Tefl.NET Forums

Hi! I need some help with creating a lesson plan for an adult. She wants to work on her pronunciation for two hours and said she would like to use poems. That's easy enough, but I think I'll need more than that to fill up two hours! Any ideas?

I'd work on the typical problems of her native language; eg distinction between r and l for a Chinese person.

If tell me her first language, reason for learning English, age and level I may be able to help more.

She's Russian, middle-aged and living in America right now. I don't know too terribly much about her work, nor am I certain how I should describe her level- she understands very well, and I would say she is an intermediate-advanced speaker, if that helps at all.

Additionally, if I may ask, what do you feel are some good poems to work on pronunciation with? I was thinking Robert Frost- probably "The Death of the Hired Man" (two hours is a long time!) as well as some of his shorter poems.

Hi,
I can't advise you on a poem to use. Personally, I don't use poems for teaching English for the very reason that native speakers love poems: poetic licence. Poets play with language, alter pronunciation and create new meanings for words. If I had a literature student, I would work on poems with him/her, but I've never been in that situation. I think poems belong in a literature class and not a general English class. The best I can say is to choose a poem whose language is accessible.

You've obviously got a very educated lady here who wants to understand literature and it's good that you are giving her what she wants. Is there any way that she could choose the poem or at least a poet? I'd start with you reading the poem to her or play her a recording if you can find one. You can make some sort of listening activity around this. You can use the poem to work on pronunciation, stress, the schwa, rhythm and to discuss the student's understanding of the poem.
Hope this helps,

Lucy