Using Simple Poems to Teach Grammar

HAWANUM HUSSEIN
Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN ), Malaysia
For many teachers, teaching grammar is a chore; for many students, grammar is a
bore. In Malaysia, teachers have been debating on the best method to teach
grammar for generations. A few prefer the old style discrete and explicit
explanations of the English syntax while many prefer the Communication
syllabus. Some academicians in the field of TESL suggest a blended approach
while emphasizing the need to explain the grammar points, and not to merely
teach it. This paper will discuss this blended approach and the use of creative
writing to teach and reinforce grammar points as well as language structure. This
is done through a creative writing class at UNITEN where students are taught to
write different kinds of simple poems using patterns that reinforce understanding
and correct usage of word classes and syntax. This paper will also discuss some
pedagogical issues concerning the teaching of grammar through creative writing
at an Intermediate Level.

Introduction
Not many English teachers relish the thought of teaching grammar due to the
complexity and irregularities in the syntax of the English language. Many more teachers
find it difficult to make students learn the correct syntax and grammatical rules. This is
even more compounded by the fact that Grammar as a subject is incredibly boring to
students and many turn off as soon as the grammar teaching begins. Teachers often ask
what exactly is the best way to teach grammar? What do the experts suggest? To answer
this question, a quick review of the methodology of teaching grammar might prove useful
as in actuality, it has undergone many transformations. In the early days of grammar
teaching, the grammar translation method required students to do the tedious tasks of
translating sentences into English based on grammar rules. However, many critics
including found fault with this method as it was too methodical and arithmetic-like as this
method encouraged the construction of sentences on a word by word basis. Thus,
students may end up constructing grammatically correct sentences but would be
perceived as unacceptable by most native speakers. (Howatt 1984)
In the 1940s and 50s the audio-lingual method was popularized by behavioural
psychologists such as Skinner and Watson. Teaching grammar was simply making
students learn language habits through numerous drills and pattern practices.

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(Brown, 1994). But again, there were problems with this method as there was no focus
or emphasis on the intentions, thinking, conscious planning and internal processes of the
learner (Stern, 1984, p.305 ).
In the 1970s and 80s the Communicative Approach propelled by sociolinguists
and the collective works of Krashen, Halliday and Hymes, replaced the audiolingual
method. This approach focuses on meaning rather than form (grammar rules) as it is
believed that it is meaning which drives language acquisition and development.
Proponents of this method cite numerous examples of individuals who have learnt a
foreign language without any formal instruction, lending more credence to this theory of
the importance of meaning over form. Ellis (1994) also noted in his review of research in
the 1970s that much of the Communicative L2 teaching focussed on meaning only. In the
1980s our own schools embraced this communicative approach and our own conundrum
began.
While the Communicative Approach simplified the teachers task, schools began
seeing hordes of students who could provide meaningful sentences but which were
often riddled with grammatical mistakes. The question teachers now often ask is - which
is the better way to teach grammar : implicitly or explicitly? Is a return to grammar
teaching necessary? Research indicates that a combination of form and meaning may be
the best teaching approach. A research by Prabhu (cited by Beretta & Davis, 1985)
showed that students who received meaning-based instruction did well on the meaningbased test but poorly on a grammar discrete-point test. The control group as expected, did
well on the grammar test but poorly on global and integrative test. Spada & Lightbrown
(1993) postulated that form focussed instruction and corrective feedback within the
context of communicative interaction can contribute positively to second language
development in both the short and long term (p.205). This is supported by CelceMurcia, Dornyei and Thurrell (1997) who suggest that the integration of form and
meaning is gaining importance in what they refer to as the principled communicative
approach. Musumeci (1997) went on further to say that students should learn grammar
explicitly but should also be given the opportunity to practise them in communicative
and authentic / simulated tasks.
For our Malaysian students for which English is a second language, communication is
important but for effective communication, a knowledge of the rules is sorely needed.
Pavel V. Sysoyev (2003) stresses this need for L2 students to receive both form and
meaning, which he labelled as Integrative Grammar Teaching.
It would seem that after many evolutions, the teaching of grammar and the many
issues surrounding it has come to its logical conclusion. Both fluency and accuracy are
desirable and cannot be taught in isolation. Thus, teachers should now try and find a way
to bridge this gap of providing meaning-based communicative lessons and the formbased, grammatical lessons. This paper will discuss an integrated or blended approach to
teaching and reinforcing grammar. Discussion of the grammar lessons will focus on how
grammar and structure can be taught and reinforced through the creative writing of a
variety of simple poems. For each kind of poem, specific teaching points will be
highlighted. Classroom experience and management such as instant feedback and
correction will also be discussed. The paper will also examine other incidental learning
experiences such as the use of dictionary skills and cooperative learning through group

