Making English creative and easy What a teacher needs is som.e iogenious ideas to make a language lesson ·fun and interesting. By EDMUND NGO ed [email protected] ENGLISH grammar can be a dry subject to many students, but with a dash of creativity even the most mundane activities and tasks can be made interesting. Budapest International Languages Institute director Julia Dudas argues that creativity is important in the classroom and should be encouraged even within a rigid curriculum. "Creativity depends on the teacher and handling subjects such as grammar does not mean it should be rigid. "The teacher can encourage students to write a poem using a sentence structure beginning with "I like, I love, But I don't like, I hate" and asking the students to fill in the blanks with their own experiences or images. "The end result will be the active usage of the language while being creative at the same time," she said. Dudas from Hungary was among the international speakers invited to share language teaching ideas during the ninth Malaysia International Conference on English Language Teaching (MICELT)held in Ipoh last week. The event was organised by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and ELSlanguage centres, and allowed participants, mostly English language teachers, a platform to exchange ideas and practices for a better learning environment. Conference chairman Assoc Prof Dr Arshad Abd Samad said in his welcoming address that since the English language was evolving, the teaching approach and materials should also reflect those changes. "Not only do we need to meet the needs of students to equip them sufficiently before they head into the world, but we also have to ensure the world's needs can be catered through the students," he said. Among other notable speakers and topics brought up during the tb.ree-day conference included Prof Marc Helgesen from Miyaki Gakuin Women's University, Japan, who spoke on self-assessment and."Happiness 2.0" and how positive psychology played a role in teaching. "Research in positive psychology focuses on the behaviour of happy, mentally healthy people and one example is how happy peo- ple are those who remember the good things in their lives. ''Through the use of a journal, English teachers can even teach grammar, by tap- ping into these behaviours," he said. Prof Helgesen asked his students to keep a "happiness journal" where they write down good things that had happened to them throughout the week. "The language goal is on the use of gram- mar such as past tense, but the theme is on positive well-being, or happiness. "These are language functions that English teachers deal with in their classes anyway, including teaching their students present continuous tense for being mindful of the good things that are happening in the present moment. "There is no harm when teachers use questions such as 'Who is your favourite moviB star?' or 'What is your favourite sport?' to teach the same lessons, but stu- dent will be more engaged in the lessons if they talk about positive emotional experi- ences. :'We are still using the same language function and vocabulary but plugging these items into a deeper, more meaningful con- text for them," he said. Prof Helgesen said studies in neuroscience have shown that when a person is happy, the brain produces hormones that boost their learning process, making them stay on a task longer and become more motivated. "Any content that is engaging for the student peaks their interest, making a dif- ference in the learning process. Being happy helps them to learn. "Another activity that English classes often
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Making Englishcreative
and easyWhat a teacher needs is som.e iogenious ideas to make alanguage lesson ·fun and interesting.
By EDMUND [email protected]
ENGLISH grammar can be a dry subjectto many students, but with a dash ofcreativity even the most mundane
activities and tasks can be made interesting.Budapest International Languages Institute
director Julia Dudas argues that creativity isimportant in the classroom and should beencouraged even within a rigid curriculum.
"Creativity depends on the teacher andhandling subjects such as grammar does notmean it should be rigid.
"The teacher can encourage students towrite a poem using a sentence structurebeginning with "I like, I love, But I don'tlike, I hate" and asking the students to fillin the blanks with their own experiences orimages.
"The end result will be the active usageof the language while being creative at thesame time," she said.
Dudas from Hungary was among theinternational speakers invited to sharelanguage teaching ideas during the ninthMalaysia International Conference on EnglishLanguage Teaching (MICELT)held in Ipohlast week.
The event was organised by UniversitiPutra Malaysia (UPM) and ELSlanguagecentres, and allowed participants, mostlyEnglish language teachers, a platform toexchange ideas and practices for a betterlearning environment.
Conference chairman Assoc Prof Dr ArshadAbd Samad said in his welcoming addressthat since the English language was evolving,the teaching approach and materials shouldalso reflect those changes.
"Not only do we need to meet the needsof students to equip them sufficiently beforethey head into the world, but we also haveto ensure the world's needs can be cateredthrough the students," he said.
Among other notable speakers and topicsbrought up during the tb.ree-day conference
included Prof Marc Helgesen from MiyakiGakuin Women's University, Japan, whospoke on self-assessment and."Happiness2.0" and how positive psychology played arole in teaching.
"Research in positive psychology focuseson the behaviour of happy, mentally healthypeople and one example is how happy people are those who remember the good thingsin their lives.
''Through the use of a journal, Englishteachers can even teach grammar, by tapping into these behaviours," he said.
Prof Helgesen asked his students to keep a"happiness journal" where they write downgood things that had happened to themthroughout the week.
"The language goal is on the use of grammar such as past tense, but the theme is onpositive well-being, or happiness.
"These are language functions that Englishteachers deal with in their classes anyway,including teaching their students presentcontinuous tense for being mindful of thegood things that are happening in thepresent moment.
"There is no harm when teachers usequestions such as 'Who is your favouritemoviB star?' or 'What is your favouritesport?' to teach the same lessons, but student will be more engaged in the lessons ifthey talk about positive emotional experiences.
:'We are still using the same languagefunction and vocabulary but plugging theseitems into a deeper, more meaningful context for them," he said.
Prof Helgesen said studies in neurosciencehave shown that when a person is happy,the brain produces hormones that boosttheir learning process, making them stay ona task longer and become more motivated.
"Any content that is engaging for thestudent peaks their interest, making a difference in the learning process. Being happyhelps them to learn.
"Another activity that English classes often
Language boost: Participants lookingat some Englishreading materials during a break outside theconference hall.
teach is the letter-writing format. In theclasses I teach in japan, I ask the students towrite 'gratitude letters' directed to the people that have made a difference in their lives.
"Students will often choose their parentsas recipients and I often ask them to writeone letter in English, which is for me tograde and another one in japanese, for theirparents to read.
"Needless to say the response from parents has been postive. The letters enablestudents to actively use the language in anengaging context," he said.
Another speaker, Prof james Dean Brownfrom the University of Hawaii offers optionsfor language teachers to assess their studentswhich are based on real world languagelearning needs.
'Teachers usually opt for testing systemssuch as multiple-choice questions due topracticality reasons, but they need to understand that these tests often distract the students from the actual learning process itself.
"Students easily become focused on passing the test itself rather than learning thelanguage for use in a realistic context.
Prof Brown said teachers need to integrateassessment into the learning process andnot to see it as a separate entity or an afterthought.
"Assessment is about feedback, not justnumbers and one of the options is for thestudents to have their own portfolio, wherethey can submit their work on a weeklybasis.
'This indirectly creates a record of theirachievement and become part of their learning.
"In writing courses, students could choosethree out of five essays they have written tobe put into their portfolio, be it physical oronline and gain feedback from an audience,usually students and teachers from otherclasses."
• English for More Opportunities is part ofThe Star's on-going efforts to highlight theimportance of the language in helping people get ahead in life.
To share your views and inspiring storiesor give us feedback, please email englishfor[email protected]
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