Teaching English through

CREATIVITY

Colegiul National Silvania,

Zalau – 6 December. 2016
creativity
ˌkriːeɪˈtɪvɪti/
noun

the ability to produce original

and unusual ideas or to make
something new or imaginative
As defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary
Being inside the box was

comfortable – warm and cosy.

We curled up with cushions of routine,
wadded with words,
blanketed by books,

swaddled in certainties.

A bit stuffy perhaps,

and we sometimes felt cramped,

but never mind,

we were so used to it that it felt

normal – and, as I said,

comfortable.
Out here we are exposed,

and cold winds blow.

We need to hold on tight,

keep our eyes open

for sudden snow squalls, hidden crevasses.

It’s a precarious existence now –

but here we can move and breathe,

see clear to the far horizon.

And if we come to a cliff,

we know we can step off it

into empty air,

trusting it to bear us up.

Poem, Outside the Box,
We have no fear of falling. Alan Maley Nagoya
November 2010
 Teaching English Creatively

Living in a world which is permanently linked to technology, surrounded by smartphones, tablets, laptops and the like, our
brains have developed a tendency to receive information and pass it on to others (share-ing), or store for further use,
without actually dwelling sufficiently on its implications. We have become accustomed to reading, seeing, watching,
observing, taking notes … but how much do we really learn? How much of all that is readily available do we actually use?
How much of the “smartness” around us helps us still develop? In a world that has become so technical… how do we still
pass on the feeling, the emotion, the touch of life? There is one answer – Creativity!
Luckily, teaching allows for ample processes where creativity can be enhanced. In the EFL class, the teacher has the task to
activate students, make them attentive, aware of the increasing importance of the English language and the necessity of
speaking it fluently. Among the different techniques of involving students, such as the PPP (presentation, practice,
production) or TPR (Total Physical Response) or Direct method which were used in the first decades of EFL, or the more
modern communicative strategies, one thing is clear: we have to be more creative! Or maybe to make sure we do not stop
being creative! We have to learn how to attract, inspire, give alternatives and … listen in order to be listened!