Creativity is useful for enriching the quality of learning (Maley, 2015). Using English for creative learning purposes is essential for studying on various university degree courses. Writing is potentially considered as the most important skill although it is a difficult skill for Second Language (SL) learners to master (Nunan, 1999). One of the possible reasons for this is that it has not been well-emphasized and developed in English language materials (Alkhaldi, 2014; Tomlinson, 2015). This study focuses on writing, particularly, creative writing in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses. The main purpose of an ESP course and EAP course is to improve traditional and technical writing skills for students, and this might be at the expense of creative writing. This study explores creative writing and its possible challenges. It also discusses the significance of creativity, creativity and the language learner, creativity and motivation, creative writing, and the role of creative writing in ESP/EAP. Finally, it elaborates and recommends a systematic, principled framework based on a review of the related literature for developing creative writing in ESP/EAP courses.
Materials development assists the teachers to understand and apply language learning theories and achieve professional development (Tomlinson, 2001) which this research has shown. This research aims to find out to what extent theories match the actual practice of materials and to help 'theorists' reflect upon language theories which are implicitly or explicitly embedded in the materials. It also aims to reveal the teachers' and learners' contributions in determining the practical theories. The sample of this research was purposive, that is, it was selected for a specific purpose to collect qualitative data and cover as wide a range as possible. The researcher interviewed thirty Jordanian teachers and students using qualitative research methods. The findings revealed some key principles donated by the participants, for example, 1) the materials should provide the learners with a variety of useful samples of discourse to enable them to use the language communicatively and meaningfully; 2) the materials should encourage the teachers' and learners' creativity; 3) the materials should take into account the teachers' and learners' preferences; and 4) the materials should take into consideration the specific and sensitive cultural aspects. Insightful implications and recommendations were suggested for future research.
Language is implicated in daily lives, and there are a large and open-ended number of activities (Cook, 2003), which involve language theories (Alkhaldi, 2011). This research analyses the language theories which are involved in the activities of Jordanian language materials. The researchers have chosen a sample from language materials used to teach English at Jordanian public high schools since 2015. An analysis checklist has been adapted and used, focusing on the analysis of language theories. The findings show that the students’ role is responsive rather than proactive. The dominant source of content is the materials, and the teachers’ role is overlooked in providing useful language content. Furthermore, the mental operations have not been taken to the deepest level to promote students’ creative and critical thinking skills. The findings also reveal that the materials have a sentence-based content, that is, the content provided as input to learners and content expected as output from the learners comprise individual words, phrases and sentences, and there are few opportunities for extended written and oral discourse. Consequently, it is recommended that teachers, researchers and materials developers should take into consideration such challenging findings to bridge the gap between theory and practice and to develop language materials effectively. In other words, the materials should continuously be analysed, evaluated, and developed in a systematic and rigorous way to have insights into the materials and the process of analysis for professional development purposes, and to help students improve their language learning process.
IntroductionPublished language materials are widely used around the world, but many Foreign Language (FL) and/or Second Language (SL) learners still fail to develop their communicative competence satisfactorily and they are still not happy with their language materials (Tomlinson 1998). Furthermore, materials design has recently been characterized by two important developments: firstly, published materials are now used more widely than ever before; secondly, and it is this which makes the spread of published materials very significant, materials themselves have evolved into much more complex objects (Littlejohn 1998). Therefore, there is a need to develop a principled framework for evaluating and developing the language materials in a comprehensive approach. In this article, I start the discussion with the importance of English language materials and the process of materials evaluation. After that I will elaborate on a potential design for developing a principled framework for materials evaluation. Implications of the framework and its contribution to the field of applied linguistics have been also elaborated. doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.1n.2p.281 282 English Language MaterialsEnglish may be the most dominant language in the world and used for a variety of purposes such as educational and commercial purposes. McKay (2002) discusses the reasons for the spread of the English language, for example, English language is the key in the global sense because it enables countries to discuss and negotiate political, social, educational and economic concerns. It is learned by more and more people so it is potentially central to a growing global economy and it plays a very important role in the economic development of the country.The term "materials" may mean anything which can be used to facilitate the teaching and learning of a language (e.g., Richards and Schmidt 2002). In many countries, the coursebook might be the most important element within English language materials and so I provide a brief discussion about its potential usefulness and purposes. Wala (2003), for example, argues that the coursebook is necessary language and coursebooks do not exist in a vacuum they exist for and are shaped English language coursebooks, therefore, are multi-purpose tools i.e. they can be used for a different variety of purposes such as:Developing language learning effectively (e.
Creative Writing (CW) is an important skill that helps students achieve progress in learning English as a Foreign Language (FL). It also helps them improve fluency, motivation, confidence, and creativity. However, most English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses focus on technical English, and CW is under-utilized as a skill to practise. As a result, this study examines university students’ perceptions of ESP CW to improve the learning process and enhance its quality. This study used a qualitative research method and interviewed twenty engineering students from Abu Dhabi. The findings demonstrated that creativity needs to be developed in ESP courses by reading and writing, while extracurricular linguistic activities should also be considered to promote CW. In addition, students also need to be well motivated and should think in a FL when they practice the writing process. They need to be encouraged to think creatively in a logical way rather than relying on memorization. Finally, this study recommends developing CW activities in ESP courses and encouraging students to practise CW inside and outside the classroom to improve the quality of FL learning and creativity for lifelong academic and employment purposes.
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