South African rural high school teachers’ experiences of teaching English poetry

Abstract

Research suggests a reluctance by teachers to teach poetry in South African English Second Language (ESL)
classrooms. The teaching of poetry is shaped by issues such as resources, professional and personal experiences,
societal influences, learners’ attitudes toward poetry, and professional development opportunities. In this
qualitative case study, we aimed to understand ESL teachers’ experiences of teaching poetry in rural South
African high schools by considering their Pedagogical Content Knowledge and how they align what they know
about teaching with what they teach. Data was generated using reflective journals and individual semi-structured
interviews from ten purposefully sampled ESL teachers from rural schools. The findings indicate that ESL
teachers in rural settings rely heavily on their own personal, professional, or social experiences when teaching
poetry, lack ongoing professional development, and do not appear to be aware of effective teaching strategies to
teach poetry.