EXPLORING APPROACHES FOR TEACHING POETRY IN ESL CLASSROOMS: A STUDY FROM HAZARA DIVISION, PAKISTAN

Abstract

The aim of the present research is to identify the approaches that teachers employ to teach poetry to the undergraduate level ESL class of Hazara Division, Pakistan. Twelve classes of poetry were taught and information was gathered regarding approaches employed by teachers when teaching poetry. The study was carried out in three colleges and one university of Hazara. Some of these colleges are situated in Abbottabad and Mansehra which are in the Province of KPK in Pakistan. The sample comprised twelve ESL-trained teachers for teaching English poetry. Research found out that teachers employed different approaches in teaching poetry in a class. The study revealed that the most employed approach was information-based approach succeeded by the paraphrastic approach, stylistics approach, moral-philosophical approach, and personal response approach. They assisted the students in passing and scoring better grades in examinations. Other approaches were employed at a moderate level. Teachers offered contextual information about the poet, the country and the text to the learners. The second favored approach was the paraphrastic approach. In this case, teachers employed less complex words when defining complex words in poems.