Academic Summary

            This is an academic summary of an article entitled “Developing Voice by Composing Haiku: A Social-Expressivist Approach for teaching Haiku Writing in EFL Contexts” (Iida, 2010). In this article, the author emphasizes the benefits of working with haiku in EFL classes as a means of helping students to develop their English skills in real-life situations.

            Iida (2010) explains that traditional EFL schools focus their teaching on grammar and memorizing forms, but this leaves students “at a disadvantage when they [have] to use English in real-world situations” (p. 28). A better alternative is the social-expressivist approach, which fosters the creation of communicative contexts where students “learn to presume their voice” (p. 28); i.e., they discover their inner selves and learn to give voice to their minds. In this process of discovering their personal views and ideas, student interact in a social context “that presumes an audience —the teachers, classmates, and even the community at large” (p. 28).

            One of the tools to develop this internal voice is the haiku: a short poem of Japanese origin that consists of three lines with a syllable pattern of 5-7-5 (Iida, 2010). One of the benefits of using haiku is that, by writing them, students incorporate new words, write more fluently and, what is more, express their feelings.

            Before embarking on the task of writing haiku, it is advisable to read some examples to understand how to construct and interpret them. “It is helpful to read a poem and then perform a textual analysis in an effort to construct meaning” (Hanauer, 2004, as cited in Iida, 2010, p. 31).

            According to Iida (2010), composing a haiku involves following five steps, namely reviewing the concept of haiku, collecting material, writing the poem, sharing one’s production with peers for reader-writer interaction and, finally, publishing the haiku. In this sense, not only does haiku composition enhance reading and writing skills, but also speaking and listening skills by means of socialization, and introspection.

            An added benefit of sharing haiku with peers is the wide range of interpretations that can emerge. As Iida (2008) cites himself

It is much more significant for the writer to create haiku where interpretations of content can vary according to readers rather than compose a haiku that provides just one interpretation: a good haiku allows readers to have multiple interpretations (as cited in Iida, 2010, p. 30).

            In conclusion, haiku composition is a positive tool of the social-expressivist approach which not only enhances students’ development of the four basic learning skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening) but also promotes socialization and the unveiling of feelings.

References

Iida, A. (2010).  Developing Voice by Composing Haiku: A Social-Expressivist Approach for Teaching Haiku Writing in EFL Contexts. English Teaching Forum, Nbr. 1. DOI: EJ914886