Креативные технологии в обучении иностранным языкам

                                                 CONTENT

Introduction……………………………………………………………3

        Part I

1. Creative techniques in FLT……………………………………….5
2. Brainstorming……………………………………………………..6
3. Synectics…………………………………………………………..11

   Part II

2.1. Usage of creative techniques in teaching foreign language at basic school……………………………………………………………………..18    

Conclusion………………………………………………………………26

The list of literature……………………………………………………..27

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                            

INTRODUCTION

Actuality of work. Political, economical, social transformations happening in our society led to a new type of people’s thinking, characterized by freedom, independence, realness, responsibility for actions and decisions. Increasing possibilities for realization of creative potential of each person is consequence of changing priorities of people’s consciousness. The modern economy and society stimulates the development of personal qualities, such as ability to creative activity, initiative, mobility and flexibility of thinking.

At the present development stage of school education one of the most actual problems demands new solutions is improvement of knowledge of foreign languages; which takes a small number of academic hours by the school program. Nowadays a successful mastering of a foreign language is a necessary precondition for receiving an interesting job in the country and abroad, strengthening of friendship with representatives of the various countries, continuing education in international educational institutions and professional growth in the chosen sphere of specialization.

Unfortunately, the majority of school programs, except for those for specialized linguistic schools, provide 1-2 lessons of English a week. It is not enough for providing due level of language knowledge using traditional methods and work forms at a lesson. It is necessary to develop and use new approaches and technologies aimed to increase the pupils’ educational motivation, which helps to make sufficient results in level of language proficiency. Creative technologies fulfill these requirements, so that their purpose is to involve pupils to subject and make them active participants of educational process.

All this caused a choice of a subject of my paper “Creative techniques in formation of learners’ ICC”.

Object of the work. This paper is devoted to creative technologies of language learning. The main task of which is to make language acquisition not only productive, but also interesting; to involve pupils in training process, to make them the main and active participants of teaching and learning. Efficiency of these technologies is caused by motivation, development of learners thinking mechanisms, and increasing of interest to a subject.

Aim of research is to examine the purposes of creative techniques of teaching a foreign language at basic school, and possibility of their application in school practice.

The objectives of the work are:

• To learn about role of creative technologies in foreign language teaching;
• To consider their context and purposes in the language learning process;
• To discover efficiency of creative technologies in language acquisition at basic schools.

Methods of research are analysis, critical thinking, interview, and online research.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Creative techniques in FLT.

The success in education of creative qualities of the personality depends on how the teacher measures features of creative activity and psychological conditions of its optimization, such as: possibility to achieve the success, adequate and strong motivation, encouragement of independent searches and non-standard opinions of pupils.

Enriching educational process with retrieval and informative tasks stimulates creative activity of pupils.

Informative-retrieval tasks demand pupils’ abilities to define ways of the decision, search the most rational combination of several ways, establish communications between elements of the knowledge relating to different subjects or different sections of the same subject; consider the phenomena and regularities under a new point of view, discovering facts, the phenomena, etc [1].

Creative activity is understood as a certain readiness of a pupil to find the solution of problems and creative transformation of reality. For acquisition the experience of creative activity a pupil needs to join in such situations which demand direct implementation of problem solving. In this regard development of creative activity is meant as formation of preconditions to implementation of independent informative activity, development of creative activity.

There are some creative technologies for successful development of pupils’ creative activity.

Creative techniques— methods and the techniques promoting creative process of original ideas, findings of new approaches to solve known problems and tasks. Creative techniques help to formulate a task more accurately, to accelerate finding process of ideas, and also to increase their quantity, to expand points of view of a problem and to destroy mental blockade. Techniques aren't algorithms, which should be followed to find the solution of a task, but they discipline the train of thought and increase probability of receiving good ideas. Techniques reduce time of search ideas, and organize the process effectively.

