Integrating authentic poetry into a coursebook-based syllabus at Rae Gymnasium

Abstract

This action-research focused thesis aims to integrate the study of short poems into the EFL syllabus at Rae Gymnasium, which is based on the New Close Up: B2 Student’s Book, to support student autonomy and test how the study of poetry as authentic material affects student engagement in classes. The main objective is to develop and test two lesson plans, each focused on a different poem and implemented with separate groups of students at Rae Gymnasium. The thesis consists of an introduction, two main chapters and a conclusion. The first chapter provides an overview of the context of teaching EFL at Rae Gymnasium, as well as discussing previous studies on the use of poetry in EFL classrooms. The second chapter is dedicated to the documentation and analysis of the two poetry-focused lesson plans, including the outcomes of the trials and a discussion of the action research process. The thesis concludes with an overall evaluation of the project and includes appendices containing the two lesson plans developed during the project, along with supporting materials. Keywords: poetry in EFL, authentic materials, student engagement, action research, coursebookbased, syllabus alignment