Newsletter
ARGENTINA
Winter '97
T E S O L
Vol. 10
No. 19
Personería Jurídica IGJ464
Creativity in second and foreign language teaching By Mary Ann Christison
seems to be no way to predict how
roles or procedures. Mathematics, phys-
others might react. I have not always
ics, and language are domains. Math-
understood my own creative efforts or
ematics have sharp boundaries and well-
the impactmycreative
defined rules. Language
on the lESOL troubled
ideas mighthave
prafession.
me because
This has
diffuse, but it is still a domain.
the future of
is tied closely to
The second component of creativity is
creativity and innovation. The creative
the field. The field includes all of us
ideas we have as teachers will dissipate
teachers, the people who consider our-
unless there is a receptive audience to
selves "gatekeepers
evaluate and implement them.
28). As English language teaching pro-
lESOL
prafession
fessionals, Reprinted from TESOL Matters Feb. 1997/Mar. 1997, Vol. 6, No. 6
we decide whether a new
idea or product should be included in
reading
s
the domain. We decide what ideas get
book entitled Creativity and have been
continued on page 4
Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi'
struck by the implications -of his work
lESOL
Matters should be about cre-
for English language teaching. I would
ativity since the English word creativity
like to share some of his ideas with you.
comes from the Latin verb creare, which means to bring into being
to the domain" (p.
In the past few months, I have been
It seems fitting that my first column in
• or to become.
study is more
Until recently, I thought that creativity
!2!:!Jhe lnside: Creativity in second and foreign language teaching p. 1
As a language teacher, I have pondered
person's head. Now, I understand it is
Peace education: Part of teacher education? p. 5
the notion of creativity in the language
the interaction between what one is
Practicing what we teach
p. 7
classroom considerably during the past
thinking and the sociocultural context
two'decades. Like most teachers, I have
in
had moments of originality and creativ-
Csikszentmihal yi ,s first question of cre-
On Tesol Russian Convention
p. 9
ity in my teaching, and sometimes my
ativity is not "What is it?" but "Where is
creative efforts have been embraced by
it?" He believes that creativity is in.the
was something that happened inside a
which
one
finds
oneself.
colleagues and others in the field. Yet,
interrelations of a system made up .of
even with these positive experiences,
three components: thedomain, the field,
creativityhasbeenelusive.
and the individual.
Thereseems
to be no way to determine when creativity will strike, and when it does, there
A domain consists of a set of symbolic
Emergency Activities Help Clearing the Hurdles
p. 11
TESOL moves forward with technology p. 15 What software should I buy?
p.17