POETRY

Poetry is a compact language that expresses complex feelings. To understand the multiple meanings of a poem, readers must examine its words and phrasing from the perspectives of rhythm, sound, images, obvious meaning, and implied meaning. Readers then need to organize responses to the verse into a logical, point-by-point explanation. A good beginning involves asking questions that apply to most poetry.

The context of the Poem

Clear answers to the following questions can help establish the context of a poem and form the foundation of understanding:

• Who wrote the poem? Does the poet's life suggest any special point of view, such as a political affiliation, religious sect, career interest, musical talent, family or personal problems, travel, or handicap — for example, H. D.'s feminism, Amiri Baraka's radicalism, T. S. Eliot's conversion to Anglicanism, William Carlos Williams' career as a physician, A. R. Ammons' training in chemistry, Amy Lowell's aristocratic background, John Berryman's alcoholism, or Hart Crane's homosexuality?
• When was the poem written and in what country? Knowing something about the poet's life, times, and culture helps readers understand what's in a poem and why.
• Does the poem appear in the original language? If not, readers should consider that translation can alter the language and meaning of a poem.
• Is the poem part of a special collection or series? Examples of such series and collections include Edna St. Vincent Millay's sonnets, Carl Sandburg's Chicago Poems, or Rita Dove's triad, "Adolescence — I, II, and III."
• Does the poem belong to a particular period or literary movement? For example, does the poem relate to imagism, confessional verse, the Beat movement, the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights era, the American Indian renaissance, or feminism?

Style of the Poem

Into what category does the poem fit — for example, Carl Sandburg's imagism in "Fog" or Gwendolyn Brooks' epic "The Anniad"? Readers should apply definitions of the many categories to determine which describes the poem's length and style:

• Is it an epic, a long poem about a great person or national hero?
• Is it a lyric, a short, musical verse?
• Is it a narrative, a poem that tells a story?
• Is it a haiku, an intense, lyrical three-line verse of seventeen syllables?
• Is it confessional? For example, does it examine personal memories and experiences?

Title of the Poem

• Is the title's meaning obvious? For example, does it mention a single setting and action, such as W. S. Merwin's "The Drunk in the Furnace" or James A. Wright's "Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio"?
• Does it imply multiple possibilities? For example, Jean Toomer's "Georgia Dusk," which refers to a time of day as well as to dark-skinned people.
• Does it strike a balance, as in Rita Dove's "Beulah and Thomas"?
• Is there an obvious antithesis, as with Robert Frost's "Fire and Ice"?
• Is there historical significance to the title? For example, Robert Lowell's "The Quaker Graveyard in Nantucket."

Repetition in the Poem

Readers should read through a poem several times, at least once aloud. If it is a long poem, such as Allen Ginsberg's Howl or Hart Crane's The Bridge, readers should concentrate on key passages and look for repetition of specific words, phrases, or verses in the poem.

• Why is there a repeated reference to the sea in Robinson Jeffers's poetry?
• Why does the pronoun "we" recur in Gwendolyn Brooks' "We Real Cool"?
• Why does Edgar Lee Masters reprise epitaphs for Spoon River Anthology?

If readers note repetition in the poem, they should decide why certain information seems to deserve the repetition.

Opening and Closing Lines of the Poem

• Does the poet place significant information or emotion in these places? For example, when reading Marianne Moore's "Poetry," readers may question the negative stance in the opening lines.
• Does the poet intend to leave a lasting impression by closing with a particular thought? For example, why does Langston Hughes' "Harlem" lead to the word "explode"?

Passage of Time in the Poem

• Can readers pin down a time frame? What details specify time?
• Does the poet name a particular month or season, as with Amy Lowell's "Patterns"?
• Is there a clear passage of time, as with the decline of the deceased woman in Denise Levertov's "Death in Mexico"?
• How long is the period of time? Are there gaps?

Speaker of the Poem

• Who is the speaker? Is the person male or female?
• Does the voice speak in first person (I, me, my, mine), for example, John Berryman's "Huffy Henry"?
• Does the speaker talk directly to a second person, as with Adrienne Rich's "Diving into the Wreck"?
• Is the voice meant to be universal — for example, applicable to either sex at any time or place?

