How can we bring authentic literary texts into intermediate language classrooms while keeping students engaged and communicative? This workshop explores strategies for integrating historical and cultural content into instruction for B1-level learners. Focusing on a comparative approach to two poems—May Ayim’s politically resonant work from 1990/1991 and a reflective poem by Rainer Maria Rilke from 1903—we will examine how to use poetry to spark student discussion, deepen cultural understanding, and build language proficiency. Participants will gain practical ideas for designing lessons that promote target-language use while stimulating critical engagement with meaningful content.

All graduate students are welcome. This event grows out of concerns in the Francophone, Italian, and Germanic Studies department, and so may be most useful to students in related fields.

Counts toward the CETLI Teaching Certificate.