Poetry reading in the second language classroom

This paper argues for the use of poetry reading in second language classrooms. Literary and linguistic theories of poetry are reviewed and synthesised within a pyscholinguis‐tic model of poetry reading, according to which the central aspect of poetry reading is the conscious negotiation of the formal structures of language for comprehension purposes. Hence, in order to comprehend poetry, second language learners have to direct attention to its formal features. Current positions in the field of second language learning have specified that the conscious awareness of language develops the learner's knowledge. Accordingly, both researchers and teachers have been looking for ways to situate the explicit discussion of the formal aspects of language within a communicative context Reading poetry can make learners conscious of the way particular formal features are used to construct meaning within the context of an authentic reading task. Specific issues of the use and implementation of the poetry reading task within the second language classroom are discussed.