HCM CITY — The value of poetry and music as well as ways to use them in teaching and learning English were explained in a talk given yesterday by Jeremy Harmer, an experienced teacher, trainer and author.

Titled The Marriage of True Minds – Poetry, Music and Language Learning, the talk attracted more than 200 Vietnamese and foreign teachers who teach English at universities, colleges, international schools and foreign language centres in the city.

"We [teachers] can encourage students to be more creative with the language. Poetry allows you to see the whole world in just a few lines and can make students feel the whole world. And music can do exactly the same," Harmer said.

He said students must be made aware of the beauty of the language they are trying to learn. Once they have heard its beauty, they would be motivated to learn faster, he added.

"Poetry is useful in so many different ways. You can use it for games, for fun, for making people's hearts sing or suffer. And music can do exactly the same. We don't even need any grammar or vocabulary," Harmer said.

Harmer, currently a faculty member for MA TESOL at the New School in New York, is the author of several books for teachers.

His new book, Essential Teacher Knowledge, which will be available in Viet Nam in April, gives teachers new to the profession, especially non-native speakers, a thorough grounding in the English language as well as in language teaching techniques. — VNS