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work. A description how simple poems were used to teach grammar point through a
series of classroom lessons will is included. The paper will also present some examples
of poems written by students enrolled in the Intensive English Program at UNITEN
demonstrating that with guidance from the teacher, even average students can write good
poems. To conclude, some general advantages of using simple poems as observed in the
classroom will be mentioned.
Using Simple Poems to Teach and Reinforce Grammar
Why use poems to teach grammar? Vicki Holmes and Margaret Moulton ( 2001) suggest
that poetry is an effective way of learning and reinforcing the sounds and structures of a
first and second language. Poems are often rhythmic in structure and are pleasing to the
mind and ear. Poetry writing challenges students to develop their creativity while at the
same time providing an excellent opportunity for them to practise structure and syntax in
a natural way. An added advantage observed in the writing class is the frequent use of
dictionaries by students as they try to complete their poems. This indirectly helps
students improve their vocabulary while giving the teacher a chance to introduce
dictionary skills.
Types of Poems Used in Writing Class.
The Intensive English Program at UNITEN is a preparatory, proficiency course designed
for school leavers who wish to enroll in UNITEN. In the writing class, a series of poems
were used to review and reinforce grammar rules the students should have learnt while
in school. This was deemed necessary as most of the students have limited to average
English proficiency. The majority were Malaysians but there were three Arab speaking
students from Sudan and Yemen.
The following are writing activities adapted from Holmes and Moultons Writing Simple
Poems .
A. The Acrostic
i. the basic acrostic poem
To start off the writing class, students were introduced to one of the simplest forms of
poems the Acrostic poem. Basically students select a name of a classmate and write an
acrostic poem based on that name. The name Diana is done this way:
Diligent
Intelligent
Angelic face
Nice
Active
( Nur Dalila Hamdan, 18 )

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ii. The Run-on Acrostic Poem

Teaching points : Spelling
Vocabulary
Dictionary usage
Simple Present / Past Tense
In the next lesson, students were instructed to write a variant of the acrostic poem called
the run-on acrostic and the grammar consciousness lesson officially begins. Students
revised the past and present tenses and then were asked to write a run-on acrostic. The
following is an example:

TRIBAL

There is a girl in my school that I like.

Rita Rudaini is her name.
I have like her since I was in form 3.
But I am to shy to tell her.
All my friends tried to get her.
Luckily, she also likes me.
( Muhammad Suffian Zaharia, 18 )
Predictably, students made many grammar mistakes which were corrected by the teacher
in class and afterwards in written form. Not surprisingly, many of the students were able
to correct their own mistakes when these were pointed out to them. Students were then
asked to re-write their poems before marks were given for creativity.

1. i. Adjective Poems
Teaching Points : Adjectives
Adjectives after linking verbs
Basic sentence structure
Dictionary usage
The next few classes focused on parts of speech, and word class. The lesson began with a
revision of the basic structure of an English sentence
Subject verb predicate
(noun) is/are ( complement )
Subject

verb

object.
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( noun) ( action verb) ( noun )

The teacher observed that students had difficulty identifying the basic structure and word
class. To help them students use the structure, the adjective poem pattern was shown to
them.

PATTERN
Line 1 : Noun
Line 2 : Same noun + is or are + adjective
Line 3 : Same noun + is or are + adjective1, adjective 2
Line 4 : Is or are + adjective 1, adjective 2, adjective 3
Line 5 : Adjective 1, adjective 2, adjective 3, adjective 4
Line 6 : New related noun/
They were also shown examples of this kind of poem before they actually started writing
their own poems. The following are a few examples of adjective poems written and
revised by students :
Mom,
Mom is magnanimous,
Mom is magnanimous, magnificent,
Is magnanimous, magnificent,
merciful,
Magnanimous, magnificent,
merciful, moderate
Woman.
(Yuhanie A Rusli, 18 )

Coffee
Coffee is bitter
Coffee is bitter, marvelous
Is bitter, marvelous, satisfying,
Bitter, marvelous, satisfying, splendid.
Coffee Bean
(Nur Asma Hussain, 18 )

