Poets Who Don’t Even Know It: Peer Feedback as an Aid in ESL Creative Writing.

Saturday, 18 February 2023

“There is nothing so hollow as pens, There is nothing so gloomy as ink, When a man is obliged to think of something, And doesn't know what to think” (Wells, 1921). Lack of motivation when completing creative writing activities limits students’ perceptions of the English language and diminishes their possible learning experience. Students do not understand how to approach creative writing and are equally lost when trying to use creative writing to communicate. They struggle with motivation when attempting creative writing activities. ESL students tend to view creative writing such as poetry as something too difficult to do, and something they are not likely to use often. Therefore, ESL teachers whose students struggle with motivation when completing creative writing activities should integrate peer feedback into poetic writing activities because students can practice new vocabulary, connect on an emotional level, and gain perspective on (or awareness of) their own ability to write a text in the L2.

Creative writing introduces students to new vocabulary they can use to communicate. When students read these descriptive texts, they begin to integrate the vocabulary and phrases into their own writing and everyday expression (Dieng, 2021). Their writing improves and the students are now aware of words they may not have heard of if they had not been exposed to the creative writing. Exposure to new vocabulary gives students the ability to communicate with the world around them, such as their classmates, in a new way that integrates their own perceptions and beliefs of the world (Setia Sari et al., 2022). Through learning new vocabulary that is not common in typical ESL texts, students gain a sociocultural awareness that allows them to communicate both in writing and in speaking with their peers. Therefore, breaking down mental barriers and inspiring the pursuit of education in ESL students. Communication is key to motivation and inspiration in many writing abilities.

Creative writing allows students to connect on an emotional level. Authentic texts bring out emotion and student involvement, causing them to become engaged in the material as well as their personal emotions in relation to the poetry (Aladini & Farahbod, 2019). Authentic texts like genuine poetry written by English speaking authors, provide an increased personal connection for the students. In turn, students are motivated to share their emotions about the poetry with their classmates. Also, by giving feedback on their emotional interpretations of the text, students’ emotional understanding of each other improves and motivates them to write their own poetry. Furthermore, feedback serves purposes of teambuilding and emotional development, creating emotional bonds within students that motivates them to continue writing.

Peer feedback in creative writing gives students a new perspective on their own ability. Students learn by giving and receiving feedback to each other, and teachers should foster that ability in students by teaching them how to give constructive feedback (Yong & Schunn, 2017). Through constructive peer feedback developed in the classroom, students’ creative writing skill gives students the opportunity to motivate each other. The social aspects of peer feedback allow students to help each other learn as well as socialize about a topic, such as emotions or perspectives, that they may not often talk about. In addition, Constructive feedback from students who give their own perspectives motivates other students and intimidates them less than feedback from a teacher. Peer feedback motivates students to improve their writing and find passion in creative writing activities.

Peer feedback creates new educational opportunities for students to explore. Through the discovery of new vocabulary, students connect emotionally with the poetry they read and give each other invaluable feedback that helps each students become motivated to improve. By connecting with the poetry, students also connect with each other, and bring their interpretations and emotions to their own creative writing. Motivating students to enjoy creative writing activities creates a sense of emotional depth in the ESL classroom, by using authentic texts that have more emotional nuance than typical ESL practice texts. Poetry as creative writing allows students to explore English in a personal and emotional way and it motivates them to pursue English Language learning in new ways. Poetry is unique in that many cultures have some form of it. It is a historical lifeblood that captures human feelings in a way that allows the reader of the poetry to feel or understand the emotions with which it was written. If this can be implemented into ESL classrooms, it could bring untold possibilities for cross cultural exchange.

References

Aladini, F., & Farahbod, F. (2019). Using a unique and long forgotten authentic material in the EFL/ESL classroom: Poetry. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 10(1), 83. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1001.12

Dieng, M. (2021). Developing poetic writing skills: A teaching technique for advanced ESL/EFL learners. Education, Society and Human Studies, 3(1), p1. https://doi.org/10.22158/eshs.v3n1p1

Setia Sari, W., Tambunan, A., Putri, C. A., & Hasibuan, J. R. (2022). Fostering bilingual creativity in english poetry classroom: A postcolonial creative writing strategy. Lingua Didaktika: Jurnal Bahasa Dan Pembelajaran Bahasa, 16(2), 193. https://doi.org/10.24036/ld.v16i2.120365

Wells, A. R. (1921). The collected poems of Amos R. Wells [Electronic Archive]. Leopold Classic Library. https://archive.org/stream/collectedpoemsa00wellgoog/collectedpoemsa00wellgoog_djvu .txt

Yong, W., & Schunn, C. D. (2017). The learning science of multi － peer feedback for EFL students. 外语电化教学. https://www.lrdc.pitt.edu/schunn/papers/The%20Learning%20Sci_for_EFL_Students_Sc hunn_Wu_2019.pdf