Written with love by: Suzanne Pilch, ICF Certified Coach & MPEC Partner
Dive Into What You Love
Learning a new language is always a challenging task, but it can also be a rewarding one, especially when you find new and creative ways to immerse yourself in the language. One such innovative method is through poetry, which can be an excellent way to broaden your communication skills, build confidence, and move from an intermediate to an advanced level.
Poetry has a unique way of conveying language that engages the reader’s emotions and imagination. It provides an excellent opportunity to explore vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation in context while also developing a deeper understanding of cultural nuances and literary techniques.
For those at an intermediate level, reading poetry can be an excellent way to expand vocabulary and improve grammar. Poets often use complex language structures and wordplay, which can challenge and engage learners, helping them develop a more nuanced understanding of the language. Additionally, reading poetry can provide insights into the culture and history of the English-speaking world.
For those looking to move from intermediate to advanced level, writing poetry can be a powerful way to deepen language skills. Writing poetry requires an understanding of literary devices such as rhyme, meter, and metaphor, and forces the writer to use language in creative and innovative ways. By writing poetry, learners can hone their communication skills and build confidence in expressing themselves in English. Poetry can also help learners improve their pronunciation skills. Poets often use sound patterns, such as alliteration, assonance, and consonance, which can help learners identify and practice difficult sounds. Reading poetry out loud can also help learners develop a more natural rhythm and intonation.
In conclusion, poetry is an innovative and creative way to learn and improve your English language skills. Whether you are an intermediate or advanced learner, reading and writing poetry can provide an excellent opportunity to broaden your communication skills, build confidence, and deepen your understanding of the language and culture. So why not give it a try? You might just be surprised by how much you enjoy it and how much it can help you in your language learning journey.
What Language Skills Can Reading Poetry Boost?
Poetry can help learners improve their pronunciation skills. Poets often use sound patterns, such as alliteration, assonance, and consonance, which can help learners identify and practice difficult sounds. Reading poetry out loud can also help learners develop a more natural rhythm and intonation.
Poetry is a powerful tool for learning English, as it not only teaches you new vocabulary and grammar, but also helps you connect with the language on an emotional level. When we read poetry, we can feel the words and the meaning behind them in a way that textbooks and grammar exercises cannot fully capture.
Furthermore, reading and writing poetry can help you build a bilingual identity. It allows you to explore the language in a creative and personal way and find your voice in English. By engaging with poetry, you can become more confident and fluent in the language, while also deepening your understanding of the culture and history surrounding it.
So if you’re looking for a fun and meaningful way to improve your English skills, MPEC highly recommends exploring the world of poetry. You might discover a new passion and unlock a new level of language proficiency in the process!
Ready To Try? Here Is an English Lesson Based on a Poem
To face the sadness of our youth Takes courage, strength, and bitter truth
For it is there, in our imperfect past That we learn to grieve and grow at last
To feel the pain of loss and lack And mourn the childhood we can’t get back
Is to truly know what it means to be human To accept our flaws, and see the beauty in
For grief can teach us lessons profound As we walk the path, our wounds unbound
We learn compassion, empathy, and grace And find within ourselves a sacred place
So let us not shy away from tears Or hide from pain that feeds our fears
For it is in the darkness that we find light And in the grieving, that we come to truly sight
And when we face our pain with courage bold We learn that life is not just silver and gold
But a tapestry of joy and sorrow intertwined A journey of the heart, a life well-lived and defined.
Written with Love by : Aidan
Glossary Levels: B1-B2
Here are the key words from the poem:
- Courage: the ability to do something that frightens one
- Bitter truth: a harsh reality that is difficult to accept
- Imperfect: not perfect; having faults or flaws
- Grieve: to feel intense sorrow
- Grow: to develop and mature over time
- Pain: physical or emotional suffering
- Loss: the state of being deprived of something
- Flaws: imperfections or faults
- Beauty: a quality that gives pleasure to the senses or to the mind
- Grief: intense sorrow, especially caused by someone’s death
- Lack: the state of being without or not having enough of something
- Humanity: the quality of being human; kindness and benevolence
- Accept: to agree to receive or undertake something offered
- Profound: very great or intense; having deep insight or understanding
- Path: a course or direction taken in life
- Wounds: an injury to living tissue
- Compassion: sympathetic concern for the suffering of others
- Empathy: the ability to understand and share the feelings of others
- Grace: elegance or beauty of movement, form, or proportion
- Sacred: connected with God or dedicated to a religious purpose
- Tears: drops of water that come out of the eyes when one is crying
- Pain: physical or emotional suffering
- Feeds: to fuel or stimulate something
- Darkness: the absence of light; a state of ignorance or despair
- Grieving: the process of experiencing intense sorrow, especially caused by someone’s death
- Bold: courageous and confident
- Tapestry: a piece of thick textile fabric with pictures or designs formed by weaving colored weft threads
- Intertwined: twisted together or closely involved
- Journey: an act of travelling from one place to another; a long and often difficult process of personal change
- Life well-lived: having lived in a way that is satisfying and fulfilling
- Defined: clearly characterized or described.
It’s Exercise Time!
- Fill in the blank: a. To face the ________ of our youth takes courage. b. Grief can teach us lessons _________. c. Courageous means not being deterred by ________ or pain.
- Match the definition with the word: a. A feeling of deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, or other misfortune suffered by oneself or others. b. The process of increasing in physical size or developing emotionally or intellectually. c. The central, vital, or main part of something.
- True or False: a. It’s important to shy away from tears. b. Grief can teach us empathy, but not compassion or grace. c. The poem suggests that life is only silver and gold.
- Define the word: a. Insight b. Fulfilling c. Clearly
- Fill in the blank: a. ________ is the capacity to gain an accurate and deep understanding of someone or something. (Insight) b. The character in the novel was ________ and brave. (courageous / defined) c. She spoke ________ and articulately, making her point clearly. (intensely / clearly)
- Choose the correct word to complete the sentence: a. The ________ music filled the concert hall with emotion. (intense / sacred) b. His ________ of the city’s history was remarkable. (insight / defined) c. The speaker’s ________ on the topic was engaging and informative. (ignorance / fulfilling)
Answer Key:
- a. sadness, b. profound, c. danger
- a. sorrow, b. growth, c. heart
- a. False, b. False, c. False
- a. the capacity to gain an accurate and deep understanding of someone or something, b. satisfying or meeting expectations, needs, or desires, c. in a way that is easy to perceive, understand, or interpret
- a. Insight, b. Courageous, c. Clearly
- a. Intense, b. Insight, c. Fulfilling
#MPEC #costruireidentitàlinguistica #pauradinonessereperfetto #internazionalizzazione #competitiviinternazionalmente #lavoroinunamultinazionale #capononparlainglese #colleghinonparlanoinglese #migliorarelepriecompetenze #nonsuonarecosiitaliano #sbloccarsi #capireimadrelinguainglese #esserempiuvelociininglese #presentareininglese #farelecallconclienti #Apprendimentoesperienziale #Motivazione #Acquisizionedellalingua #Competenzacomunicativa #Curriculum #Fluenza #Neurolanguagecoaching #Tecnichecerebraliafamichevoli #Insegnamentodilinguestraniere #Ambientediapprendimentoinclusivo #Strategie #Approcciocentratosullostudente #Attenzione #Memoria #Feedback #Obiettivi #Competenzalinguistica #Neuroscienze #Psicologia #Caricocognitivo #Apprendimento #Stilidiapprendimento #Intelligenzaemotiva #Metacognizione #learningculture #cultura
