Promoting the Creative Use of English

The promotion of the creative use of English helps enrich language learning experiences and it can be achieved through the effective use of language arts. In fact, language arts has much to offer in developing students’ capability to appreciate language use, and respond and give expression to real and imaginative experience. Students’ language sensitivity and cultural awareness, as well as creative and critical thinking, can be developed with the use of imaginative texts such as poems, novels, short stories, dramas, films, film scripts, advertisements, song lyrics, and radio and television programmes. To help students progress towards the targets and objectives of the Experience Strand, teachers are encouraged to use a wide range of language arts materials in the

learning and teaching of English and design thought-provoking activities that encourage students to explore and experiment with the creative use of the language.

Reasons for Using Language Arts Materials in the English Language Curriculum

Language Enrichment

 Imaginative texts help sharpen students’ awareness of the range of language itself. They offer genuine examples of a range of styles, registers and text types at different levels of difficulty.

They are enriched with figurative language or literary devices (e.g. imagery, similes and metaphors, personification, hyperbole) which often present familiar experiences in a new light, encouraging students to consider the nature of the experience and the potential of the language itself. Students are encouraged to be creative and adventurous as they begin to appreciate the richness and variety of the language.

 Imaginative texts are by nature open to multiple interpretations. Readers’ interpretations of and reactions to a given text are rarely identical. This difference in points of view allows for genuine interaction among students.

 Imaginative texts often deal with issues of universal significance (e.g. human relationships, nature, love, growing up), which can be a powerful source of motivation for students to give personal responses from their own experience.

 The interest and appeal of imaginative texts make them a key resource for stimulating language activities. Students have to engage interactively with the text, with fellow students and the teacher. In the process, students pay careful attention to the text itself and generate language as they complete tasks.

Cultural Enrichment

 One of the overall aims of the senior secondary English Language curriculum is to enhance students’ cultural knowledge and understanding. To achieve effective communication, in addition to language knowledge and skills, students need to have the necessary cultural information to perceive the shades of meaning and allusions in the words and expressions used by speakers of English from different cultures. To foster cultural literacy, students need to read widely. When used appropriately, language arts materials are a powerful means to this end.

Personal Involvement

 Imaginative texts allow for personal involvement. More diffuse than informational discourse, they stimulate students to engage in a vigorous process of interactive reading. The focus of students’ attention is often shifted from the more mechanical aspects of the target language

system to the emotional experience represented in the text.

Considerations for Selecting Language Arts Materials

The suitability of language arts materials for the language classroom varies from one group of students to another, depending on their age, needs, interests, cultural background, language level, and intellectual and emotional maturity. It is most important to make use of materials which stimulate their personal imagination and involvement. The following should be considered when selecting language arts materials to be used in class:

 appropriateness of content

 interest to the reader

 amount of cultural knowledge required

 density, pace, level and clarity of language

 how the materials are related to the learning objectives, themes of the learning units or students’ learning in other areas

In selecting films and documentaries, the following also need to be considered:

 degree of visual support

 clarity of sound and picture

 the techniques employed in the film/documentary

Students can be involved in the selection process. In some cases, a class’s suggestions may turn the teacher’s attention to materials with excellent potential of which he or she was personally unaware.

Planning and Designing Activities Using Language Arts Materials

The following are some suggestions for planning and designing activities that may be used with imaginative texts:

 The reading of an imaginative text is often just one key element in a linked set of activities within a unit. These activities may include a preliminary discussion, interactive work involving the text, and follow-up activities such as speaking or writing.

 Group and shared activities allow the teacher and the participants to tap the knowledge and experience within the group. With its variety of life experiences, a group can foster the development of an individual’s awareness of both his/her own responses and of the world represented in the text. Students working in groups are encouraged to take risks in reading and exploring the text together, sharing experiences, views and interpretations.

 Questions can be designed and organised in such a way that they lead students to work either individually or through group discussion to achieve a better understanding of the text.

Students can benefit from answering both closed questions aimed at eliciting information-based responses and open questions encouraging investigation and reasoned interpretation.

 In addition to the conventional “text and questions” approach, teachers should employ a broad range of activities to suit students’ interests, level and needs (e.g. role-play, solo/choral speaking, drama, improvisation, creative writing, audio/video production, jigsaw reading, parallel reading of a text with another text or other media). However, it should be stressed that the variety of activities should aim at increasing students’ confidence to develop and express their own responses. As their critical faculties are sharpened, they will become keener to articulate their own views and assess other perspectives. They are also more likely to engage in creative writing and/or extended reading at home.

Suggested Activities for Using Language Arts Materials

The following is a list of activities that may be used with imaginative texts. It is meant to be suggestive rather than exhaustive, and teachers should feel free to make changes and/or use their own ideas.

