Ravenshaw Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies 4 (2014) Works Cited Burroughs, John. Wake-Robin (kindle edition). Amazon Digital Services, Inc., 2012. Callenbach, Emest. “The Power of Words.” Ecological Literacy’ Educating Our Children for a Sustainable World. Ed. Michael K, Stone & Zenobia Barlow. San Fran Club Books, 2005. 41-44. Print. Dickinson, Emily. The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Ed. ‘Thomas H. Johnson. Boston: Little, Brown, 1960. Hu, Gengshen. “A Response to the Problem of “Translator- Centeredness’.” Shanghai Journal of Translators 4 (2011): 7-9. Print. Leng, Yuhong. Theory? s the Translator the Centre in Eco-Translation shanghai Journal of Translators (3) 2011: 71-73. ‘Wang, Ning, “Eoo-Literature and Eoo-Translatology: Deconstruction and Reconstruction.” Chinese Translators Journal 2 (2011) 10-15. Ravenshaw Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies 4 (2014) A Study of the Popular Ecopoems as Textual Resources for Ecological Approach to Acquisition of ESL Pratap Kumar Dash Introduction During the last seven decades, several experiments have been conducted in the approaches of teaching and learning of English as Second Language (ESL). These experiments are based on the emerging needs of time and environment of the leamers in different socio-cultural and temporal contexts. The changing world scenario, the scientific, psychological, social inventions and theories formulated by observation and experiments from time to time are being pract 0 ESL classroom practices as bases of support. The aim of all these is to enable the learners to acquire Second Language (or English language in our case) effectively. Variously, the mechanism of such experiments have been atiibuted to imitation, innateness, cognition, and input, the process of attention, consciousness, human information processing and operation of memory system. Befittinely, these days, the ecological approach to Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is in discussion. This happens to be one of the utilitarian recognitions of the much adopted but less recognised approach to SLA. Worth saying, the teachers of ESL have been using various reliable tools and teaching materials. Popularly, in Communicative mn| | Ravenshaw Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies 4 (2014) Language Teaching (CLT) framework, including Content-based approaches, Task-based Instruction and Altemative Participatory “Approaches in relation to Multiple Intelligences, texts of specific fields are used in the form of ESP/EGP/EAP etc. No doubt, the texts of literature are also used as very useful and popular tools for the purpose. Here in this context, its pertinent enough to say that the literary texts, although other genres are there, importantly, the texts of poetry as such, are full of multi-folded ecological texts and contexts which have been effectively used for ESL acquisition until now in an unrecognized way. But now, this needs to be highlighted and organised to design materials for teaching and leaning of ESL. For this, the two emerging dimensions viz. the ecopoems (or poems of romantic ecology, green poems, earth poems, environ poems tte.) as resources and the ecological approach to SLA as outlined by Kramsch (2002) and Leo van Lier (2009) can be put together to prepare curriculum frameworks at different levels. Perspectives of ESL Acquisition through Ecological Approach Under the broad concept of Vygotsky's Socio-cultural ‘Theory of Language Acquisition, Ecological Approach to ESL earning is so to say a discovery in the respective field dealing together with the environmental (ie, socio-cultural, natural) and mental (ie. cognitive, heuristic, epistemological) conditions. ‘According to Leo van Lier (2009), an ecological approach can views on language learning, especially when ths ecological approach is znchored in an ecological world: view. He says that the work of Vygotsky and Bakhtin, dating fiom the early decades of the twentieth century illustrates an -al approach to cognition, learning, and language (see Lantolf 245) {As he points out, an Ecological Approach to Language m4 Ravenshaw Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies 4 (20\4) Learning (EALL) challenges the three premises that he has focused. Firstly, it shifts the emphasis from scientific reductionism to the notion of emergence. Instead of assuming that every phenomenon can be explained in terms simpler phenomena or components, it says that at every level of development properties emerge that cannot be reduced to the prior levels. Secondly, ecology says that not all of cognition and learning can be explained in terms of the process that goes inside the head. Finally, an ecological approach asserts that the perpetual and social activity of the leamer, and particularly the verbal and nonverbal interaction in which, the leamer engages, are central to an understanding of leaming. In other words, ecologically they do not just facilitate leaning, they are learning in a fundamental way. From the ecological perspective, the leamer is immersed in ‘an environment full of potential meanings. These meanings become available gradually as the learner acts and interacts within and with this environment. Learning is not a holus-bolus or piecemeal migration of meanings to the inside of the leamer’s head, but rather tie development of increasingly effective ways of dealing with the ‘world and its