Stylistic Analysis of Poetry: A Perspective from an Initial Training Course in TEFL

Abstract

This article describes a five-week (4 hours a week) stylistic analysis component added to a one-semester initial training course for the use of literature in an EFL context. The aim of this experimental component was to help the student teachers explore the effectiveness of applying stylistic analysis of poetry to the design of language activities for use in EFL classes. The class consisted of 24 student EFL teachers, five male and 19 female. All were native speakers of Turkish. Discussions with the student teachers and observations of the lessons they had prepared were systematically carried out. The student teachers stated that stylistic analysis was an effective tool for preparing their own language awareness activities. Moreover, they reported that they could use these language activities successfully in EFL classrooms for practice teaching.