the students choose the most outstanding pair or small group performance.

References

Patterson, George B. March, 1999. “Haiku as Leaning Tools” Teaching Tip: Thai TESOL NEWSLETTER, Vol. 12, No. 1. Bangkok, Thailand.

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