ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute OBJECTIVES You will understand: 1. Criteria to use when selecting creative writing activities for use in your classroom. 2. The advantages and disadvantages of creative writing. 3. Various techniques for using creative writing to teach writing. You will be able to: 1. Plan and teach writing lessons that make use of creative writing activities.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute WHAT IS CREATIVE WRITING? “Creative writing is writing that expresses the writer's thoughts and feelings in an imaginative, often unique, and poetic way. Creative writing is guided more by the writer's need to express feelings and ideas than by restrictive demands of factual and logical progression of expository writing.” Creative writing includes the following types of writing: Short stories Longer stories and novels Poetry Descriptions Captions and headlines for pictures or cartoons Personal narratives or telling personal stories

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute WHAT IS CREATIVE WRITING? “Creative writing is writing that expresses the writer's thoughts and feelings in an imaginative, often unique, and poetic way. Creative writing is guided more by the writer's need to express feelings and ideas than by restrictive demands of factual and logical progression of expository writing.” Do you agree with the definition of creative writing given in the Lecture Notes? Do you think that creative writing has a place in the English language classroom? Why/why not?

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute HOW CAN A LANGUAGE LEARNER BENEFIT FROM CREATIVE WRITING? Creative writing can benefit all learners; however, there are four general areas where intermediate and higher learners are able to benefit from creative writing activities: 1. Creative writing not only stimulates the students, it is also a lot of fun. Students are happier to do work in which they can express themselves and their own ideas. 2. Creative writing helps students develop creative language, which is not about an ‘anything goes’ mentality. In fact, it involves playful yet skillful work with language. If students want to produce a good story or poem, they need to choose accurate and descriptive language, and they need to work on refining it. 3. Creative writing techniques help students develop greater precision in expression. Students have to carefully choose their vocabulary and idioms to express themselves precisely. 4. Creative writing gives students a voice in another medium. Some of the quietest and most reserved students will open up given the right creative writing activity.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute WHY IS CREATIVE WRITING USEFUL FOR THE LANGUAGE LEARNING PROCESS? There are many reasons why creative writing is an important part of the English language classroom: Even though some students may see it as a frivolous activity, we need to help them understand that it helps them to develop their communication skills. Creative writing is entertaining and helps students foster their artistic ability. It helps students explore the functions and values of writing as well as stimulates their imagination. Moreover, it helps them to focus in the language and it helps them learn to read and write.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute Students who are studying English for academic purposes or professional purposes may initially question the worth of creative writing activities. There are, however, several key reasons why creative writing can benefit students who have to write more formal and structured reports. Creative writing helps students to: Produce the written word more fluently Write more accurately and precisely Work with a wider variety of words, phrases and sentence structures Clarify their thoughts and thought processes Write within clearly defined formatting and structural boundaries Take risks with their written English

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF TEACHING CREATIVE WRITING? Teachers need to ensure that the students feel personally involved if they want the lesson to have lasting value. In order for students to accept that creative writing is more than just ‘fun’, a teacher needs to be clear about which skills he or she is trying to develop. If the objective of the lesson is not clear, students might not feel motivated to participate. Teachers also need to provide constructive feedback to help students refine their language choices. Without this feedback, the lesson could be perceived as meaningless.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute HOW DO WE CHOOSE CREATIVE WRITING ACTIVITIES? Choosing activities depends on many factors: What level are the students? What is the average age of the students? What is the background of the students,(field of study or expertise, professional background)? Why are the students learning English? How are they planning to use the writing (school tests, cover letters, etc.)? What should the students be able to produce at the end of the exercise? What is the focus of the exercise,(structure, tense, usage, etc.)? How much time do you have for the activity? What is your expected long-term outcome of using the activity? Once you have considered all of these factors, you can begin to focus on creating a lesson that is a positive and long-term learning experience.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute SAMPLE CREATIVE WRITING LESSONS

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute  What is a poem?  Do you like poetry?  Do you have a favourite poem or poet?  Who is a famous poet from your country?

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute Water Cool, clear Invigorating, refreshing, sustaining A thing that provides energy. Life 1. Identify the structure/form of the poem (what are the parts of speech in each line)? 2. Report orally and informally to the rest of the class on the feeling/tone of the poem. 3. What is the relationship between the first and last lines?

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute BRAINSTORM: What are some other synonym pairs? For example, vacation - holiday

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute Let’s write a poem….

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute

The following are a few more suggestions for creative writing activities: Story writing using one or a series of pictures or cartoons or real objects Writing different types of stories (mystery, romance, adventure) from the same prompts Looking at the different components of a story (setting, character, plot, climax) Following a model for a particular type of story with original content Writing different kinds of poetry (haiku, limericks, diamante poems, cinquain poems) Writing descriptions of fictitious or real people, places, objects, events Creating captions and headlines for pictures or cartoons Writing personal narratives or telling personal stories, either fictitious or real

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute Complete Question 2 (A or B) in your Task Journal. Task Journals can be submitted via to or (preferred) or printed and handed in.