JAPANESE HAIKU IN THE LITERATURE CURRICULUM OF HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION

Abstract

Haiku is a traditional Japanese style of poetry with 17 syllables divided into three lines and written in the 5/7/5 syllable rule. Haiku has strong appeal to literature readers all over the world and has been included in teaching and researching tasks at many academic levels. In Vietnam, haiku is taught in some lessons of the subject Literature for the 10th grade, which introduce two typical Japanese poets Matsuo Basho and Yosa Buson. However, to the ordinary perception, this is a special genre with a special prosody, so teaching and learning haiku should focus on some aspects concerning its genre characteristics, the Japanese traditional culture identity and sense of aesthetics in order to employ appropriate approaches. Based on the objectives of the lessons, teaching contents can be designed following the genre’s characteristics and intertextuality to evoke learners’ interest and excitement, bringing them initial impressions and perception of the beauty and originality of worldwide literary expressions.