- 期刊
從希爾佛斯坦現象探討英語童詩教學
Shel Silverstein Phenomenon on The Pleasure of Poetry with Children
摘要
本文由深獲美國學童喜愛的希爾佛斯坦（Shel Silverstein），思考英語童詩在語文教學上的意義。全文分成三個部分。首先，指出英語童詩在英美兒童語文教育扮演的角色以及在教學上應用的情形。接著，針對希爾佛斯坦，本文主張，他之所以受到歡迎，源於他深具個人風格的展演型式。文中主要討論希爾佛斯坦二本詩集《人行道的盡頭》（Where the Sidewalk Ends）和《閣樓上的光》（A Light in the Attic）。除了詩歌本身的音樂性之外，希爾佛斯坦詩歌的主要特色包括：（一）取材日常生活，卻以荒誕不經的遊戲詩（nonsense poems）型式呈現。（二）文字與視覺文本的結合。閱讀欣賞這樣的詩作，本文認為，需要讀者翻譯、演繹詩文圖象共同產生的意境，並且感受其中解構、顛覆各種社會、語文成規的樂趣。對臺灣的國小英語教學而言，希爾佛斯坦所傳達的訊息，不只是「語言要如何使用」，而是「語言具有展演的效應」，（language as per-formative）。若嘗試將希爾佛斯坦的作品帶入英語文教材，教學的重點不只是傳遞如何剖析理解詩文，而且是如何展演出詩文與視覺意象所建構的想像，領略二者共同產生的效應。本文最後，參考諾頓（Donna E. Norton）介紹的讀詩要領，提出若干展演希爾佛斯坦或其他英語詩歌的方法，以期提供英語詩歌教學之參考。
並列摘要
This paper is a small attempt to consider the significance of children's poetry in English teaching by reading Shel Silverstein, one of the most popular poets for American school children. The paper is mainly divided into three parts. To begin with, the paper investigates the importance of poetry in children's language education as well as the problem of poetry in the English curriculum in England and the United States. Silverstein's popularity with American school children suggests that his poems are ＂performative＂ enough to involve the reader with them. Focusing on two of his major collections, Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic, the second part of the paper highlights two main features of his work: a ) nonsense poems which repeats or re-appropriates a variety of conventions in life, b ) an intriguing combination of verbal and visual texts in nearly every piece. The paper maintains that Silverstein illuminates that fact that English poetry is performative, more than performing certain pragmatic functions. In line with Donna E. Norton, the paper finally recommends some individual or group activities that nally recommends some individual or group activities that might involve children with English poems effectively.