TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES EFFICIENTLY: THE ROLE OF CREATIVE WRITING

Abstract

The article deals with the role and possibilities of use of creative writing in efficient teaching of foreign languages at higher educational institutions. The article considers how creative writing can support foreign language learning by students and how creative writing promotes language development at all levels: vocabulary, grammar, phonemics, discourse. The concepts of «creativity» and «creative writing» have been considered and the characteristics of creative writing texts have been outlined; the ways and forms of creative writing for the use at foreign language classes have been stated. Creative writing is also stated as an excellent method to develop writing skills, encourage students to write, develop vocabulary, grammar, imagination. Creativity has recently won great popularity in numerous contexts, showing both positive («creative writing») and negative («creative accounting») connotations. Completing creative tasks, students have an opportunity to express and assert themselves through the means of a foreign language, get satisfaction from the process of producing a written and spoken expression in addition to the fact of getting a finished product. Creative writing has been defined as a form of writing that expresses feelings, thoughts or ideas in an imaginative way which provides students with new ways to play with the language which enhances their writing skills and helps them to improve all their language skills. It has been said that the benefits from the use of creative writing when teaching and learning foreign language stretch beyond formal language acquisition into more personal, socio-cultural, and psychological domains that lead to self-empowerment.