Before we set out and look at some theories and practice for introducing creativity into the language classroom, let’s see why it is worth making all this effort. Twitter, OU Students Have you every changed an activity in your course book or a resource book to match the needs of a particular group you teach? Or do you think the opposite is true and that you learn to be creative over the years? It looks at how linguistic creativity is produced, the effects it has, and how we can go about studying it. Do you think you are creative? learning, OU Students What do you actually do when you are thinking creatively? Charter and policies, clearly explains basic concepts and ideas, contains a range of source material and commissioned readings to supplement chapters, includes contributions from leading experts in their fields including Guy Cook, Sharon Goodman, Frank Monaghan, Derek Neale, David Peplow and Elena Semino, has a truly international scope, encompassing examples and case studies from the UK and North America, the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Have you ever found that you wanted to do something but you did not have the right tool / material to do it, and then you found some way of using another object / material and managed somehow? Do you sometimes give them tasks where there is no one possible answer and the answers will vary from one learner to another? Creativity in Language: from Everyday Style to Verbal Art, edited by Zsófia Demjén and Philip Seargeant, explores the fundamental role played by creativity in the way we express ourselves in all walks of life: from workplace humour and twitter chats to high literary art. It moves beyond traditional approaches to the topic by considering creativity from the perspective of a variety of disciplines – language studies, creative writing, translation studies, literary studies, and visual communication – showing how language is manipulated for particular effects in different contexts. © British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, London SW1A 2BN, UK Explore our qualifications and courses by requesting one of our prospectuses today. I will use a theory of creative thinking roles and describe the classroom environment that can foster this kind of thinking. This prepares learners for using the language … There you go, you are creative! Conclusion If you wish to be more aware of how creativity works in general and in your classroom so that you can make more informed decisions about using it and how to use it in your classes, join me for the upcoming three articles. YES? Some of them? Are my students creative in my lessons? The BBC and the British Council are not responsible for the contents of external sites. The book examines the techniques and analysis of creative uses of language, and how words combine with visuals and images in communication and expression. © BBC World Service, Bush House, Strand, London WC2B 4PH, UK, Creative writing for language learners (and teachers), How to maximise the language learning of senior learners, Teacher professional development through WhatsApp-based Communities of Practice in challenging contexts, Blog topics for November and December 2020, CLIL and EMI - From Schools to Higher Education, Evidence-based reflection and teacher development. Do you ever get them to think about rules, problems and how things and language work instead of just telling them? There you go, your students have opportunities to think creatively in your classes already! Having read this list of why creativity is important in the classroom, you may have been wondering about either or both of these two questions: I’m almost a hundred per cent sure that the answer is ‘yes’ to both of these questions. Special issue of International Journal of Language and Culture 6:1 (2019) | Edited by Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald, Andrea Hollington, Nico Nassenstein and Anne Storch. Why is creativity important? Do you think you can call yourself lucky if you have one or two creative students in a lifetime? Why is creativity important in language classrooms? I will use a definition of creativity that lists the four main features of it and I will look into the question of how we can bring these four features to the language classroom. is illustrated in full colour to bring the fascinating study of language and creativity to life. team: Help with the University’s computing systems: Help with accessing the online library, referencing and using libraries near you: Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies, School of Languages and Applied Linguistics, School of Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport, School of Health, Wellbeing and Social Care, OpenLearn: free