As the students wrote their poems, the teacher monitored their work and pointed out
problems with the structure and subject verb agreement. It was also observed that many
had problems with adjectives and used nouns to modify the subject.
A typical mistake would be : She is success.
This presented an excellent opportunity for the teacher to point out markers in their
dictionaries to help them differentiate adjectives ( adj) , nouns and adverbs ( adv)

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B ii. Adjective Placement Poem

Teaching Points : Adjectives
Placement of Adjectives
Subject Verb Agreement.
Present Progressive Tense

To help students learn the placement of adjectives, an adjective placement poem was
used.
The lesson began with what Pavel Sysoyev (2003) would identify as the
Exploration Stage in the Integrative L2 grammar lesson. The teacher gave each group of
students three sets of cards consisting of adjectives and a noun. They were then given
time to sort the adjectives out in the correct order and to explain what grammar rule was
used. After some discussion, they were shown the correct way to order adjectives:
Order of Adjectives
1.
2.
3.
4.

determiners
possessive words
ordinal numbers
cardinal numbers

5. general description
6. size, height, length
7. shape
8. age, temperature

9. colour
10. origin
11. nouns as adjectives
12. head noun

( Holmes & Moulton, 2003 )

To write the poem, students were told that they were going on a long trip and must decide
what to bring to keep them happy. The first and second line and part of the last line were
given to the students. They were instructed to use at least three adjectives in a row to
describe their favourite things (nouns). After the writing stage, they were asked to
exchange papers and check the correct order of adjectives. This was done to introduce to
them the concept of peer editing which is an integral part of any process writing class. As
this was happening, the teacher went around to monitor the activity and asked students to
correct grammar mistakes in their poems as necessary. The following are two examples
of the adjective placement poem:

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Pluto

Hawaii

Were taking a jet plane to Pluto

And were taking a long our favourite
things:
A complete set of hi-fi system,
Three sets of romantic Japanese series,
Some scary, Japanese horror movies,
A huge, ultra high voltage power
generator,
A big, super, ultra high frequency radar,
A brand new Malaysian made WAJA,
Twenty warm, thick jackets,
And most important, a functional
automatic radiator.
( Lau Chin Yun, 18 )

Im taking a trip to Hawaii

And Im taking along my favourite
things :
My sporty, new, brown Camel Active
shoes,
A big, plasma TV,
One pack of Pokemon cards,
A comfortable, black, German
sweater,
A pair of sexy, old swimming trunks,
And most important, my beautiful
grandmother.
( Muhd. Zarif Kamrdin, 18 )

2. Alphabet Poem
Teaching points : Verbs
Past Tense
Dictionary Usage.
Cooperative Leaning through group work
An alphabet poem can be used to teach parts of speech or sentence structure while
reinforcing dictionary skills. Since this kind of poem is rather long, students were put
into groups to write two kinds of alphabet poems. This group poem required the students
to use their dictionary extensively and to work together to collate group ideas into one
group poem. To warm up the class, each group was asked to list on the board all the
things that could be found in a teenagers closet alphabetically. To write the second poem,
students had to start each letter with a verb in the past tense. This enabled the class to
revise their verbs in the simple past tense while writing some wacky and often hilarious
group poems:

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What I Did The Last School Holidays ( Verbs )

What I Did The Last School Holidays ( Verbs )

Accessed information from the internet

Babbled with my friend
Conversed with my principal
Donated some clothes to the orphanage
Escorted my best friend to see her boyfriend
Fought often with my sister
Gave my football cards to my friends
Hacked into the computer system
Insisted on colouring my room pink
Joined the army for a week
Kicked my neighbours dog
Learned how to cook
Murdered my brothers girlfriend
Nagged my neighbours daughter
Opposed my parents plans to go to Langkawi
Puzzled why my parents went to Langkawi
without me
Qualified to join the Newboyz group
Rebuilt my tree house after my brother threw
stones at it
Sold my hand phone because it was broken
Took my young brother to his friends house
Unfertilized the soil behind my backyard
Vandalized a bus stop with my friend
Waited for my girlfriend at the bus stop which I
had vandalized
X-rayed my body
Yelled at the field
Zapped my discipline teachers car.

Acted like superman

Broke up with my girlfriend
Crashed my fathers car
Demolished my house with my friend
Entered a disco with my neighbour
Found a short cut to the Mall
Gathered with my ex-schoolmates at a restaurant
Hopped all over my house
Invited my friends to dinner
Jumped from the top floor into the swimming pool
Killed my lecturers cats
Loitered around UNITEN
Made contact with my best friend
Named all my kittens
Overflowed my bathtub
Partied all night
Quarreled with my family
Relaxed, relaxed and relaxed
Slept, slept, slept
Turned into a good boy
Urged my father to buy me a car
Video-conferenced with my friends
Wiped all my cards
X-rayed my body parts
Yelled at my neighbour
Zoomed into my neighbours room.

