Using selected popular music to teach and learn prescribed poetry in a grade 10 English language high school classroom.

Abstract

Globally, learners are expected to study various genres of poetry; however, previous research highlights persistent negative attitudes toward poetry in English classrooms. This study, grounded in Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory, explores how popular music can be used as a pedagogical tool to teach poetry. Social constructivist theory emphasises interactive, supported, engaging, and contextually relevant learning experiences. Employing a five-cycle qualitative action research design within an interpretivist paradigm, this study utilised thematic analysis to examine the impact of integrating music into poetry instruction. Each cycle incorporated popular music to scaffold learners’ understanding of prescribed poetry. The purposive sample comprised 82 Grade 10 English Home Language learners from a secondary school in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Data were collected through open-ended questionnaires, documentary research, visual methods, poetic inquiry, and a research journal maintained by the researcher-educator. The findings reveal that while learners initially expressed negative attitudes toward poetry – reflected in their poor academic performance – these attitudes shifted as the study progressed. Learners reported increased enjoyment and engagement in poetry lessons, attributing this change to the incorporation of music. While music effectively facilitated the understanding of poetic elements such as tone, themes, and message, certain elements, including hyperbole and enjambment, remained challenging for some students. As each research cycle progressed, learners’ academic performance improved, emphasising the significance of scaffolding, the presence of a More Knowledgeable Other (in the form of both the educator and the music), and active learner-educator interaction. Moreover, the supportive classroom environment, which lowered learners’ affective filter, further enhanced their comprehension of poetry. Overall, this study contributes to ongoing discourses on poetry instruction, advocating for music as an effective pedagogical tool and emphasising the need for interactive and learner-centred approaches to teaching poetry.