For it’s All in Some Language I Don’t Know!’ Responding to Nonsense Poetry in the Primary EFL Classroom

Abstract

This paper explores the use of two nonsense poems in the primary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom with Swedish pupils. Adopting a reader-response approach, the study aims at exploring whether and in what ways 12-year-old language learners respond to two nonsense poems by Lewis Carroll. Poetry has been argued to be a challenging genre for students and teachers alike (Tsang et al., 2023). Teaching approaches and choice of texts are defining factors in students’ reception (Tsang and Paran, 2021). By incorporating texts that balance playfulness and seriousness, and stretch the boundaries of sense, students and teacher can be rid of the pressure of finding one “correct” and engage in creative interpretation. The poetry lessons in this study were video recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis as described in Braun and Clark (2006). The results indicate that pupils respond differently to the distinct characteristics of the two poems. Furthermore, nonsense poetry, linguistic or situational, offers different stimulations for children to creatively engage with the target language and literary interpretation in the process. By integrating unconventional texts, like nonsense poetry, teachers can diversify their materials and let students lead interpretation and assert their agency. Ultimately, the playfulness of the texts and the multiplicity of interpretation help make both poetry and language learning accessible for children. Future research could benefit from exploring the longitudinal effects of nonsense poetry in language development, the incorporation of different nonsense genres, or the impact on specific language skills and age groups.