Speaker
Description
What happens when poetry, rhythm, and collaboration meet in the EFL classroom? This session explores a creative writing activity in which students write poems in the vein of George Ella Lyon’s Where I’m From, then perform them together over simple beats made with music technology (Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators). Participants will try a short hands-on version of the activity and leave with ideas for integrating poetry, performance, and sound into their teaching.
Keywords
poetry
music
performance
spoken-word
Short summary
What happens when poetry, rhythm, and collaboration meet in the EFL classroom? This session explores a creative writing activity in which students write poems in the vein of George Ella Lyon’s Where I’m From, then perform them together over simple beats made with music technology. Participants will try a short hands-on version of the activity and leave with ideas for integrating poetry, performance, and sound into their teaching.
References
Piscayanti, K. S., Mujiyanto, J., Yuliasri, I., & Bharati, D. A. L. (2023). “Take me home”: Hearing the voice of poetic identity and language development in EFL poetry writing. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Science, Education, and Technology. https://proceeding.unnes.ac.id/index.php/ISET/article/view/1974
Beaumont, N. E. (2022). Poetry and motion: Rhythm, rhyme, and embodiment as oral literacy pedagogy for young additional language learners. Education Sciences, 12(12), 905. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12120905
Abstract
Many of us can picture people in early communities gathered together, telling stories and making rhythm with their voices and hands. Story and rhythm have long been ways of expressing identity and belonging, and they continue to play an important role in how language is learned and shared. In this presentation, I describe a creative writing and performance activity used in a university EFL setting in which students write identity-based poems and collaboratively perform them with simple beat-making devices.
In the activity, students first write short poems inspired by George Ella Lyon’s Where I’m From, using the repeated line “I’m from …” to explore personal memories and identity. They then work in groups of four, selecting two lines each to combine into a short group poem. Using Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators (calculator-sized, intuitive electronic music devices), the groups create simple beats and perform their poems collaboratively, speaking their lines over the rhythm they have made.
This activity is informed by research suggesting that identity-focused poetry can support self-expression and a sense of ownership in EFL writing (Piscayanti et al., 2023), while rhythmic and performance-based approaches can increase engagement and support spoken language development (Beaumont, 2022). By bringing together creative writing, small-group performance, and accessible music technology, the activity integrates creative expression and collaboration.
Participants will have an opportunity to create mini spoken-word and music presentations of their own, and a list of alternative music-generation websites and applications will be provided.
| Scheduling preference | Anytime on Saturday |
|---|---|
| Title | Beats & Pieces: Poetry and Music Performance in University EFL Settings |