Poetic identity in second language writing: Exploring an EFL learner’s study abroad experience

Abstract

The current study investigates the way in which an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) college studentwrites haiku – a three line Japanese poem with a specific number of syllables in each line in a secondlanguage (L2) to express his study abroad experience. This poetic inquiry which involved literary,linguistic, and content analyses of the collection of ten haiku poems written by a Myanmarese studentdocumented some discursive identities in relation to his study abroad experience in Japan: aMyanmarese boy who struggled with his loneliness in Japan, a teenager who was challenged in makingJapanese friends and tried to develop his friendships, an international student who explored a place ofhis own in the society, and a college student who enjoyed his daily life with friends. This study illustratesthe expressive ability of an EFL writer to communicate personal life stories through poetry writing. Italso proposes the usage of poetry writing as a form of meaningful literacy learning in the EFL classroom from theoretical and methodological perspectives.