Names of Characters

• Does the name of a character suggest extra meaning, such as Eben Flood (an alcoholic) in Edwin Arlington Robinson's "Mr. Flood's Party" and T. S. Eliot's prissy protagonist in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"?

Basic Details of the Poem

• Is the poet deliberately concealing information from the readers, as with the source of depression in Robert Lowell's "Skunk Hour"?
• Why does the poet leave out significant facts? Are readers supposed to fill in the blanks, for example, the relationship between mother and daughter in Cathy Song's "The White Porch" or the perplexity of a modern tourist in Allen Tate's "Ode to the Union Dead"?

Culture

• Does the poem stress cultural details, such as the behavior, dress, or speech habits of a particular group or a historical period or event — for instance, the death of an airline stewardess in James Dickey's "Falling"?
• Are any sections written in dialect, slang, or foreign words, as with the Deep South patois of Sterling Brown's "Ma Rainey"?

Fantasy versus Reality

• Is the poem an obvious fantasy, as is the case with the intense confrontation in Sylvia Plath's "Daddy" and the setting of Rita Dove's "Geometry"?

Mood and Tone of the Poem

• What is the mood of the poem? Is it cheerful or jolly like limericks? Is it mysterious, provocative, zany, ominous, festive, fearful, or brooding, as with Randall Jarrell's "Sad Heart at the Supermarket"? Does the mood change within the body of the work, as with Joy Harjo's "The Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window"? Why does the mood shift? Where does the shift begin?
• What is the poet's tone? Is it satiric, serious, mock serious, playful, somber, brash, or teasingly humorous, as with Robert Frost's "Departmental: The End of My Ant Jerry"? Does the poet admire, agree with, ridicule, or condemn the speaker, as in the touch of mock heroic in Richard Wilbur's "The Death of a Toad"? Is there an obvious reason for the poet's attitude, as suggested by the suffering in James Dickey's "Angina"? Does the poet withhold judgment, as is the case with the epitaphs of Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology?

Themes of the Poem

Locating and identifying theme is crucial to understanding dominant ideas; theme is the poem's essence.

• Is the subject youth, loss, renewal, patriotism, nature, love? Are there several themes? How do these themes relate to each other?
• Is the poet merely teasing or entertaining or trying to teach a lesson, as do Robinson Jeffers' "Hurt Hawks" and Marianne Moore's "The Mind Is an Enchanted Thing"?
• Does the poet emphasize the theme by means of onomatopoeia, personification, or controlling images?

Rhythm of the Poem

• Is there a dominant rhythm? Does it dance, frolic, meander, slither, or march? Is it conversational, like a scene from a drama? Is it a droning monologue, as found in a journal, diary, or confessional?
• Does the rhythm relate to the prevalent theme of the poem? Or does it seem at odds with the theme?
• Does the rhythm increase or decrease in speed, as does Ezra Pound's Hugh Selwyn Mauberley: Life and Contacts? Why?

Use of the Senses in the Poem

• Does the poem stress sense impressions — for example, taste, touch, smell, sound, or sight? Are these impressions pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral?
• Does the poet concentrate on a single sense or a burst of sensation, as in Wallace Stevens's "Peter Quince at the Clavier" or Elizabeth Bishop's "The Fish"?

Imagery in the Poem

• Are there concrete images or pictures that the poet wants readers to see?
• Are the pictures created by means of comparisons — for instance, metaphor or simile? Do inanimate objects take on human traits (personification)? Does the speaker talk to inanimate objects or to such abstract ideas as freedom?

Language of the Poem

• Does the poet stress certain sounds, such as pleasant sounds (euphony) or harsh letter combinations (cacophony), as demonstrated by Wendy Rose's title "Academic Squaw"?
• Are certain sounds repeated (alliteration, sibilance), as in the insistent a sounds in Amiri Baraka's "A Poem for Willie Best"?
• Are words linked by approximate rhyme, like "seem/freeze," or by real rhyme, such as "least/feast"? Is there a rhyme scheme or sound pattern at the ends of lines, as with the interlocking rhymes of Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"? Does rhyming occur within a line (internal rhyme), as in "black flak" in Randall Jarrell's "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner"?
• Is there onomatopoeia, or words that make a sound that imitates their meaning, such as swoosh, ping pong, ricochet, clangor, plash, wheeze, clack, boom, tingle, slip, fumble, or clip-clop, as with the verb "soar" in Edna St. Vincent Millay's "On Thought in Harness"?

