And is there not a place for poetry in the EFL classroom, regardless of the fact that there is none in the exam? Surely we are not so enslaved by the exam.

We say it’s worth having a go. One or two students might be delighted to see how pleasant poetry can be if you read it aloud. The sound can be so much of a pleasure that it doesn’t matter if the meanings of a few phrases here and there are unclear. In any case, to say that a poem is enigmatic is more of a compliment than a criticism.

One poet who has written verses that are particularly enjoyable to read aloud is John Betjeman, writing from a very English middle class perspective with a great deal of nostalgia. The poem “Indoor Games at Newbury” is a lovely evocation of the love of a boy whose chin is still as smooth as his cheek.

After students have managed to read the poem aloud with style (and sufficient phonetic fidelity), one particular line could be picked out for discussion. A “love that lay too deep for kissing.” Is there such a love? Students are bound to have opinions worth discussing.

We reproduce the poem here hoping that we do not thereby do damage to Betjeman’s estate. (It has been gratefully borrowed from the collection at www.poetseers.org).
 
Indoor Games near Newbury
poem by John Betjeman

In among the silver birches,
Winding ways of tarmac wander
And the signs to Bussock Bottom,
Tussock Wood and Windy Break.
Gabled lodges, tile-hung churches
Catch the lights of our Lagonda
As we drive to Wendy’s party,
Lemon curd and Christmas cake

Rich the makes of motor whirring
Past the pine plantation purring
Come up Hupmobile Delage.
Short the way our chauffeurs travel
Crunching over private gravel,
Each from out his warm garage.

O but Wendy, when the carpet
Yielded to my indoor pumps.
There you stood, your gold hair streaming,
Handsome in the hall light gleaming
There you looked and there you led me
Off into the game of Clumps.

Then the new Victrola playing;
And your funny uncle saying
“Choose your partners for a foxtrot.
Dance until it’s tea o’clock
Come on young ‘uns, foot it feetly.”
Was it chance that paired us neatly?
I who loved you so completely.
You who pressed me closely to you,
Hard against your party frock.

“Meet me when you’ve finished eating.”
So we met and no one found us.
O that dark and furry cupboard,
While the rest played hide-and-seek.
Holding hands our two hearts beating.
In the bedroom silence round us
Holding hands and hardly hearing
Sudden footstep, thud and shriek

Love that lay too deep for kissing.
“Where is Wendy? Wendy’s missing.”
Love so pure it had to end.
Love so strong that I was frightened
When you gripped my fingers tight.
And hugging, whispered “I’m your friend.”

Goodbye Wendy. Send the fairies,
Pinewood elf and larch tree gnome.
Spingle-spangled stars are peeping
At the lush Lagonda creeping
Down the winding ways of tarmac
To the leaded lights of home.

There among the silver birches,
All the bells of all the churches
Sounded in the bath-waste running
Out into the frosty air.
Wendy speeded my undressing.
Wendy is the sheet’s caressing
Wendy bending gives a blessing.
Holds me as I drift to dreamland
Safe inside my slumber wear

Of course not all essays are academic essays like these. There is a long and healthy tradition of non-academic (anti-academic, in a way) essay writing, and some would argue that it is in this tradition that we find the real essays. For those who are not familiar with this tradition, Fullspate has an illuminating overview of the history of the real essay.

One of these is leverage, and a fair amount of people seem to agree that leverage is at the root of a lot of what brought the world of finance to the abyss. Know what leverage is? In essence, it is really quite simple.

See http://www.fullspate.net/meltdown.html for an easy-to-understand article about leverage and how it can have such nasty results.

http://www.fullspate.net/exams/ecpe_exam/ecpe_cloze.html

Students can use it to estimate how ready they are to tackle this part of the Michigan ECPE exam.

Writing tasks in the Michigan ECPE are remarkable for their complete lack of context. Students are simply asked to write an essay. They are not told for whom. There is no information about where they should imagine the piece appearing and who the intended readers are. Nor is there any information about the (albeit imaginary) purpose for writing. If students only get to practise the peculiar ECPE-style writing task, there is a risk that they won’t develop the important skill of writing for a particular reader whose needs, culture, expectations, knowledge or ignorance must be taken into account.

People wanting to write well cross an important line when they begin paying close attention to the impression their writing will make on the reader. This ability is an explicit requirement in the Cambridge CPE exam but is ignored completely in the Michigan ECPE. It is to be hoped that the conscientious EFL teacher of proficiency level English will not ignore it.

Another important skill is editing and redrafting one’s own work. The first draft is rarely the best, and with a little time, reflection and effort we can improve our writing. With the Michigan ECPE there is the risk of some teachers assuming that because there is no call for this in the exam then there is no call for it on the advanced EFL, ESL course.

A third area that risks being neglected is letter writing skills. In the real world, people who need English for their work may find that they have to write the occasional formal letter in English. Essays are useful for prospective university students, but outside the academy who writes essays? By comparison, letter writing skills are of more long-term value. However, Michigan ECPE students won’t develop them if teachers allow the exam to become the sole determinant of the curriculum.

Admittedly, it is not only the attitude of teachers that is at issue here. The students themselves can sometimes insist that the course be focused entirely on the demands of the exam. When trying to broaden the scope of the course I have been asked more than once: “Do we have to do this in the exam?” The implication being: If not, why are you wasting our precious time?

Macmillan have published a very good course book aimed at advanced-level students who are beginning their preparation for the Michigan ECPE test of English. It aims both to practise skills specifically needed in the exam and greatly improve the student’s command of English across all the skill areas: speaking, reading, writing and listening.

It prepares students for the new ECPE speaking test, helps them write first-rate essays, cope with the technical reading passages, enrich their vocabulary, get to grips with the tricky listening exercises and a whole lot more besides.

Every text is written so that interesting issues will be raised that can be discussed at length in class.

A truly stimulating book.

It is available from www.macmillan.gr

plus a look at how the Michigan ECPE compares to the Cambridge CPE and IELTS.

There is also a thorough analysis of ECPE grammar – looking at areas tested in past papers available from Michigan. A good resource for those wanting to draw up a revision list of grammar areas that students need to cover.