( Hanief, Shahab, Suffian, Nurfadhilah,

Nur Asma )

( Mohd Zarif, Mohd Khairy, Nur Dalila, Mohd

Khairul, Nur Syahida )

3. Adverb Poem
Teaching Points : Verbs
Adverbs
Articles / Determiners
Phrases
Clauses
Dictionary usage
Logically, the next class focussed on adverbs and how they are used to modify verbs.
The students were shown that adverbs often end with ly but may also take other forms
such as often, fast, and high. After the class discussion, they were shown the poem
pattern which was very similar to the adjective poem. To restrict topics and to help
students overcome that Have no idea, teacher phenomenon, students were asked to
give some nouns which were written on the board. As they wrote their poem, the teacher
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assumed the regular role of monitoring their writing and helping them correct their own
mistakes as necessary. Common mistakes noticed and corrected were subject-verbagreement and the omission of articles before the noun. Students also asked the
difference between a frog and the frog. The following are examples of their adverb
poems following the pattern shown below:
PATTERN
Line 1 : Noun
Line 2 : Same noun + verb + adverb 1
Line3 : Same noun + verb + adverb 1, adverb 2
Line 4 : Verb + adverb 1, adverb 2, adverb 3
Line 5 : Adverb 1, adverb 2, adverb 3, adverb 4
Line 6 : Phrase or clause showing condition, time or place.

The poet
The poet writes fantastically,
The poet writes fantastically, amazingly,
Writes fantastically, amazingly, sensationally,
Fantastically, amazingly, sensationally,
emotionally,
In the quiet room.
( Romlydiawati Mohd Sarazlee, 18 )

The goat
The goat bleats happily,
The goat bleats happily, disturbingly,
Bleats happily, disturbingly, wierdly,
Happily, disturbingly, weirdly, calmly,
When it sees a female goat.
( Mohd Khairy Effendy, 18 )

The bride
The bride walks silently,
The bride walks silently, confidently,
The bride walks silently, confidently, nervously,
Silently, confidently, nervously, beautifully
In the church.
( Amyra NA Draman, 18 )

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A frog
A frog jumps alone
A frog jumps alone, quietly,
Jumps alone, quietly, quickly,
Alone, quietly, quickly, energetically
In the bush.
( Nursyahida Mohd Jaafar, 18 )

D. Preposition Poems.
Teaching Points : Prepositions
Prepositional Phrases
Clauses
Prepositions are small, very handy words which are often misused. In this class, students
revised commonly used prepositions and also some not quite so commonly used. To
review prepositions, students were shown the chorus from Nick Kershaws song The
Riddle and were asked to identify the prepositions in the song :

near a tree by a river

there's a hole in the ground
where an old man of Aran
goes around and around
and his mind is a beacon
in the veil of the night
for a strange kind of fashion
there's a wrong and a right
but he'll never, never fight over you.
To make the set induction more interesting, the teacher agreed to sing the chorus if the
students could correctly identify all the propositions.
During the input stage, students were asked for other prepositions that they know of and
the function of prepositions. The teacher then showed a list of commonly used
prepositions :
About
Above
Across
After
Against
Along
Among
Around
At
Before

behind
below
beneath
beside
between
beyond
by
down
for

from
in
into
of
off
on
over
through
throughout
to

toward
under
underneath
until
up
upon
with
within
without

To help students revise the use of prepositions, they were asked to orally present a
prepositional phrase. Following that, the pattern for the poem is shown to them, along
with some examples:

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PATTERN : 1
Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
Line 4
Line 5
Line 6

PATTERN 2 :

: Prepositional phrase 1
: Prepositional phrase 2
: Prepositional phrase 3
: Prepositional phrase 4
: Prepositional phrase 5
: Main clause about an event
or object

1. Use prepositions in the middle of

the line.
2. Use prepositions to show
sequencing logic.

A quick lesson on phrases and clauses was necessary to facilitate the writing of the poem.
Some common problems observed was the wrong use of prepositions and some confusion
between the use of through and throughout as well as under and beneath. Overall,
some of the poems written by the students were quite good as seen by the following
which were rewritten and corrected by the students:

Here I live
In my house
In the village
In a state
In my country
In Africa
On earth.