Supplemental Materials

• Has the editor included any preface, explanatory notes, or concluding comments and questions; for example, T. S. Eliot's dedication of The Waste Land or Wendy Rose's use of epigraphs?
• Are there notes and comments in a biography, poet's letters and essays, critical analyses, Web site, or anthology, such as biographical footnotes to Anne Sexton's "Sylvia's Death" and the many commentaries on Hart Crane's The Bridge?
• Is there an electronic version, such as the poet reading original verse on the Internet? Are there notes on the record jacket, cassette box, or CD booklet, as found on recordings of Adrienne Rich's feminist verse?

Drawing Conclusions

After answering the questions presented in this introduction, readers should paraphrase or restate the poem in everyday words, as though talking to someone on the telephone. A summary of the poem should emphasize a pattern of details, sounds, or rhythm. For example, do various elements of the poem lead readers to believe that the poet is describing an intense experience? Is the poet defining something, such as parenthood, risking a life, curiosity, marriage, religious faith, or aging, as in Denise Levertov's "A Woman Alone"? Is the poet telling a story event by event? Does the poet want to sway the reader's opinion, as Louise Bogan does in "Evening in the Sanitarium"?

Before reaching a conclusion about the meaning of a poem, readers should summarize their personal responses. Are they emotionally moved or touched by the poem? Are they entertained or repulsed, terrified or stirred to agree? Do words and phrases stick in their memory? How has the poet made an impression? And most important, why?

POETRY ANALYSIS: OPEN FORM -->

OPEN FORM

INTRODUCTION

            The structure or pattern of organization that a poet chooses in writing a poem is referred to as being either open or closed. An open form does not have an established pattern to it, whether it be in line length, meter, rhyme, imagery, syntax, or stanzas. An open form poem allows the poet to write freely without worrying about trying to make the words fit a specific meter or rhyme scheme.

            It is allows the poet to place the words anywhere on the page to create a desired effect, such as setting lines off by themselves for emphasis or creating a picture with the placement of the words. It is indicate a fresh and individual arrangement for words in every poem. Many open form types exist, and good poets have often mastered several over the same period, even mixing them in the one poem.

            Poets who write in open forms usually insist on the form growing out of the writing process, i.e. The poems follow what the words and phrase suggest during the composition process, rather than being fitted into any pre-existing plan. Some do employ vestiges of traditional devices rhyme, meter, alliteration, but most regard them as hidrance to sincerity or creativity.

            In this paper we will learn about how to write an open form in poetry, what is visual poetry and how to read a poem in open form. Also we will learn and analyze the open form poem by Walt Whitman (1855).

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CONTAIN

            Poetry in open form used to be called free verse. The rhythms of poem by using a little white space or a lot, a slight identation or deep one, depending on whether a short pause or a long one is intended. In open form, you may read just as you would normally read a sentence in prose. Free verse is a form of poetry that refrains from consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any other musical pattern. When we write an open-form poem, try to be very conscious. Everything in the poem, every feature, every aspect, must have a reason for being there. Open form poetry usually has no meter to lend it rhythm. Poets writing in open forms argue that their approaches make for greater freedom to find the appropriate expression, and the words are not regimented into set meanings.

            Use experimental techniques that blast open the possibilities of words on the printed page. When you use the open form, you start to impose on your poem and yourself all sorts of rules. Think of open-form poetry as a way of thinking an especially intense awareness of every single aspect of the poem, from subject and tone to music and rhythm, from the physical shape of the poem to the length (in space and in time) of the lines, from the grammar you use to the parts of speech.

            Visual poetry is poetry or art in which the visual arrangement of text, images and symbols is important in conveying the intended effect of the work. It is sometimes referred to as concrete poetry, a term that predates visual poetry, and at one time was synonymous with it. The act of writing an experimental or visual poem is limited only by your imagination. You can spin or form your words, write them up, down, or circled around the page, draw pictures and play with the lettering to your heart’s content.

