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Creativity has been discussed, observed and researched for hundreds of years in the fields of psychology and philosophy – from the ancient notion of the inspired genius, all the way to modern psychologists trying to define creativity and prove its effects. Creativity has recently become a buzzword in EFL teaching practices. We try to stimulate creative thinking in the classroom, but possibly forget to observe the processes within it. The article discusses definitions of creativity and presents a qualitative study on the decision-making processes within EFL creative writing and its connections to students’ language learning. The qualitative study was conducted with two 3rd-year bachelor English students who were asked to plan and write a short story in English while doing a think-aloud protocol. The data were transcribed and coded in order to observe emerging categories in the students’ reasoning for plot and language use decisions.

Alice Munro, the first female Canadian to have been awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, is a literary challenge and delight for the reader also with regards to the usage of references to time and their linguistic construction. Her literary work comprises short stories and one novel, which can more accurately be described as a short story cycle. She takes interest in everyday, small-town life and the human relationships in it, all described in concise, down-to-earth language. The settings in most of her stories are limited communities in a typically Canadian context. This paper deals with her short story “Dance of the Happy Shades” from the collection of the same name (1968), and focuses on a stylistic analysis of time expressions, tense shifts and adverbials of time. Munro has been praised for constructing moods of familiarity, home and small-town safety. The paper attempts to show that she achieves this not solely through the plot and themes, but also with the meticulous care with which she uses time expressions, time adverbials and tense shifts.

Introduction to the special issue of ELOPE: Addressing Learners’ and Teachers’ Needs: Keeping up with a Changing EFL World.