Promoting creativity through teacher training

Abstract

There seems to be a tacit agreement among many English language teachers that nurturing learners’ creativity in the classroom is fundamental because, in so doing, their language learning experience will be more rewarding. Such teachers seem to believe that a learner-centred classroom environment necessarily involves the cultivation of creative practices. This means that the development of creativity should not be seen as a distraction from exam-oriented classroom activities but as a counterbalancing force that probably has an even bigger potential to stimulate learner achievement. However, the attainment of creativity in the classroom is dependent on teachers’ own creative practices. These could be cultivated by means of teacher training programmes aimed at promoting teachers’ creativity via the adoption of a number of creative roles.