Writing in Other Languages Acrostic Poems

When the National Curriculum was first introduced, the Modern Languages brief talked about creativity.  However, nobody could quite decide what that meant so the word was removed. Arguably anyway all writing is creative: it creates something in the reader. Also the writer has to be creative with the tools at her disposal to create the desired response in the reader – whether that be  through  poem, a letter to the paper or a tax return. 

Being able to write exactly what you want in a foreign language may seem like a very ambitious goal for a learner, particularly a new learner. 

I argue here that someone new to a language can use that of which they have mastery to achieve much if they use their knowledge and skills creatively. 

First, you spell out a word. Then you look in the dictionary for words that begin with each letter. Note the third line includes a more complex sentence.  You don't need to have that there but it is an option for those more fluent in a second language. These examples are my name. You can use real nouns or a topic.       

Moi

Gamine, généreuse, grande, garantie,

Intelligente, idéaliste, idiomatique, illogique,

Laisse les mots tomber comme les perles,

Lamentable, laide, légende, létale

Yo

Graciosa, guapa, gentil,

Intelligente, idéologica, ilusa,

Labré mi propia vida

Larga, laudable y legal.

Ich

Glänzend, gut, gastfreundlich, geduldig,

Intelligent, individuell, infantil, informativ

Laufe ich durch die ganze Hafenstadt,

Lakonisch, lässig, lästig, langweilig und launisch. 

Image by Lucia Grzeskiewicz from Pixabay