Tasks of creative techniques:

• accurately to formulate a problem;
• to collect basic data;
• to develop criteria for structuring basic data;
• to structure basic data;
• comprehensively to study basic data;
• to expand perspective branch;
• to formulate some points of view on a problem;
• to formulate the maximum number of decisions;
• to develop selection criteria of perspective ideas or decisions;
• to raise mental blockade;
• to accelerate process of generation of idea;
• to select really favorable and original options of a solution [2].

Everyone has his/her own style to study, the concrete life experience.  Formation of creative thinking is based not on overcoming and standardization of all these characteristics, but on their account and the maximum usage as factors of development of creative activity.

The pupil can participate in educational process as the subject only when he/she is capable to find the solution of tasks independently.

It is promoted by:

• special training of pupils to mobilization and relaxation;
• organization of competitions, competitions, exhibitions of pupils’ creative achievements;
• to display the importance a type of creative activity where the personality can realize him/herself as much as possible;
• creation a success situation for pupils. Praise, encouragement of pupils’ achievements [2].

Creative self-development of the personality has a set of receptions, factors and conditions, but the mechanism works when the pupil analyzes the merits and demerits, opening opportunities for self-improvement, comes to higher level of creative self-realization, consciously mobilizing him/herself, testing a certain tension of  creative power and abilities.

One of the methods to promoting development of pupils’ creative abilities is the “brainstorming”.

1. Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a group or individual creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its member(s). The term was popularized by Alex Faickney Osborn in the 1953 book Applied Imagination. Osborn claimed that brainstorming was more effective than individuals working alone in generating ideas, although more recent research has questioned this conclusion [3].

History

Brainstorming as a method has appeared recently. However, the sequence of stages including preparation, the act of intuition, inspiration, the act of judgment, and development was described in literature long before A. Osborn. This fact gives to us the grounds for search of earlier examples of the similar organization of creative process. It is natural that search should be conducted in areas where the person long since sought to solve problems.

Two-phasic “approach to the solution of problems” was described by Thucydides, who investigated a life of Germans:

"On feasts they interpret reconciliation conflicts among themselves, the conclusion of marriages, promotion of leaders, believing that in any other time soul doesn't so locate to frankness, and never so ignites for thoughts about great... Next day discussion of the same questions is resumed. And that they in two steps are engaged in them is based upon the reasonable basis: they discuss problems when they are incapable to pretense, and make decisions when nothing promotes their judiciousness" [4].

In the fifties in the USA there was a period of active application of brainstorming. Simplicity of a method, lack of orientation to concrete sphere of activity led to its wide circulation. The organization of brainstorming at emergence of any difficulty became usual practice. The specialized groups working at the enterprises and applying a method began to be called as "think-tanks". There were the firms which have received the name "factories of thoughts". These firms were engaged in the solution of the problems put by the customer, and brainstorming was one of tools most widely applied by them. A. Osborn’s book "Practical imagination" was published in the USA a set of times and is so far one of the recommended textbooks on development of creative abilities for hundred American colleges and universities. Undoubtedly brainstorming had considerable impact on development of control systems by intellectual activity. J. Helbreit wrote:" Original achievement of modern science is that knowledge of the most ordinary people having worse or better preparation, in a framework and by means of the relevant organization joins with knowledge of others specially prepared, but the same ordinary people. Thereby need for the gifted people is removed..."

Nowadays there are more than 50 modifications of this method. The method" brain storm" is intended for a producing ideas and decisions during the work with group.

Brainstorming as a method of collective generating of ideas consists in collecting bigger quantity of ideas, release from inertia of thinking, overcoming of a habitual train of thought in the solution of a creative task.

There is a chain reaction of ideas leading to intellectual explosion in brainstorming. New ideas arise during the contact with thoughts and ideas of other people.

Osborn claimed that two major principles contribute to "ideative efficacy” and four major rules:

• deferment of judgment;
• quantity breeds quality.

Deferment of judgment.

