Making your toenails twinkle: creativity in the

language classroomA personal view of creativity in the English

language classroom

Alan Marsh

Acknowledgements:

Jill and Charles Hadfield’s Creative Practice MET January 2012

What are the missing words?

•When I .. old, I …. …. purple.

What are the missing words?

When I am old, I will wear purple.

What’s the rule?

•When I’m old, I will wear purple•When we’re talking about the future, after adverbs

like when, we use a ………….. tense

What’s the rule?

•When I’m old, I will wear purple•When we’re talking about the future, after adverbs

like when, we use a present tense

• satin sandals• pavement• gobble up• railings• the sobriety of my youth• slippers • spit• swear

What’s the title? When I am an old woman I will wear purple…………………………………………..

What’s the title? When I am an old woman I will wear purpleWith a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.And I will spend my pension on brandy and summer glovesAnd satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.I will sit down on the pavement when I'm tiredAnd gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bellsAnd run my stick along the public railingsAnd make up for the sobriety of my youth.I will go out in my slippers in the rainAnd pick flowers in other people's gardensAnd learn to spit.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dryAnd pay our rent and not swear in the streetAnd set a good example for the children.We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.But maybe I ought to practice a little now?So people who know me are not too shocked and surprisedWhen suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple. Jenny JosephWarning

I’ll definitely

I’ll probably I might

I’ll

I’ll definitely I definitely won’t

I’ll probably I probably won’t

I might I might not

I’ll I won’t

What’s the rule (2)?

• I’ll definitely go• I definitely won’t go• I’ll probably stay• I probably won’t stay

• Where do definitely, possibly (adverbs) go with verbs like will (modal auxiliaries)?

Learner poems: When I’m old …

When I’m old I won’t be quiet and I’ll bother my neighbours. I might have a toy boy.

A word my learners wanted to know…!• Sugar Daddy

When I’m old …

When we are old we shall definitely do many crazy and dangerous things.We will wear full make-up from morning and we will spend our money for a face lift

When I’m old …

When I’m old I’ll be an honarable person.I’ll live in America and I’ll speak the good English.I’ll teach my children to honar their old country and their new country.

Going to the bank …

I’m forever blowing bubbles…

My first bank account …

… in Burnley. Lancashire, England

West Ham United

I’m forever blowing bubbles…

Going to the bank …

Don’t worry…

It’s his synapses firing

Er …..not sinuses…….synapses!

Neurons

Synapses

Teaching the syllabus: Learning in lockstep

Learners’ interlanguages

Making space for personal syllabi

Switching on the light(s)

Some conditions for creativity in the language classroom: S L P

Scaffolding: e.g. breaking up a task to make it achievable

Linking explicitly to language items

Link the creativity to explicit learning points• You and your learners will explicitly focus on a specific language point

or skill• Implicitly, lots of other connections will be made• Probably different connections for different learners