Using Creative Writing in Developing Language Proficiency

Alena Štulajterová, Slovakia

PaedDr. Alena Štulajterová, PhD. has been working for Matej Bel University Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, Department of British and American Studies since 1995. She teaches linguistic disciplines such as Introducing English Linguistics, English Stylistics, Discourse Analysis and Academic Writing. In her research activities she focuses on stylistic significance of punctuation in English and the methodology of teaching academic writing and professional translation.
E-mail: stulajterova@fhv.umb.sk

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Abstract
Introduction
Literary texts and teaching English as a foreign language
Creative writing and the use of poetry
Conclusion
Bibliography

Abstract

The article deals with the theory of teaching English as a foreign language, laying stress on open communication as the principal goal of the teaching process. The author focuses on the use of literary texts within the teaching process with the special regard to the use of poetry. The chief aim of the article is to show the possibilities of creative approach towards poetry in English language teaching.

Introduction

Current social development marked by integration and globalisation has lead to an increasing significance of the international exchange of information. This phenomenon – transforming the world into the „information society“ – has resulted in a growing importance of the English language which has evolved into a principal language of both the integration and globalisation processes and its knowledge has turned out to be vital.

Although English as a foreign language has acquired a solid position among elementary subjects of the curriculum, the learners often fail to reach the main aim of the teaching process: fluent communication. In accordance with the integration and globalisation trends present in all the social spheres, necessity to make the results of teaching English as a foreign language more effective has become an urgent methodological issue.

Teaching English as a foreign language is a task both demanding and challenging. It involves an infinite search for the most suitable methods to fulfil its objectives. Although there has been an unceasing discussion about the most suitable teaching methods, the outcomes of practical teaching methods should engage learners´ interest – capture their attention and ensure their participation in the process of learning and acquiring the target language.

Contemplations and speculations about the ideal technique for teaching English as a foreign language have arisen as a natural reaction towards vague results of the traditional teaching methods. The basic goal of teaching English as a foreign language is to enable the learners to comprehend the messages addressed to them in the target language and to articulate the ideas they wish to express in the target language (these are the qualities characteristic for competent users of the language). However, a large number of learners show no sign of competence regarding the target language – they do not attain appropriate language competence (knowledge of lexical or grammatical functions of the target language), nor appropriate communicative competence (ability to organise individual elements of the target language into a coherent and cohesive discourse).

In order to improve the results of teaching English as a foreign language, there have been constant attempts to modernise the traditional teaching methods and direct the teaching process towards open communication. One of the means to promote open communication is to provide the learner with as much authentic material as possible. As a consequence, the learners face both written and spoken instances of the language taken from its original environment. (Homolova, 2004) The range of the authentic samples of the language is wide and their quality and suitability often varies, but there exists an inexhaustible resource of the language ready to be used in the teaching process – literature.

Literary texts and teaching English as a foreign language

It is quite difficult to make a clear distinction between literature and the rest of the language. Literary and non-literary texts more or less exploit the same expressive means and follow the same language norms. There are, however, some features that make literature – particularly fiction – a unique variety of the language. Expressive means and stylistic devices used in literary texts are original, ambiguous, methaphorical and symbolical – they charge literary texts with dynamic energy. While the purpose of non-literary texts is to inform, literary texts perform aesthetic function to do so, they often break conventional rules (both lexical and grammatical) and use the language in an unexpected manner.

In spite of the fact that authentic poetry, prose as well as drama have a potential to enrich teaching English as a foreign language, the role of literature in the teaching process has been neglected. One of the factors causing this state is an absence of concrete methodological instruction regarding the use of literature within the teaching process. Also a belief that literature is not an appropriate instrument to illustrate the language (it might be linguistically confusing and culturally misleading) and a conviction that the learners might have difficulties in understanding literature due to linguistic abstruseness and cultural vagueness influence the use of literature within the teaching process. (Zelenkova, 2004) A lack of carefully chosen material suitable for direct use within the teaching process affects the use of literature as well.

Nevertheless, it is possible to overcome the above mentioned complications by a careful selection and preparation of literary texts suitable for the purposes of teaching English as a foreign language. Literary texts selected and prepared for direct use within the teaching process should be interesting for the learners: they should activate reaction and stimulate discussion. In order to do so, they should be related to the learners´ interests as well as their knowledge and experience.

Creative writing and the use of poetry

Literature offers a variety of activities concentrating on either reception or reproduction of a given literary text. It also allows another approach towards literature, the approach with much stronger impact on the improvement of the learners´ performance in the target language than reception or reproduction. This approach involves a creative response and it focuses on production. Creative writing forces the learners to exploit the language as much as they are able to and to experiment with the language as much as their knowledge and experience permits them.