Thinking, according to Osborn, involves both a “judicial mind” and a “creative mind”. The former “analyzes, compares and chooses” (i.e., evaluates), whereas the latter “visualizes, foresees, and generates ideas”. The judicial mind “puts the brakes”  on the creative mind- and these brakes need to be removed so that ideas can be generated. To remove these brakes, the first principle of brainstorming – deferment of judgment- has to be observed. The individual verbalizes or writes down his ideas without concern for their value, feasibility, or significance (all of which are, however, considered later). Yet he does not engage literary in free associations, for this might result in fruitless ideas: “instead of literally deferring judgment, we are, in reality, using ‘limited-criteria’ thinking-these ‘limited’ criteria being dependent on the way we state the problem [5].

For example:

In using the principle of deferred judgment, we do not say, “List ideas that come to your mind by free association”. Instead, we say “List ideas with respect to such-and-such problem.”  When we list uses for a broom, for example, we are setting the criteria of “uses” and “broom” in our minds as we allow our automatic associative processes to go to work. In other words, we are saying, I will entertain any idea that comes to my mind with respect to using a broom in some way…” Hence I am judging (and ruling out) automatically any thought or idea that comes to my mind that is not pertinent to “uses of a broom” [6].

Expressed differently, the problem as stated “sets”  the individual, and his thought processes do not run on at random, but operate within  the more limited framework of what Parnes calls primary criteria, for example, “uses” and “broom” in the sample just presented. What, then is deferred? According to Parnes, secondary criteria are deferred. These secondary criteria include such evaluative thoughts as: Will it be too expensive; will it take too long to do; will it require too many people to do it?

Quantity breeds quality.

The second principle of brainstorming is that quantity breeds quality. The rationale for this dictum originates in associationistic psychology, which assumes that our thoughts or associations are structured hierarchically. The most dominant thoughts in this hierarchy are those which are most habitual, common, or usual, and are therefore likely to be, from other points of view, the “safest” and most acceptable to others. It is necessary to “get through” these conventional ideas if we are to arrive at original one. After the dominant ideas have been reviewed and rejected, additional effort has to be expended in order to generate fresh associations. Implicit in this view is that somewhere in the repertcire of an individual’s associations there are some that are original or others that, if combined properly, can yield creative results [5].

Four major rules.

The two basic principles just described deferment of judgment and quantity breeds’ quality, give rise to four essential rules for a brainstorming session.

• Criticism is ruled out: all criticism and evaluation are put off until some future date. This key rule is the means of implementing the principle of deferred judgment. It is so critical that when brainstorming is conducted in a group, some chairmen or leaders ring a bell whenever any member of the group criticizes another’s ideas or is self-critical or apologetic for that which he has himself suggested.
• Freewheeling is welcomed. Participants are to feel free to offer any ideas; as a matter of fact, the wilder the idea the better, for “it is easier to tame down (an ideal than to think (it) up)”. The intent of this rule is to help the individual feel more relaxed and less inhibited than he might in ordinary circumstances by encouraging him to and implicitly rewarding him for using his imagination. It relieves him of responsibility for evaluation.
• Quantity is wanted. This rule is a restatement of the second principle of brainstorming, that the more ideas suggested the greater the probability that an original one will come up.
• Combination and improvement are sought. The intent of this rule is to motivate participants to build on others’ ideas by showing how already offered ideas might be improved or combined in various way with other ideas. This rule not only encourages the development of additional ideas, but also offsets any feeling of embracement individuals might experience at not having been the first to think of an idea [7].

To summarize, this two principles and four rules constitute brainstorming fundamental orientation to the generation of ideas irrespective of whether this orientation is practiced by n individual or by a group of individuals; to achieve a creative solution the idea-generation stage is separated from and is followed by idea-evaluation. There are no specific guidelines on how to evaluate a list of ideas developed through brainstorming, probably because Osborn, brainstorming originator, assumed that people are more practiced in idea evaluation that idea generation. Nevertheless, should an obstacle be encountered in the process of idea evaluation and should more ideas needed, the brainstorming process following the two principles and four rules can be reinstituted.