            A poem in stanzas can please us by its visual symmetry. And far from being merely decorative, the visual devices of a poem can be meaningful, too. Typographical devices such as capital letters and italics also can lay stress upon words.

POEM ANALYSIS

Song of Myself

By: Walt Whitman

Here and there with dimes on the eyes walking,

To feed the greed of the belly brains liberally spooning,

Tickets buying, taking, selling, but into the feast never once going,

Many sweating, ploughing, thrashing, and then the chaff for payment receiving,

A few idly owning, and they the wheat continually claiming.

Analysis:

This poem is trying to say how unique his feelings and thoughts are, Whitman emphasizes his ordinariness. The idea behind “Song of Myself” is that individual identity is temporary but transcedent. As I wrote before, in the introduction that it is indicate a fresh and individual arrangement for words every poems. And allows the poet to write freely without worrying about trying to make the words fit a specific or difficulty.

In this poem also indicate that open-form poem mix with every feature, every aspect and they must have a reason for being there. It’s simply in the line two and three, “Tickets buying, taking, selling, but into the feast never once going,

Many sweating, ploughing, thrashing, and then the chaff for payment receiving,”.

“Song of Myself” includes many modulations of tone as it moves towards and its climax. To work out the theme of endless renewal, between description and emotion. As I wrote before in contain, that poets writing in open forms argue that their approaches make greater freedom to find the appropriate expression into set meanings.

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CONCLUSION

An open form poem allows the poet to write freely without worrying about trying to make the words fit a specific meter or rhyme scheme. Usually open form is called by free verse poem. Free verse is a form of poetry that refrains from consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any other musical pattern. Poets writing in open form argue that their approaches make for greater freedom to find the appropriate expression, and the words are not regimented into set meanings.

The act of writing an experimental or visual poem is limited only by your imagination. You can spin or form your words, write them up, down, or circled around the page, draw pictures and play with the lettering to your heart’s content. The only rule of thumb, if it can even be called such it is to remember that visual poetry combines what you see and feel inside with the words you put on the page. Sometimes, your experience will be so graphic and visual that you will find the poem to be very sparse in word count, but loaded with eye-catching features.

By: Violita Sekar Arum Batari

POETRY “Figures of Speech”

POETRY “Figures of Speech”

POETRY  “Figures of Speech”

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Figurative speech is speech which employs various figures of speech. So, it is kind of expression in which words are used out of  their ordinary use with the aim to add beauty or emotional strength and to transfer the poet's sense impressions by comparing or identifying one thing with another that has a meaning familiar to the reader. Some examples of figures of speech are: metaphor,simile, personification, hyperbole, understatement, metonymy, paradox,and paronomasia.

Such as this example; “I will speak daggers to her, but use none,” says Hamlet, preparing to confront his mother. His statement makes sense only because we realize that daggers is to be taken two ways: literally (denoting sharp, pointed weapons) and nonliterally (referring to something that can be used like weapons-namely, words). Sometimes also use figurative to exaggerate statements, to attribute qualities of an object, to indicate human characteristic to non human,

In reading poetry, we often meet comparisons between two things whose similarity we have never noticed before. Like imagery, figurative language refers us to the physical words. Use the figurative in poem will give the poem power and they are more than just ways of playing with words.

CHAPTER II

CONTENT

·         Metaphor

Metaphor is used to attribute qualities to an object not normally related with those qualities. Example:

Love is the wild card of existence

Oh, my love is a red, red rose.

·         Simile

Simile is a similar can be a direct comparison between two things aren’t particularly similar in there essence. It indicates by some connective, usually like, as, than, or a verb such asresembles. Here are examples:

Oh, my love is like a red, red rose.                             

Oh, my love resembles a red, red rose.                      

Oh, my love is redder than a rose.                             

If we are aware of the connotations of red rose (beauty, softness, freshness, etc), then the line “My love is like a red, red rose” need not to call to mind a woman with a scarlet face and a thorny neck.

·         Personification

It is a process of assigning human characteristic to non human objects, abstraction or ideas. See James Stephens’ poem in first stanza in his poem titled The Wind:

The wind stood up and gave a shout.             

He whistled on his fingers and           

It means that the wind is a wild man, and evidently it is not just any autumn breeze but a hurricane or at least a stiff gale.

