It's Poetry in Any Language

Teacher, Poet Helps Immigrant Students Learn English

Whenever Tina Demirdjian teaches poetry she likes to emphasize one main technique to help her students express themselves: "Show me, don't tell me." This is especially important when she teaches students who speak limited English or to teachers who are teaching English as a second language.

"Whenever I teach a class to immigrant students or to teachers who are teaching non-native speakers I remember what it was like for me learning English when I was in school," said 37-year-old Demirdjian, a poet, teacher and author whose first language is Armenian. "I ask the kids to write about their own experiences and they always have something to say."

On a warm afternoon in mid-July, Demirdjian is working with a small group of teachers at Third Street School in Hollywood. Her goal is simple: Try to get the teachers to "think poetry."

"With the right teacher anyone can learn to write a poem, even if they're at the first level of an ESL class," Demirdjian said.

Demirdjian's class has the unique task of teaching English to newly arrived immigrants as part of the Los Angeles Unified School District's Emergency Immigrant Education Program (EIEP). The EIEP provides supplemental educational assistance to students in grades kindergarten through 12. The primary goal is to improve students' English language skills so that they can be more successful in their academic programs. EIEP teachers are encouraged to use music, art, cooking, and drama to enhance language development. Teachers have found the best way to develop skills in language is to give students something exciting to talk about.

"We try to be creative," said EIEP Coordinator Lila Silvern. "Poetry is an ideal way to teach English and Tina definitely brings a unique approach to our teachers. We try to encourage teachers to raise their expectations of students. When you give students high level, enriching work then they will grow."

For the past 10 years, Demirdjian has been using poetry to teach critical speaking, reading and writing skills as well as building students' self-esteem by encouraging them to read their poems aloud to the class. When teaching teachers she explains that good writers always write about something they know and what better to write about than one's own experiences. And with the help of a few simple exercises students have instant poetry.

"You can start out with as little as one word per line and build from there," she said. "The wonderful thing about poetry is that you're not locked into the rules of grammar. Poetry is not talking about things outside of us. It all comes from within; things that you feel, taste, hear, smell and touch."

After attending Demirdjian's class, fourth-grade teacher Brian Marquez agreed. "Poetry is such a free medium to express yourself," he said. "It's a very good tool. Even if you just sit and listen to a poem it helps you associate words with images."

"Understandably, some teachers aren't confident about teaching poetry, but Tina makes it so simple," Silvern said. "And so far teachers have really responded positively."

	Related Links Read some student poems

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