Less is More Week 2.2

Less is More

Flash fiction

Experimenting with Flash fiction this week has made me reflect on the role restrictions or rules have to play in cultivating creativity. Our love story needed to be short and the characters 'Water and Plastic' were pre-defined before I even knew what the task was. These conditions actually reduced my anxiety in some way, perhaps this 'scaffolding' removed some of the responsibility or even created a kind of ludic quality to the activity. When learners 'play' with the language, they develop their self-esteem and consequently a tendency to take risks in the target language and this is seen as fundamental to language acquisition (Maley, A. 2009). 

Linguistic limitations

With lower level language learners, their linguistic limitations may lead to more creativity in writing tasks (James, G. 2006). But does this mean that more proficient speakers, with their vast array of lexical resources, need to be less creative than elementary learners in the TL (target language)? If this is the case, equipping lower level learners with creative skills is of utmost importance. 

But what exactly is creativity? 

Clarke, M.A., (2005 pp.2-4) defines creativity as "the ability to re-define, re-create and/or re-produce" and goes on to outline twelve conditions for its facilitation; Meaning, Questioning, Exploration, Experimentation, Adaptation, Open-mindedness, Insight, Fearlessness, Innovation, Abandonment and Enjoyment, Risk-taking and finally, Making and positive resolution of mistakes.

Clarke, M.A., (2005 p.4) key words for creativity in a word cloud. Created using Word clouds for kids http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm


Here are some other thoughts on the nature of creativity.

Flash fiction reflections

Perhaps I went through some of Clarke's conditions when I did the Flash fiction task this week... I first looked for a meaning or purpose behind my story, in this case linking it to the environment and my passion for science fiction. I then explored and experimented with the concepts of water and plastic and did some research into related topics and lexis. I soon found myself enjoying the challenge and truly immersed myself in the process. Finally, by publishing my story I took a risk, I most definitely made mistakes, and I overcame my initial fear of creative writing.


Can you teach creativity?

Whether or not creativity can be taught is a tough question. If we see creativity as a skill/ability with a set of sub-skills as Clarke suggests (Clarke, M.A., (2005 pp.2-4) it could definitely be developed by introducing the elements: meaning, questioning... into our course design, lessons and activities. In fact, perhaps it is more an issue of not stifling the innate creativity that we all have. Ken Robinson in his now famous talk on TED argues that this is often the reality of state schools in America where standardised education puts academic skills above more creative pursuits.

'And the second is academic ability, which has really come to dominate our view of intelligence, because the universities designed the system in their image. If you think of it, the whole system of public education around the world is a protracted process of university entrance. And the consequence is that many highly-talented, brilliant, creative people think they're not, because the thing they were good at at school wasn't valued, or was actually stigmatized. And I think we can't afford to go on that way.' (Robinson, K. 2006)

In order to reverse this in language learning contexts, we firstly need to create an atmosphere of trust and collaboration among our students and between students and teachers so that students and teachers are not afraid to take risks. We also need to be creative ourselves in the way we adapt materials and conduct activities, thus constructively aligning our course to develop creative skills. If our classrooms or online environments are set up to facilitate agency, ownership and trust, learners will be encouraged to take risks, challenge authority, ask questions and create/re-create their own understandings. To sum up, all the elements suggested by Clarke as being essential for creativity are also, in my opinion, essential for language learning. Therefore, by developing creativity we are also developing the skills needed for successful language learning.

References

Clarke, M.A., 2005. Creativity in modern foreign languages teaching and learning. Subject Perspectives on Creativity, Higher Education Academy.

James, G. 2006 Writing Creatively in Another Language, TEFL.net.

Viewed 01/02/16: http://www.tefl.net/esl-articles/creative-writing.htm

Maley, A. 2009 Creative Writing for Language Learners (and teachers), Published on TeachingEnglish.

Viewed 01/02/16: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/creative-writing-language-learners-teachers

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-64_QUUjEv8

Viewed on 01/02/16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY
Viewed on 15/03/15