Listening to Second Language Voice through Poetry Writing

Abstract

Recently a number of L2 researchers have examined potential of poetry as a writing place where the social interactions and cultural experiences intersect in language learning. From this perspective, this paper investigates how L2 writers’ meanings developed by a distinct voice and identity are constructed in the poems. In order to accomplish this purpose, it examines interaction and experiences of 14 international students in poetry writing course. Specifically, this paper addresses what thematic analysis of 78 poems revealed along with revision workshop discourse, interview and essay data. The findings show that poetry writing not only provides L2 writers with deep exploration of their memories, emotions and personal/universal reflections in relation with people, objects, and events, but also it provides a critical observational tool that examines the various soiocultural experiences that can be explicated in a creative way, revealing their unique, different, and sometimes unspeakable voice and identity. Based on these results, this paper suggests the use of poetry in EFL classroom can foster creative meaning-making process and multiple perspectives on L2 learning, which is a different attempt from the traditional writing instruction that puts grammar and examination into a center.