Leveraging Poetry for L2 Vocabulary Growth

One of the most often cited benefits of studying poetry in additional language classes is its ability to enrich a learner’s vocabulary. However, despite the growing interest in using poetry in language learning contexts, there remains limited empirical evidence to support this theory. To test if these benefits would appear in actual practice, thirty learners participated in an experiment comparing vocabulary acquisition through glossed definitions while studying poetry and acquisition via a more traditional word list and set of example sentences. Participants were tested on their existing knowledge of target words and then taught these words over the course of six weeks. The experimental group learned these words through a set of six poems, one poem a week. Two weeks after the experiment concluded, the learner’s vocabulary knowledge was reassessed. Both groups demonstrated a meaningful increase in their vocabulary, and no significant difference was identified between the two groups, indicating that both methods are equally effective in increasing learner vocabulary. This suggests that teachers interested in integrating literary studies with language studies may do so with some assurance that learners’ vocabulary will develop.