meanings, Therefore, to look for learning is to look at the active learner in her environment, not atthe contents for her brain. (Lantolf 246). Lier (2009) further discusses quoting Neisser (1992) that learners are not empty heads that reverberate harmoniously with environment. Rather it means that cognition and leaming rely on both representational (schematic, historical, cultural, and so on) and ecological (perceptual, emergent, action-based) processes and systems. Language itself is therefore also both representational and coological and its d , its structure, and its use are as focused by Bakhtin (1981) are inherently dialogical. usRavenshaw Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies 4 (2014) The ecocentric or geocentric views or systems are indigenous to peoples, that humans are a part of greater natural order, or even a greater living system. This is called deep ecology. Thus, ecology as a specific way to study cognition, language, and learning brings the visual perception, cognitive development, and acquisition of various social-natural contexts ‘Thus, itis assumed that an ecological linguistic acquisition, of. language establishes relations (of thought, action, power) rather than as objects (words, sentences, rules). It also relates verbal utterances to other aspects of meaning making, such as gestures, drawings, artifacts, etc. The totality of meaning making is semiotic e nature-oriented discourses become increasingly dialogic. The universal ecological themes are more communicative than the writings containing various other subject matters. Interms learning, language emerges out of semiotic activity. The environment provides a ‘semiotic budget” (analogous to the energy budget of an ecosystem which the active leamer engages in meaning-making activities together with others. Lier (2009) in this context analyzes the word ‘affordance’ in this context which was coined by the psychologist James Gibson (1979) in Ecological Psychology that refers to a reciprocal ip between an organism end a particular feature of its Ifthe language leamer is active and engaged, s/he vill perceive linguistic affordances and use them in linguistic action. (Lantolf 252). s evident that ecology in its many forms including the texts of literature (may be real or imaginary) form an important context for the language leamers. Language leaming as ‘form of socialization helps develop evologization by virtue of making 176 Ravenshaw Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies 4 (2014) them develop cognitive and critical thinking, Hopefully, these are the conducive for the acquisition of Second/Foreign Language too. Learnability Factors in Ecoliterary Texts In the context of English as a Second/Foreign Language, itis very often noticed that students at different levels of English Language Acquisition are neither efficient nor proficient or confident like the native speakers, To further their apprenticeship to the target language, the supplement of content-based, real world and texts of literature are very vital. No doubt, they greatly depend on the literary texts of various genres because this happens to be the dependable and effective resources of getting into the socio-cultaral- 1 and environmental contexts to leam the target ‘open to more of scopes of understanding. interpreting, analyzing and adding creative ideas. Literary texts are also prone to.as much as participation and interaction including debating and ased leaming techniques. To quote Duff i, Genuine sample of a very wide range of styles, registers, and text-types iOpen to multiple interpretations iii, Non-trivial and powerful motivator ‘There are enough of scopes for comparison and contrast, getting pictures of life in different ways, full of socio-cultural, imaginary, factual and moral repertoire. Literary texts create curiosity of Teaming too, is noticed that the literary genres based on ecowritings possess more commonly communicative, natural, humanitarian and universal languages. So, while the ESL leamers attempt to decode 7| | | Ravenshast Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies 4 (2014) ‘minute observation of the movements of natural objects. In addition, there are themes about some romantic, fanciful, chivalric, unique experiential, historical, epical and ultural subject matters. Also, in them, there lies underlying morality and message for humanity. Although the poems reflect the times, places and persons the poet’s personal, temporal and regional experiences, still they constitute universal perceptions because natural elements and environments are almost common sand ‘emotions, the images and languages are also in the cognitive domain of the literary and linguistic spirit of the leamers of the target .nguage. Empirical and experiential evidences are there in Indian that the linguistic decoding from mother tongue to English and vice versa and the formation of schem: problem for the learners in this case specifically. For example, being an Indian, when I read the poems of Wordsworth or Shelley or Tennyson, simultaneously or as a prior background, I have already enjoyed the nature pocms written in either Hindi, Bengali ormy Mother Tongue (MT) like the poems of Rabindranath Tage Gangadhar Meher, Madhusudan Rao, R hore Bal, Mayadhar Mansingh, Sachidananda Routray, Binod Nayak or Kuntala Kumari anguage is decoding innate to all, ecologically non-vulnerable and socio-culturally and environmentally not