Organizational structure of the technique:

- leader,

- group of generating of ideas;

- group of the critical analysis of the offered ideas ("criticism")

- group of protection the ideas (" analytics" or" optimists")

- group of a final assessment of the offered ideas ("realists")

- the secretary, or writing down.

Technique of carrying out brain storm:

1) Formation of groups, optimum on number and psychological compatibility;

2) Generating of ideas by certain rules;

3) The critical analysis of the offered ideas;

4) Protection of ideas;

5) Systematization and classification of ideas; drawing up groups of the ideas expressing the general principles, approaches to the solution of a creative task;

6) Assessment of ideas on feasibility;

7) Drawing up the final list of used ideas.

The main didactic values of educational brain storm are the following:

1) It is an active form of work, good addition and a counterbalance to reproductive forms of work;

2) Pupils train briefly and accurately express their thoughts;

3) Participants of storm learn to listen each other; it is promoted by the teacher, encouraging those who seek for development the ideas of the companions;

4) It is easy to teacher to support the difficult, bad pupil, having paid attention to his idea;

5) The acquired decisions often give new approaches to subject studying;

6) Brain storm causes a great interest in pupils, on its basis it is easy to organize business game [1].

This method can be used at poll, studying of a new material, at repetition and generalization passable, etc.

There is another type of creative techniques is called “Synectics”.

2. Synectics

Synectics- is the joining together of different and apparently irrelevant elements [8]. It is based on the use of metaphors and analogies within a systematic framework to achieve creative results. It is central to synectics that we can attain better comprehension of a problem that is strange or unfamiliar to us by thinking of an analogy or metaphor that makes it more familiar and hence more amenable to a creative solution. On the other hand, there are problems with which we have difficulty, because we are too familiar with them. We feel we are “too close” to them. We cannot see the forest for the trees. Under these circumstances, once again an appropriate metaphor or analogy provides us with necessary distance so that we can get better view of the problem and move on to a creative solution.

In synectics, then, the problem as one is presented with it initially, has to be restated and looked at in various ways through the use of metaphors and analogies. During the course of this process, the individual goes on what synectics people call an “excursion” and as a result of such a trip creative solutions are attained. Just how different kinds of analogies and metaphors may be used, what the purpose and function of an excursion is and related matter are all parts of synectics training.

 

 

History

Synectics began about 1944 when Gordon undertook an intensive study of individual and group processes in creativity. This was followed with systematic exploration of his ideas in 1948 with a group of artists in what Gordon refers to as the Rock Pool Experiment. Gordon later formed a subgroup within the consulting firm of Arthur D. Little & Co., and went on to set up synectics groups in several companies. He left Arthur D. Little in 1960, and together with G. M. Prince, whom he had met there in 1958, set up Synectics, Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to provide training facilities and training personnel for those interested in learning his technique to stimulate creativity. He then left Synectics, Inc. to start another organization, Synectics Education System (SES), which “is involved with all forms of problem-solving and education based on the metaphorical approach”. SES works both with groups and individuals. It is not limited to groups, “because such learning experience makes people group-bound and unable to function alone”.

Gordon’s view of the creative process and how to stimulate it are set forth in his first book, Synectics (Gordon, 1961). This book contains the basic information on what Gordon called psychological states and the operational mechanisms, both of which will be discussed at greater length. Synectics also contains descriptions of how synectics has been used systematically in various situations, as well as Gordon’s thoughts on how a synectics group might be set up within an industrial organization. Gordon’s later book, The Metaphorical Way also contains as interesting section on the variations in the use of the metaphor in synectics in which Gordon also brings synectics up to date from his point of view. Gordon’s primarily involvement, therefore, is with what he calls the operational mechanisms-what we would regard as the mental procedures and techniques for unlocking the psychological processes involved in creativity.