·         Hyperbole

Hyperbole is a figure of speech which employs exaggeration used for rhetorical effect. The effect of hyperbole in this particular instance and in many other in fiction is a dramatic heightening. Example: “Vaster than empires, and more slow”. Hyperbole can be used also for humorous purposes, as; “Every time I shake, some skinny gal loses her home.”

·         Metonymy

The substitution of a word closely associated with another word in place of that other word. Such as this example:

Is all the proud and mighty have

Between the cradle and the grave,

We know that cradle and grave signify birth and death. And between them is a life.

·         Paradox

Paradox occurs in a statement that at first strikes us as self-contradictory but than just reflection makes some sense. Example: “Lives in a larger world than the globe-trotter.” two different meanings of larger are contrasted: “greater in spiritual values” versus “greater in miles”.

CHAPTER III

CONCLUSION

             Personifying objects can be an easy description of another thing. Through metonymy, a poet can focus our attention on a particular detail in a larger object; using hyperbole make us see the physical actuality in back of words. paradox cause us to realize this actuality and enjoyably at the same time. Poetry provides the one permissible way of saying one thing and meaning another.

References

·         How to analyze poetry. Christopher Russell Reaske. Monarch press.

·         Steinmann, Martin and Gerald Willen. Literature for Writing(second edition. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2004

In this chapter, the writer wants to analyze the poem from unknown author that implied some figures of speech.

Love is a dream

Love is a dream
Its gone as we wake up
Leaving some moments
To be cherished

Love is like a wind
It embraces us with passion
leaving the scent of fresh flowers
tingling our mind

Love is like a water bubble
Beautiful to see from far
Even rainbows are visible
But a tender touch will break it
Leaving a refreshing sprinkle

Love resembles a shadow
We try to escape but it follow
At times it makes us hollow
It disappears with the sun
And leave us in the Nights
To Haunt all over again

My love race along to your heart than water racing

Is all soft and strong

Between the mountain and beach

·         Metaphor

The data: according to poem “Love Is a Dream”

a.       In stanza I: Love is a dream

Comment: in my analysis for love is a dream is that human usually doesn’t realize that the love has been coming to their hearts. As dream that comes while people sleeping. It gone as we wake up and leave some moments

·         Simile

The data:

a.       In stanza II: Love is like a wind

b.      In stanza III: Love is like a water bubble

c.       In stanza IV: Love resembles a shadow

Comment: according to the data above, the author describe love as wind means that wind blow and vestige some senses of memories. And the author considers that love is beautiful by imagining it as rainbow that seems in water’s flow.

·         Personification

The data:

a.      In stanza II: It embraces us with passion

b.      In stanza III: But a tender touch will break it

Comment: based on the data that it refer to wind that imagined it can hold human with a strong feeling. Another one described that love as air ball that broke if someone touches it.

·         Hyperbole

The data:

a.       In stanza IV: At times it makes us hollow

Comment: in my analysis that love sometimes suddenly disappear by the time. So, the author uses the exaggeration word to show the reader how it happened.

·         Metonymy

The data:

a.       in stanza V: Between the mountain and beach

Comment: according to data, between the mountain and beach have meaning between them is a water flow.

·         Paradox

The data:

a.       in stanza V: My love race along to your heart than water racing

Comment: according to data, it has some reflection to make some sense between two different meaning races along the heart and the water racing.

http://jokosuper.blogspot.com/2013/01/poetry-figures-of-speech.html

ESL Games

10 Fun Classroom Activities to Help Students Practice Speaking English

This collection of fun games and role play activities for English language teachers should arouse some enthusiasm after a vocabulary drill or new grammar study. As the sequel to the previous article 10 Fun Classroom Activities to Help Students Practice Speaking English, these exercises are aimed at helping your students get to know each other better and practice speaking with confidence in the ESL classroom. English classes of all sizes and ages can get involved, meaning adults, children, parents, tutors and school teachers can all participate. The activities can be used as time allows or if you want to focus on learning a specific skill such as speaking or practicing new vocabulary.