 Preliminary activities

- poster presentations on the theme/subject of the text - discussion of photos/pictures related to the text - predicting what the text is about by reading its title - personal reactions to the theme(s) which occur in the text

- discussion about how students would have responded if they had been in a similar situation to the one in the text

- brainstorming vocabulary conducive to understanding the text

 Activities focusing on the text

- jigsaw reading, i.e. getting students to read different parts of the text and then getting them to put it all together

- choosing a description which best summarises the text

- completing sentences which show “cause-and-effect” relationships in the text - matching definitions with words in the text

- organising words according to lexical relationships

- gap-filling, i.e. certain words are removed from the text, and students fill in the gaps either by themselves or by choosing from a word list

- choosing from a list of adjectives the one which best describes a certain character, and supplying reasons

- reading/listening to an extract, and writing and/or presenting the dialogue between the

characters

- answering comprehension questions about certain words or phrases, the content of the text and its underlying meaning

- discussing the language used in the text (e.g. selecting the most beautiful line/best-written part, explaining the craft/techniques used and the effects created)

- considering the same text presented in another form

- reading aloud the text with feelings and an appropriate tone

 Follow-up activities

- discussion/debate on the theme/subject of the text - writing creatively on the theme/subject of the text - role-play/simulation

- rewriting the text as a different text type (e.g. turning a story into a film script)

- writing diary entries or a letter reflecting on the events of the story from the point of view of the reader or one of the characters

Suggested Activities for Using Films and Documentaries

Using non-print materials such as films and documentaries to increase students’ motivation and promote language learning has become increasingly popular in the English Language classroom.

The use of these materials is further promoted through the reading/viewing programme tied in with the public examination. To enable students to make the most of these materials, teachers should help them cultivate a habit of watching films/documentaries, and develop skills and strategies conducive to independent viewing.

To enhance students’ learning effectiveness through film/documentary viewing, the teacher should encourage students to practise the following regularly:

 selecting films/documentaries for viewing based on criteria such as their interest in and familiarity with the subject and the appropriateness of the content;

 working together with peers who are interested in viewing the same film/documentary whenever possible, for mutual support and for sharing of ideas or opinions;

 keeping a logbook in which they note down their personal responses and reflections on the different aspects of the film/documentary; and

 making the best use of the resources and support available (e.g. the Internet, the library, teachers, parents, peers) to improve their understanding of the film/documentary.

Some suggested pre-viewing, after-viewing and extension activities are provided below. They aim to develop students’ ability to plan and prepare for, make sense of, reflect on and respond to the viewing. They also provide students with opportunities to practise research skills, communication skills, presentation skills and creativity, and to reinforce their learning in other parts of the

English Language curriculum.

Teachers should give students appropriate help and guidance on how to choose and use the activities. They may also consider encouraging students to make judicious use of English subtitles to follow dialogues/commentaries, learn vocabulary and understand context-bound expressions.

(The teacher should, however, remind students that subtitles tend to focus them on reading rather than listening, and that they should not overlook the importance of developing listening strategies during the viewing process.)

Before the Viewing

 Students consider the title and the information in the product cover or promotional materials and make predictions about the development of the film/documentary.

 Students brainstorm what they know about the film/documentary. They may compile a list of facts (e.g. the setting and background) or write a short paragraph on their initial views and feelings.

 Students engage in pre-viewing activities that help them find out more about the film/documentary. They may search for information in the library, or they may browse the Internet where they can visit the official website or read reviews of the film or locate and visit useful websites for ideas about the documentary.

 Students make a list of useful words and expressions they have learnt during the information search. They may also discuss with each other and write down a few questions about what they would like to learn from the film/documentary.

After the Viewing

 Students engage in pair work or group discussion to explore and give their personal response to some of the following:

- the main theme/purpose of the film/documentary

- general feelings about the film/documentary (e.g. interesting, boring, horrifying, amusing)

- the most interesting scene(s)/information/point(s) - the most interesting character(s)

- the relationship between the film/documentary and their personal experience or their own situation

- new words/expressions/language structures learnt - the most striking or interesting image(s)/picture(s) - the mood/tone of the film/documentary*

- the paralinguistic features (e.g. facial expressions, gestures) used to convey meaning and to draw attention*

- the technical and visual effects (e.g. colour, lighting, camera, setting, costume, make-up, props) used to convey meaning and create stylistic effects*

- further questions/new ideas raised*

 Students record their reflections on some of the above points in their logbooks.

 Students present their reflections and respond to questions raised by peers and the teacher.

* Note: These activities are more demanding and may be better suited to the more advanced students.

Further Work

The following activities are indicative of the kind of language extension work that students are encouraged to engage in. Teachers may select or re-develop some of these activities, taking into account students’ interests and abilities and how the activities tie in with the school’s other English-related work (e.g. debating, drama, campus radio, newsletter).

 Students write a diary entry about a chosen incident, from the point of view of one of the characters in the film, or the narrator or an individual in the documentary.

 Students engage in some of the following speaking activities:

- discussion on issues raised in the film/documentary - prepared talks on a topic related to the film/documentary

- debates in which they prepare arguments in favour of or against propositions developed from the film/documentary

 Students choose a character from the film, or the narrator, or an individual from the documentary and work out what they would like to say to him/her in a letter, an email, or a telephone conversation.

 Students write a short review for the school newspaper giving their opinion on the film/documentary. They rate the film/documentary on a five-point scale.

 Students write an alternative ending, a possible sequel, or an imaginary dialogue based on the film/documentary.