PEDAGOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING SONGS AND POETRY TO YOUNG LEARNERS

1. CULTURE - students’ cultural backgroundDifferences in culture that exists within

the pupils domain and the culture in the literary texts may pose a problem in comprehending the texts.

Bridge the cultural, traditional and even religious differences that exist between pupils and the text.

2. CONTENT - suitability of content – refer to CSIt is necessary that pupils know or at least

have some idea of content of the text. This is to ensure that their schematic knowledge will be drawn upon when comprehending the text or doing the tasks.

Pupils must have some background knowledge of what they are doing.

The texts should include works of different genres. Thus, the literary texts taught must include such genres as poems, short stories, novels, and plays

The texts should have a connection with students’ here and now learning context. It would be motivating for students to study the literature which is currently being discussed in their society, particularly when that literature has been interpreted through other media, such as movies or musicals. Experiencing the ‘here-and-now literature’ would help students understand that literature is neither useless nor faraway, and that literature is part of our life.

Constructivism will enable pupils to build new knowledge and concepts based on existing knowledge or schema that they have. The teacher assists pupils to acquire new knowledge and solve problems through pupil-centred active learning.

Most importantly, the texts should have the capacity to engage the interest of the student.

However, a poem may not always be a favoured item in the classroom mainly because of its deviant and densely metaphorical use of language. Teaching poetry becomes especially difficult when the emphasis is put on correctness in grammatical form.

It is important that texts should provide good potential for a variety of classroom activities, in order to give students more chance to gain true familiarity with any work as a whole

3. INTEREST - students’ interests, experiences, enjoymentGauge pupils’ interest towards songs and

poetry?Interest has to go with motivation… if pupils

are motivated to learn, they will have high interest and receptivity.

To cultivate interest, tell pupils the benefits of learning lit. Have a variety of activities or reward them duly.

Text selection is no easy task because there are many interesting literary works to choose from, such as children’s literature and young adult literature.

4. VALUES - Character-building infused Are there values in the text(s)? How do we

instill these values in our pupils?Texts based on values have to be

incorporated in teaching and learning in order to impart the importance of good values for the wholesome development of individuals.

5. AGE - appropriacy, genderWhen texts are selected, ensure that they will

match with the age and maturity of the pupils.

Must not be biased towards boys or girls? Must be impartial (neutral / unbiased).

6. RESOURCES - reliable, easy access, related to CS It is important that appropriate resources

and materials are used with pupils of different learning capabilities so that their full potential can be realised.

Readily available resources? Commercial resources? Adapted resources? Simplified resources? Etc.

7. PROFICIENCY LEVEL – lang must be accessible, simplified, adapted or shortenedSimplify – to make the sentences shorter or

to use words that are of common usage.Adapt – consider localising scenes, names,

characters etc.Shorten – shortening the text (genre), the

sentencesTo build a strong foundation of language

skills.

8. EXPLOITABILITYPossible activities to be carried out – pre, while and

post.Will the selected text be able to develop further

activities? How?Lessons, which emphasise meaningful contexts and

the integration of language skills, allow pupils to learn by doing fun-filled activities. Contextualised as well as purposeful activities will promote the fun element in language learning.

Through fun-filled and meaningful activities in this component, pupils will gain a rich and invaluable experience in using the English language.

Creativity is the ability to produce something new in an imaginative and fun-filled way. Pupils in Year 1 and 2 will display interest, confidence and self-esteem through performance and producing simple creative works.