BRIGHT IDEAS 5

Rani Thomas
Tapping the creative genius in your students

Abstract
Who says one needs to be a Shakespeare to have a creative genius in them? In fact, one needn’t have even read any of the plays of the greatest playwright of all time to understand what creative flair is! While some are definitely born more creative than others, everyone can learn to be more creative to some degree. Yes, even learners of English can bring out the Shakespeare in them with proper direction. And teachers have the privileged role of inspiring them to do the unthinkable, writing and performing a play in English. Throw in an incentive and pit the students against each other- the friendly rivalry and competition will make it a sure recipe for success. With confident English speaking skill considered an asset one cannot manage without these days, by tapping their creative genius, you will witness your students walking around with a sense of accomplishment and renewed confidence.

This workshop will demonstrate how teachers could extend and take role plays to a different level. I will share sample plays written by the University of Adelaide’s ELC students, actual footage of some of their performances and some of our students’ and teachers’ feedback on the activity. The benefits to both students and teachers will be outlined and possible strategies for incorporating such activities into the General English for Academic Purposes program will be discussed.

Bio
Rani worked as a Lecturer in English in India before migrating to Australia. After doing some voluntary teaching in GEOS Adelaide College of English, she decided to add to her Master's Degree in English Language and Literature with a TESOL qualification from the University of Adelaide in 2013, and has been teaching in the General English for Academic Purposes(GEAP) program at the English Language Centre since then. Rani enjoys the creative approach to language teaching that the GEAP program encourages, and loves taking seemingly simple classroom activities and developing them into grand scale projects.