Face Game

If your students do not know already then first teach them the following parts of the face: forehead, chin, ear, eye, nose, mouth. Now, ask the students to make fists with both hands and touch their ears. On the first round, you play the role of the leader and say: ear, ear, ear – forehead (or a different part of the face from the list above). The third time that you say ear, say it more slowly, so that other players know that you are about to switch. When the new part is called out (in this example, forehead), everyone must quickly move both of their fists from ear to forehead at the same time. If anyone, including the leader, touches any part of the face other than the forehead is the loser and takes over as the new leader. As punishment, the loser must share their views on any subject of your choosing with the class.

Fast Food Role Play

This role-playing exercise requires two students. Ask for volunteers or select from the class. One student will act as the manager of a fast food restaurant. The other will act as a student looking for a part-time job. The restaurant has advertised a part-time vacancy, so the student has come for an interview. The two should try to develop a lively yet formal conversation of the job duties, employee benefits, and the student’s qualifications and experience before the manager reaches his/her decision. Some useful supplementary vocabulary includes: wages, salary, personality, official duties, and position in a job.

Travel Agency Role Play

This role-playing exercise requires two students. Ask for volunteers or select from the class. One student will act as an agent in a travel agency. The other student will act as a customer. The customer wants to take a trip to Australia for two weeks and asks for help from the agent about the travel route, airplane tickets, hotel rooms, places of interest, etc. The students should try to keep the conversation lively. Some useful supplementary vocabulary includes: peak season, airlines, double room, single room, economy, first class, one way ticket, and roundtrip.

TV Discussion Panel Role Play

This role-playing exercise requires any number of students. Ask for volunteers or select from the class. Each student will select and play the role of a current or historical political figure such as: Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln, the Dalai Lama, John Lennon, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc. You will acts as the host of a TV discussion panel in which each of the famous political personalities participate. Begin the discussion by asking one of the students what they think about the future of America. After the first student has answered, each of the other students can give their opinions. The students should try to enliven their answers by using the person’s typical mannerisms and accent if possible. Some useful supplementary vocabulary includes: improve, capitalism, free market economy, thoughts, peace, and get along with one another.

Guessing Game

Using vocabulary the students have learned recently, prepare some cards with one word written on them. During class, select one of the cards without showing the students what is written on it. The students will try to figure out what the word is by asking questions, which you will answer. They may only ask “yes-no” or “choice type” questions such as: is it something you can eat? Is it made out of paper? Is it a thing or a person? Is it an animal? Can it move? Is it something we can use? The students can guess what is written on the card whenever they think they have enough information. Anyone who guesses right wins a piece of candy or another reward provided by you. Then go to the next card.

Source

Company Employees Role Play

This role-playing exercise requires four students who will act as employees who work in the same company. Ask for volunteers or select from the class. Person A joined the company just two weeks ago. He/she has an MBA and takes work very seriously. Person B is an average employee who is fed up with the job after working there for ten years. Person C is an easy going person who has been working there for four years. The fourth student will act as the director of the office, Person D. A is working hard to finish a report due today but can’t concentrate because B and C are talking and laughing loudly. A asks them to keep the noise down and tells them to act more professionally in the workplace. This causes B to begin arguing with A while C tries to calm the situation. The director will walk in during the heated argument. Each student should think about what they would say and act in his or her role. Some useful supplementary vocabulary includes: Master of Business Administration, be cocky, be serious, quarrel, and lecture somebody for wrongdoing.

Piece Together a Narrative

Copy each sentence below on a card, and give each student one or two cards in random order. The students must memorize the sentence on their card(s) and then hand the cards back to you. The students take turns to recite their sentence(s) to the class. After all students have spoken, the whole class must work out the correct sentence order to make the completed narrative.

• Everyone says exercise is good for your health,
• but I really don’t like doing exercise.
• No matter if it’s basketball or football,
• all types of ball sports are just running around a field.
• Think about it, after every time you run and jump, don’t you feel hot and thirsty?!
• I also don’t understand why so many people like watching sports games.
• Besides, does it really matter who wins and who loses!
• There’s also swimming.
• Of course, you won’t get hot from swimming,
• but as soon as you’re not careful then you could swallow water.
• The conditions aren’t good and you could die!
• Perhaps it’s only dancing that’s good.
• You can listen to a good song and dance at the same time;
• If you want to go fast then go fast,
• if you want to go slow then go slow,
• it’s so much better!