complex, complicated or ambiguous. The feelings and emotions in such poems are commonly shared in the comfort zone of the linguistic domain. The translated texts of poems of the populac n and ESL cl poets can be taken up for 2 parallel use both in MT and Ravenshaw Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies 4 (2014) translated text of ‘Autumn, 1958” by Sachi Routray (1916-2004) cain be used as ecopoetic resources and can be compared to other popular ecopoems such as John Keats’ ‘Ode to Autumn’ because such poems have linguistic and social-cultural features suitable for the ESL leamers to assimilate the overlapping textual signs of evo! of the poems, ecological approach of ESL learning, and social ecology. In Second Language/Foreign Language teaching-leaming classrooms, English poetry has no doubt a greater role in attracting the attention of the ESL learners right from the nursery to the tertiary level. [tis evident that children across the world start their practice of leaming ESL for the popular nursery rhymes like Macdonald's ‘Little White Lily’ and the like. The beau mysterious images of nature impress the budding learners when expressed in such poems. Although most of them are anonymous, the frequently anthologized small and musical poems such as ‘Simple “Buzz and Hum’, ‘O My Kitte Gi and the Bumble B compesitions are fl ani ‘How Do You Do Neighbor?", ‘The Fly Lady Bird’ and hundreds of such linguistic potentialities of active vocabulary imple sentences suitable for the beginners of ESL to acquire. on, their ecolinguistic textual configuration bound up with ‘musical harmony and simplicity which are conducive to ecological mind set up of the learners too. larly, the nature poems or poems of romantic ecology bear the testimony of deep ecology as outlined in Wordsworth’s 181Ravenshawe Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies 4 (2014) their language domain from mother tongue to the target language, obviously they get adapted to the vocabulary and expressions because they negotiate the meanings, texts, contexts and linguistic levels are rather closer to them in comparison to the other types of texts focusing complex materialistic, politicised life and society or the so called fantasy or detective writings. I am sure that in and lear, but in ecowritings, they are inspired to learn developing their ecocentric discourse features. For example, the abundant of ecopoems in English of both 19" and 20" Century have already shown their dext being meaningful ESL resources for classroom use. Review of Literature Kramsch (2002), while highlighting Ecological Approach to Foreign Language Education, in a seminal article, focuses on the increasingly multilingual and multicultural nature of global exchanges leading to symbolic competence. He focuses on some of the key terms like pluralistic intrinsic human relations, double-voicing nature of human language, and diff crpretations of meaning like ‘meaning expressed through language on multiple timescales. Similarly, Jarinen says that in Ecological Approach to Foreign Language Leaming, context isthe primary provider of affordances than mediate cognition by means of artifacts, such as language. The practical implications of the views of language are a dynamic system and language leaming is a dynamic, non-linear, unpredictable and ongoing process on the basis of the concept of affordances outlined by J. J. Gibson (1979) Argo in another interet article discusses that the innovative practices and ecological thinking/being/feeling combine to produce Ravenshaw Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies 4 (2014) a site of resistance, of politics, of political resistance. In the Postmodem world, we need to accept ecopoetics that constitute aworl € are fully aware of interdependence of the body upon its world for its health, a world that is now inextricable from the body directly addressing an environment in crisis, Rueckert (1995) says that the nature writings seem to be stored energy. Its relevance does not derive solely from their meaning, but from their capacity to remain active in any language and to go on with the work of energy transfer, to continue to function as an energy pathway that sustains life and the human ‘community From the above review, itis noticed that their assumptions regarding Ecological Approach to Language Acquisition and texts of literature or specifically ecopoems can be brought closer to be used in the ESL classrooms effectively because the factors like “imbibing plural ic human relations’, “capacity to remain in using language, and ‘affordance’ are indeed vested in the ecopoetic texts Importance of Ecopoems in ESL Teaching and Learning Traditionally, the elements of nature have a profound impression on the students instinctively through the Vedic ch ‘written in Sanskrit and the language of which i the epies of both the East and the West; the folk songs and Pastoral, impression on pupils being in academic curicalum befiting ‘o the universal mental and environmental set up. What’s more, nature poems or ecopocms reveal the aesthetics of the clements of natu like seasons, water, air, fire, flowers and fruits, forests and animals, ruRavenshaw Jounal of Literary and Cultural Studies 4 (2014) Ballads that the subject matters of the poems a ‘ents and situations from common life, and to relate or describe them, throughout, as far as, was possible in a selection of language really used by men.’ Again he says that they constitute “the primary laws of nature”, ‘humble and rustic life’, ‘elementary feelings’, and ‘the passions of men are incorporated with the beautiful and permanent forms of nature,’ The texts of the poetry ‘of many popolar poets in English contain ccoTinguistic features both Right fiom the popular works of Chaucer to the Rabindranath Tagore and Sarojini Naidu, the reflection of feelings and imaginations emanating from and attuned to different ecological backgrounds may be in the forms of association with wild organic nature, agrarian and pastoral set ups and various carnivalesque and subtle senses are prominently visible. The degree and subtlety of ESL acquisition are there in the fact, style and language. ‘The Ecolinguistic Features of Eeopoems ‘This approach of language acquisition needs analysis with evidence. For this purpose, some popular and much anthologized nature poems have been analyzed here. The textual quotations ofthe poems are mostly from The Big Book of Rhymes and Norton Anthology of English Poetry (5! edition) respectively. ‘The ecolin formal and functional properties of language according tothe linguistic levels of the text e. we must look at the phonological and phonetic, morphological and syntactic, semantic and pragmatic elements conducive for SLA. Firstly, in terms of metrical phonology, the poems ae bi rhythmic repetitions bearing the patterns mostly image/picture i Ravenshaw Journal of Literaty and Cultural Sudies 4 (2014) creating lyrics with euphonic characteristics of alliteration and assonance, Whether the ESL leamers say: ‘Twinkle, twinkle, li ster’ or ‘Alone, alone, al, all alone’ or “Tiger, tiger buing bright’, “Break, break, break’, ‘Up! Up! My friend’, ‘Sunshine on my shoulders..”, there is simplicity in sound and rhythm for them. In addition, many of such poems have been composed emphasizing the poetic emotion directly inspired by nature with a creative, artistic and intellectual 's spontaneity has made the flow of language without artificiality and therefore universally accessible. This repetition of syllables helps the Ieamers learn the Janguage. It is also evident that nature poets have succeeded in using the common prosodic meters of iambic and trochaic with slight deviations at times and with t feet ‘are common in many other poetic pattems of other languages m Blake, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John PB. Shelley, A.L-Tennyson, Matthew Amold, Robert Browning, Walt Whitman, R.W. Emerson, Robert Frost, R. N. Tagore, Aurobindo appreciable cu and association of man with nature with sensual, intellectual, and/ot mystical feelings. These are the both the poet and the readers are connected uniformly. According to Leech(1969), ‘The social relation between the participants (that for the most part, between the author and his audience) determines what we may call in a broad 183Ravenshaw Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies 4 (2014) the author dealt with two texts of ecopoems, one from romantic ecology ic. ‘Ode on Intimations of Immortality’ by William Wordsworth and the other by Mario Petrucci entitled ‘Deserted’(From Poetry: The Environment, Theme C: Deforestation, Poem-10). This was a part of the study materials prepared as two units of study in poetry section of a negotiated syllabus for the paper of Literature for Fourth Year English Major Education Brack, Sebha Univer to enable the students with text interpretation ary sensibility to the maximum extent. The class consisted of 20 students between 20-21 age limits having average proficiency level. The problem of most of the students was how to understand the text and context; enjoy the poems; and get the linguistic input in the Target Language. They were worried that they had been feeling alienated from many poems they were taught by then because they used to find themselves unrelated to the subject-matters, socio-cultural set ups and the philosophical, moral and satirical themes associated with those poems. Also, the semantic and pragmatic aspects in such poems were difficult and do not help them form complete schema. Thus, they had developed a ‘mechanical attitude towards such poems. For the two selected texts of ecopoems, the text-based CLT was adopted and both are studied in comparison. In pre- teaching, they were told to develop a ‘biocentric’ approach based on ‘animism’ and ‘deep ecology’ on the basis of ecoethical significance relating to their own environmental context. They were made to leam to accept the texts as in the words of Buell (2001) ‘acts of environmental imagination’ that may ‘affect the caring for 18s Ravenshaw Journal of Literary and Cultural Swudies 4 (2014) presenting the settings for the poems In while-teaching, while making ‘them develop a close reading with think aloud strategy, the teacher put emphasis on the application of techniques of creating critical thinking with ecological imagery and eootropes, tracing the morphological and syntactic coherence mainly based on ecocritical ‘theme. In post-teaching, the students were encouraged to give their opinions about global and local comprehension of the themes ofboth the poems. In addition, in the follow up activities, with the ‘guidance of the teacher, they debated getting themselves divided into teams named as ‘urbanature’ and ‘ruranature’. In response to the assignments like paraphrasing chunks and listiig the events of the poems as class work in groups and