It is no longer easy to specify the difference between prose and poetry. In the past, each of them used to be clearly defined and restrained but the will of the authors to set free from the traditional norms concerning both content and form lead to a crash of boundaries between the two genres. Yet, there are few features distinguishing them, one of them being the different quantitative and qualitative space given to the two genres. The language of poetry is more intensive and more expressive – the author is forced to verbalise his or her feelings and thoughts as effectively and as precisely as possible. To create a literary effect, the author must carefully consider each word he or she wishes to use. The language of poetry is thus dense and sound, ready to absorb metaphoric and symbolic expressions.

The main features of poetry make it an ideal medium to convey the most delicate properties of the target language to the learners. As far as its reception is concerned, listening and reading of poetry can practise the two receptive language skills (listening comprehension and reading comprehension). Reproduction of poetry – rewriting, memorising, translating and acting – exercises the two productive language skills (speaking and writing). Alber-Morgan et al. (2007) claim that it is not an easy task to teach writing as it is the most complex form of communication; expressing oneself in writing requires synthesis of a myriad of complex component skills. Creative writing of poetry (is production) provides a combined training of all four language skills as it naturally involves the interaction of reception and reproduction. Providing teachers investigate enjoyable and productive ways to introduce creative writing of poetry in the EFL classroom, it will always rouse sensitiveness concerning the language skills – it will makes the learners evaluate the language of receptive input together with the language of productive output.

There are many ways to use poetry in the English language classroom. From simple forms such as haiku, cinquains and limericks to more complex rhymes, poetry offers many different ways to access the target language. Copies of poems hung on classroom walls, listening to recordings of poets, reading poems both aloud and silently are ways to expose language learners to the joys of English even before they begin to write their own poems. Poetry is also a very good way to help children understand the phonics of English and work with rhyming words. (Collins, 2008)

In order to fully use the capacity of creative writing of poetry, its implementation in the teaching process must be properly considered an arranged. Very useful websites offering poems and ideas for introducing poetry in EFL classroom are www.favoritepoems.org or www.readwritethink.org. One very simple format proposed by Collins (2008) is to have learners write their name down the left side of the paper and nest to each letter, add a word that describes them:

          Likes to ski
          Eats spaghetti
          Never lies
          And loves to sleep.

If learners accept poetry itself (it should be introduced to them in a positive and attractive manner), creative writing of poetry can serve a number of objectives. It can enrich the teaching process on both primary and secondary schools – the choice of the most suitable activities depends on the learner´ knowledge and experience.

Conclusion

The activities based on creative approach towards poetry surpass the limits of mechanical manipulation with the given text and demand a dynamic interaction with the language on the part of the learners. It increases their interest in the teaching process and stimulates their attempt to make use of the target language. Creative writing of poetry can be both enjoyable and fascinating for language learners. Imaginative work with poetry enhances the learners´ responsiveness towards individual usage of expressive means and stylistic devices on the phonetic/phonological, lexical and syntactical levels. It also introduces an aesthetic dimension into the interaction between the learners and the target language – it thus significantly contributes to linking the communicative aim of the foreign language teaching with the educational and instructional aims.

Bibliography

Alber-Morgan, S. et al. Teaching Writing for Keeps. West Virginia : West Virginia University Press. 2007.

Collins, R. Using writing activities with young EFL learners. In: International Conference ELT in Primary Education. Bratislava : National Institute for Education, 2008. pp. 101-107. ISBN 978-80-89225-66-8.

Harmer, J. The Practice of English Language Teaching. London : Longman, 1991. ISBN 0-582-09133-0.

Homolova, E. Authentic materials as a source of creative approach to EFL… or Would You Like a Cup of Tea? In: Is creativity the key to success in an EFL Classroom? Conference proceedings. Banska Bystrica : Matej Bel University, 2004. pp. 66-68. ISBN 80-88901-98-7

King, J. Poetry Workshop. London : Foulsham, 1990. ISBN 0-572-01602-6.

Maley, A. – Mouldings, S. Poem into Poem. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1985. ISBN 0-521-31856-4.

Wainwright, H. – Hutton, J. Your own Words. Edinburgh : Nelson, 1992. ISBN 0-17-432336-0.

Widdowson, H. G. Teaching Language as Communication. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1978.

Zelenkova, A. Creative Approaches to Developing Cultural Awareness in ELT. In: Is creativity the key to success in an EFL Classroom? Conference proceedings. Banska Bystrica: Matej Bel University, 2004. pp. 93-97. ISBN 80-88901-98-7

Please check the Creative Methodology for the Classroom course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Literature course at Pilgrims website.