You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. - Maya Angelou
Can learning a new language increase one's creativity?
The idea of creativity is complex. According to "Human Motivation" by Robert Franken, creativity is defined as "the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others or entertaining ourselves or others." To be creative you need to see things from new perspectives and from this generate new possibilities.
Creativity results from two types of thinking: convergent (focused, attention driven thinking narrowing solutions down to one) and divergent (the opposite, open thinking that considers all possibilities). Cycling between these two processes results in creative solutions.
Much research has been dedicated to the correlation of bilingualism and creativity. Children and adults raised as bilinguals perform better on measures of divergent thinking than monolinguals.
The ...
Do you face difficulty in learning English? Do you keep saying to yourself “I could do much better if only if could improve my English language.”? If you have answered YES then certainly you will be looking for a solution for the same so that you can free yourself from the shackles of poor English. Here, in this article, we have explained some of the commonest problems which many of the learners across the globe face and some ways too which can make it easier for you to enhance your language in a simple but effective way.
Problems
Poor Vocabulary
Vocabulary is the number of words which a language knower knows. If you are the one who knows more number of words then naturally you will have no problem to express yourself, no matter what the situation is. But, if you are someone who knows just a few of the basic words then falling short of speech or the problem of trying to find the right word to express the situation or to continue the talk would occur. Therefore, try to focus more ...
Abstract: How to assist in getting English language learners help by building strategies into your lessons, and using these tools to create vocabulary and increase fluency.
Scaffolding Instruction for English Language Learners
As in any good building, if you want to begin properly, you need to build a solid foundation that will support it through the construction process. Similarly, if you want a student to build a foundation of knowledge, you need to construct a base of learning that will see that person through to understanding of the material. In both cases, this is where scaffolding comes into the picture. Whether you are using verbal scaffolding to model how to pronounce a new word, to instructional scaffolding to intentionally use graphic organizers to prepare students for the content of a new chapter, or building strategies into a lesson is critical for ELL/ESL students. One solution to a student not being able to pronounce a new word correctly, even after several attempts, ...
The pre-production phase, or silent period, is one which many beginner second-language students have had experience with. In my years teaching EFL to young learners in China and Korea, I have dealt with many students who looked completely overwhelmed by the new language. I believe the most important thing for a teacher to do is to respect this silent period as a natural phase. It is part of the development, that is the language development, that a period of input needs to be built up before a student is ready to produce, and so it is the teacher's job to provide the student with a developmentally appropriate environment while he or she works through this initial phase in language acquisition.
Keep them moving
One approach which I have found to work really well during this phase is the Total Physical Response (TPR) approach. In this approach, the teacher gives a series of commands while demonstrating (or modelling) each one; the student then demonstrates comprehension, not verbally, ...
Educational benefits of using poetry
Poetry could be used as a medium to teach language as it shows a path to teach basic language skills. Some of the educational benefits of using poetry are explained by Sarac:
Different viewpoint for language:
It broadens the seeing perspective of learner, as they begin to use language in a completely different way. The grammar used in poetry is different (it does not follow typical grammar rules) for example, incomplete sentences. The syntax is also different for example, in this verse "women and men both little and small; cared of anyone not at all" the structure of sentence does not follow typical grammar use. The vocabulary used is also different for example a word "no one" used in a poem does not belong to standard English vocabulary, but in the poem it gives the meaning poet wants to explain. A poet might use slangs and jargons in order to make his poetry more meaningful In this way learner catches a different viewpoint towards language by ...