homework of a comparative appreciation of the poems, it was noticed that they used language mostly expressive and social; and tones were overtly nostalgic, personal with undertone of irony basically related to the hazards of urbanization. The application of cognitive and affective skills and verbal activities both in while teaching and post teaching were satisfactory. Postscript of the Case Method Different models of SLA have been outlined related the use of literary texts. According to the Information Processing Model, leamers are found to process content words, then lexical items to ‘grammatical items for semantic information and then process more ‘meaningful morphology. According to Maley and Duff (1989), an Integrated Model takes into account the linguistic, methodological pects of teaching literature; and in the above an overall estimation is formed that ecopoems can be ving language proficiency; improving the ige; and refining cognitive and creative aspects 189“A hundred years ago I was the her, a friendly face to light a summer's mom, and now my reputation stands at zero, too much of me beams through a sky that’s tom, (in poetry 2009) ‘These lines contain the positive and substantial elements of target language leaming factors plus input, and thus the ecopoemns can be hentic textual materials as ies using them, Apart from learning the language skills, explanation of vocabulary and comprel question-answers, and other language activities, they can be purposefully designed and used for: i. Creating eco among the leamers through ver Improvement of the knowledge of survival fe and surn ed to sustai iii, Develop creative and critical and Multiple Intelligences with the actvit debating, discussion, presentation, role environmental imagination, distinguishing ecological imagination and reality etc. iv, Develop nature appreciation, ecozesthetics and anthropocentric views by bringing real life experiences and association with organic nature into the ESL classrooms related to the ecological concems in rea 190 Ravenshaw Journal of Literary and Cultural Suadies 4 (2014) No doubt, the above listed points are very valuable'to inculcate curiosity and develop natural interest to acquire target language through Participation Metaphor (PM) among the students. Conclusion. said that mind je nature and nature is visible mind and specifically, the bilingual mind possesses double-layered linguistic code (i.e. both MT and L2) for that matter. So, using ‘ecopoems in the framework of the Ecological Approach to SLA many prospective texts of poems in English and the poems in the respective MTs written earlier as pastorals or romantic poems or the ecocritical poems of our time can be used as valuable tools bringing balance between fancy and reality. The curriculum designers or the English language teachers can make a modest and pragmatic attempt to take the major headings of ecology like global warming, pollution, biodiversity, energy crisis, the socio-cultural backgrat anguage teaching and leaming a all the levels. p the learners to get themselves involved in meaning making and acquire supplement to the cognitive factors. ‘This design can be extended to selected texts of prose too. We ‘-based and specifically designed texts can develop igences but even then, the texts of ecopoems possess contents to develop ecocogniton and ecological world view which is the need of our time 191Rovenshaw Journal of Literary dnd Cultural Studies 4 (2014) Works Cited ‘Arigo, Christopher. “Notes towards an Ecopoetics: Revising the Postmodern Sublime and Julian Spahr’s This Connect of Everyone with Langs." hitp/www. arigoessayread pa Web. 25 March 2013. Buell, Lawrence. Writings for an Endangered World: Literature, Culture, and Environment in the US. and Beyond, Cambridge, M.A., and London: The Belnkap Press of Harvard UP, 2001. Print. Duff, A. & A. Maley, Literature, NY: OUP, 2008. Print, Engelhardt, J, “Talking from Ecopoetry,” ASLE 2007, Web. 2 April 2013. Ferguson, M. etal. The Norton Anthology of Poetry, NY: WW. ‘Norton and Company, 2005. Print. Howarth, W.{“Some Principles of Ecocriticism.” The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology. Ed. C. Glotfelty ‘and H. Fromm, London: The University of Georgia Press, 1 has Ecology to do with CLIL? An Ecological and Language Integrated Leaming,” CLIL Practice: Education and Culture. Web. 25 March 2013. Walter, ed. The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes. London: Blackie & Sons, Ltd, Project Gutenberg. Web. 4 Apr. 2 King, Graem, “Earth Poems”. hitp:/kingpoetry2009.com. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. Kramsch, C. “Ecological Perspectives on Foreign Language Education.” Plenary Paper presented at Berkley Language Center, University of Califomia, 21 September 2007. Web. 25 March 2013. 192 ‘Ravenshaw Journal, of Literary and Cultural Suedies 4 Leech, GN. A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry. London: Longman, 1969. Print. Lier, Leo van. “From Input to Affordance: S interactive NY: OUP, 2009. Print. Naidu, Sarojini. The Goldén Threshold. Globus Publishing: NY. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. iterature and Ecology: An Experiment in m Reader: Landmarks in Literary Beology. Ba. C. Glotfelty and H.Fromm, The University of Georgia Press: London, 1995. Print Tagore, Rabindranath, Classic Poetry Series, PoemHunter.com “The World's Poetry Archive, 2004, Google Book Search Web. 25 March 2013. 193