In the mansion in the big room

Near the window
By the fireplace
On the couch
An ragged, old man cries alone.

( Ahmad ElFadilfathal Rahman

Taha, 18 )

( Nur Dalila Hamdan &

Diana Mohd Shukor )

Before the break of dawn

Outside my hometown
Into the woods
Beneath the milky twilight
Along with my friends
The scouts are searching for a
better place to build a campfire.

Beside the beach

Under the palm tree
On the lazy chair
With my binoculars
After the sunset
Im watching the moonlight.

( Rabiah Mohd Rais &

Nur Adwa Abu Jamil )

( Mohd Fawwaz Mohd Jais &

Norfadhilah Ismail )

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E I am or We Are poems
Teaching Points : Sentences
Subject Verb Agreement
(Subordinate Clauses )
After the numerous lessons on parts of speech and word class, the last lesson discussed in
this paper is a longer poem which students write in pairs or threes. This poem required
students to use complete sentences and write three stanzas. To begin writing, the students
were given an interest web aimed at generating ideas, words or phrases that described
them. The web included
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

special things about themselves

their hopes, dreams wants
things they often say, hear or touch
what they often wonder about or imagine
what they worry and/or cry about.

Examples were also shown as a model to help the students write their poem.
This poem proved more challenging as it required creativity as well as grammar accuracy.
The most amusing of the lot is the one below written by three boys: a Malay, a Sudanese
and a Yemeni.
We are
We are loving guys
We wonder about the girls and our families
We hear voices of ladies
We see beautiful girls
We want to get married
We are loving guys
We pretend to be fathers
We feel important about getting married
We touch the rings of our wives
We worry if our wives will find another husband
We cry if our children die
We are loving guys
We understand that marriage is a new life
We say that our plans will be true
We dream that we are having children
We try to make our wives happy
We hope to have a nice life with our family
We are loving guys.
( Hazimin Mohd., Abdul Aziz Rabea Omar Lashram, & Ahmed Elfadilfathal R, Taha )

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Generally, the teacher observed some benefits and advantages of using simple
poems to review and reinforce and perhaps even teach grammar. One apparent advantage
is that it takes the tedium out of teaching grammar. The students found the class
enjoyable and even the weakest student could write a passable poem. The more
proficient ones were challenged to write creatively. While the writing was in progress,
the teacher was able to monitor and provide immediate feedback to the students by asking
them to explain ungrammatical or ambiguous phrases/clauses in their poems. An
additional advantage is the frequent use of dictionaries which enabled the teaching of
dictionary skills while at the same time, providing the avenue for vocabulary expansion.
Conclusion
The teaching of grammar is by far, the most challenging task any teacher may face in
his/her daily classroom. Many do not wish to teach grammar explicitly but are keenly
aware that students need an understanding of the rules to achieve fluency as well as
accuracy. The Communicative Syllabus in place in our schools frowns upon the teaching
of grammar per se and emphasizes meaning through communicative activities. The
introduction of Literature was primarily an effort to improve the proficiency of our
students. While it may have made English classes a tad more interesting, the objective of
achieving what is deemed as acceptable standard English still remains to be seen. What
is apparent though, is that many students leaving schools and entering universities do not
have adequate proficiency to excel in their studies. This is even more crucial in private
universities and Uitm where English is the medium of instruction. One possible solution
is thus, the blended or integrated approach to grammar teaching where there is a focus on
the form but the activity is meaning based. This paper is an attempt to share such an
approach to teaching grammar and reinforcing structure as the first step in a multimoduled writing class. It was designed to approach and correct grammar mistakes at an
intermediate level before students moved on to academic writing which entails writing
academic essays. It can be said that the first module of the writing class was partially
successful as there were some marked improvement in some of the students writings.
This was more apparent in the weakest students and the foreign students. Those with
average proficiency did not improve much. It was noted that they were able to identify
their grammar mistakes when these were pointed out by the teacher. However, the
students continue to produce the same grammatical mistakes in their writing. This would
suggest a lack of concern for accuracy, perhaps an indirect effect of the Communicative
approach. As with any lesson, the teacher may teach but it is the student who chooses to
learn or not to learn. In any case, the students found the class challenging and interesting
as evident from their poems. And that is in itself, a major success to breaking the
traditional view of grammar classes as dull and immensely boring.

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Holmes, V. & Moulton, M.R. ( 2001). Writing Simple Poems. Oxford: OUP
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