Shorten or lengthen the narrative according to the number of students you have in your class.

Musical Chairs Game

Ask your students of they know any songs in English. If not, then teach them a simple pop song, children’s song, or something suitable for the current holiday season. Make space so that the students can place their chairs in a circle with one chair less than the total number of students. The game starts with the students circling around the chairs, singing the song they have just learned. When you say ‘stop!’ every student should quickly take a seat. The one student left standing is the loser of this round. As a punishment, he or she must describe some important events in their life to the class and then he/she is out of the game. Remove one chair and start the game again. Repeat until only one player is left. Declare him/her as the winner.

Celebrity Name Game

Before class, prepare cards with names of well-known celebrities on them, one per student. The names should be easily recognizable to the students. Give each student a card and ask them to describe the person on his/her card to the class. Ask the students to add humor to their description by using the celebrity’s mannerisms. Their description may begin with statements such as: I’m male and over 6 feet tall. I have blonde hair. I recently married a famous singer. The rest of the class will guess the person’s identity. Split the class into two teams to add some healthy competition. Some useful supplementary vocabulary includes: bald, belly, blonde-haired and blue eyed, and wear glasses.

Exchange Student Role Play

This role-playing exercise requires two students. Ask for volunteers or select from the class. One student will act as a curious young foreign exchange student. The other will act as his or her tutor. The student saw some advertisements for the upcoming presidential campaign. In class, he/she is asking the tutor questions such as: How does your country elect a president? Who is allowed to vote? Can anyone run for election? Some useful supplementary vocabulary includes: family background, popularity, reputation, record of formal schooling, qualifications, promise to undertake, and conditions.

How To Avoid Communication Breakdown

How To Avoid Communication Breakdown

Are people receiving the message you want to send across?

Communication does not begin with being understood, but with understanding others.

If you feel unsure about how to communicate effectively with anyone, there are many strategies to do so.

However, I would like to share some thoughts on 7 strategies to improve our communication and relationship from being self-sabotaged.

1) Never Assume - One of the biggest causes in communication breakdown is miscommunication, resulting from assumption and unclear instruction. e.g. you tell someone to pick you up at a certain location at 5pm sharp. That someone came at 5pm sharp and they became angry because they have been waiting for over an hour at the wrong entrance. Usually when such thing happens, it creates tension to the relationship. Using the “5 Ws” approach can help to clarify others people message to you. They are the “Where, What, When, Who & Why”.

2) Avoid Unexplained Silence - There are times when you are angry at something and you don’t feel like talking to somebody. However, people around might not understand you and you need to be alone or you need a specific time to cool down before you engage in a conversation. Tell that someone you need to be alone for a moment to cool down your emotion.

3) Avoid Talking out of Negative Emotions - Avoid talking out of negative emotions like hurt, anger, frustration, sadness, resentment etc. If you do, the negativity of your communication will be felt and may hurt the relationship. Words uttered can not be swallowed back. In such a case ten minutes of refrain is better than ten years of regrets. Think Freely and Speak Wisely.

4) Avoid Confusing Instruction - Give step to step instruction.

5) Avoid Holding Back Your Energy - Have you experienced a situation where you felt bored listening to someone who seem not to have energy and interest when speaking to you? So put more energy, with your body, your facial expressions and your hand gestures. Generate enthusiasm in your voice when you speak to other.

6) Stop Neglecting Eye Contact - One of the surest ways to convey that you are not interested in communicating with a person is to avoid having eye contact with that person. Having eye contact shows that you are committed in relaying your message across to others and committed to listen and to be with that person.

7) Handle Wrong Tones - It is not so much of what you say counts; it is how you say it that creates an impact. Using the wrong tone will not help get the result you want. Tones that are caring, affectionate, soft and trusting will be more pleasing and will likely to yeild postitive response. Therefore, use the right tone to get the right response. Speak GENTLY when giving emotional support, FIRM and ASSERTIVE when you need to correct behaviors and actions.

So are we sending the right message? If not, take charges and change our strategy. So when we change the way we are communicating, then will people change their communication towards us.

When communication breakdown are avoided, we will see that it will turn into a power communication which will send our message, intentions or instructions on AN ARROW to the HEART of our LISTENERS.

EAPP TOPIC 1