Let Creativity into the Language Class

Deviating from the coursebook can be a challenge for teachers working with a strict syllabus, but applying a little imagination can be highly effective and fun

Creativity is not an optional extra for a language teacher, something off the wall to do on a Friday afternoon perhaps. Rather, creativity should be the teacher's best friend.

For too long English language teachers have worried about finding the best method, the quickest, most efficient way to teach languages. But this quest for a pedagogic holy grail, however noble, is destined to fail, and for many reasons, not least because there are far too many variables flying around.

There's simply no best method. There can't be any top-down, one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter approach that does justice to the complexity of learning a language. I would like to suggest that far from being panacea, principled, creative methodology can go a long way towards making the practice of teaching a second language more effective, and certainly much more enjoyable for both learners and teachers.

So what do we mean by "creativity"? It is best defined as a cluster of skills to fashion a product or idea that is original and is culturally valued. In other words, according to researchers, for an idea or product to be considered "creative" it should be new and useful.

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