A Study on the Methodology of Inducing Students’ Creativity in English Reading Class

Deng Lina

【Abstract】Viewing and practicing the current traditional activity in both intensive and extensive reading class， the author has found out that some exercise in reading can be further improved and renovated. By experiencing and drawing from the teaching， this paper puts forward some newly methods rather than conventional ones to make the reading class more activated， more extensively participated， and make students more independent and creative.

【Key words】English reading； teaching methodology； creativity

1. Introduction

As is known to us， role-play， dialogue， and language practice are the most frequently used exercises in class after text teaching， some exercises are made with experience， some are even made according to the given cues； meanwhile， these kinds of activities are much dependent on pair work or group work. Thus the author assumes we should take some renovation， to carry out more interesting and heuristic practice in class with novelty， not only oral but also written forms， to be done individually or assembly， aiming at expanding students creativity.

2. The Feasible Methods to Help Develop Students Creativity in Reading

Seven strategies can be adopted to ensure and enhance the students creativity.

2.1 Activity I. Culture Extension

Take Unit 9 in Creative Reading Book I for example， color is touched upon in the text， thus we may extend the application of color in two ways. The first one， we develop such an activity： ask students preferences of color， then let them try to figure out the designated meaning and judge their characters from different colors.

For example， purple symbols “you like to be alone and do your own things”， white symbols “you like to be clean and plan ahead”， red symbols “you have strong power and a quick temper”…And then let them also apply this to their brothers or sisters to see whether it is believable. By doing this， the class atmosphere can soon be warmed up.

The second way is to teach idioms containing color. Color is very important in culture， and idiom is the language with specialized meaning other than literal meaning. Idioms with color are commonly used in English. In the following， some examples are given for the expressions with special sense：

Black： eg①to be in the black： have money in ones account； eg②the black sheep of the family： the person whose conduct is considered to be a disgrace to the family.

Blue： eg①to have blue blood： be aristocratic；eg②To go off into the blue： go away suddenly and without trace

Red： eg①to be in the red： have no money in ones bank account； eg②to catch someone red-handed： discover somebody in the act of doing something wrong or criminal； eg③red tape： excessively bureaucracy……

2.2 Activity II. Short-story Editing

After learning the story， students are usually asked to rewrite or condense the story； however， we can extend it in another way. This is a kind of group work： Each group can make a new story or edit the original one according to their favorite style and type， especially when the text belongs to the detective， romantic， or fairy category， etc. After every groups work is done， someone should present their work to the whole class and the group whose work gets the most applause can be awarded.

2.3 Activity III. Crossword Puzzle

Design some crossword exercise which should contain some new words in the unit and the crossed word should be the focus word of the text. This should be done first independently and then discussed. Since it is very flexible and we are familiar with its form， the instance is omitted here.

2.4 Activity IV. Acrostics

Acrostics are short verse or poems that are written so that the first letter of each line can be read downwards to give a key word. Often the key word is the topic. This may be quite challenging to write but it would be high demanding practice， but teachers should try to encourage students to brainstorm. Here is an example of acrostics about acrostics.

Acrostics are verses

Crossing the page

Or vertically， letters

Spell out the

Topic， they are

Interesting and

Challenging to write.

If students feel inclined for it， they can attempt to make it more interesting by writing it in a diamond， pyramid pattern， or make the numbers in each line with even words. Nevertheless， at first， they need not worry too much about its form.

2.5 Activity V. Reporting from Different Points of View

We are used to making dialogues or rewriting a story from an agreed point of view； in fact， we could try to make it with some novelty. Now lets see a writing sample exercise in unit 15 （Creative Reading I）. The original passage is omitted here.

As usual， we will make a role-play with two characters or rewrite it in descriptions； whereas the members of each group could tell the same story from different points of view. The style can be altered when necessary. An example version can be written like this：

eg① If write from the mental point of John freefall：

It was a truly amazing experience！ Because something has gone wrong with our plane， we had no choice but parachute. When I stood at the door， I did not feel awful at all， though it was 3，000-meter high， for I had long been trained as an expert parachutist and it was the right opportunity to show. David strongman was after me， he was good， but not the best， because to me， he was always the second. Then I baited out as usual. As I was descending， I felt as if I was floating over the clouds….“Which country will I land in？ Will I be so fortunate that I will be helped by a beautiful girl？ Will she…？” Suddenly I found out that I was doing a perpendicular falling， and then I couldnt help howling： “Help！ Help！” I scared to cry. At that time I thought of nobody but David， he was the only God to me！ He always helps others！ ...

eg② If write from the mental point of David strongman：

Because of an accident， all the members on the plane need to parachute. I saw John was in front of me with a proud smile on his face. It was normal； he always wanted to be superior to everybody. Never mind. Just let it be. Now it was my turn. I did it pacifically. During the process of landing， as I was intending to observe whether the other passengers were safe， especially the old and children， I heard thrilling crying from below. It was John！ Oh dear， his parachute failed to open！ Without hesitation， I speeded and struggled to be close to him. After all， he is my comrade！ Just the moment I fell past him， I stretched my strong arm and caught him in the mid-air！...

The purpose of this way， on the one hand， is to help teachers examine whether students comprehend a protagonists psychology or not， and to how much extent they do and from what aspect； on the other hand， to help students expand and utilize their imagination and language structure， and to some degree， help them master the writing skills， in a word， develop their creativity.

2.6 Activity VI. Emanative-thinking Presentation

Basing on the same story， we could outspread a debate. For instance， assuming that there are four people on the plane， a professor， student， a doctor and a woman， however， only three parachute are available， so who should sacrifice？ Moreover， what is the reason？ A heated debate may evolve. Firstly， let students discuss in groups， then several minutes later， representatives present their opinion to the whole class and lastly， the class will carry out a heated debate.

2.7 Activity VII. Discourse Analysis

The teacher may further its discussion on a discourse analysis， which is an essential analyzing method in the subject of Linguistics. Still taking the same story as example， we can direct the students to analyze it in a Problem - Solution Method. And they are encouraged to illustrate that in diagrams and to interpret to others.

A sample analysis chart can be displayed as such：

Problem： Emergent accident took place with the engine on the plane， and it could not land safely.

Solution 1： Try to repair the engine

Evaluation： As time and hands are limited， the possibility is slim.

Solution 2： Use parachutes

Evaluation： Its the most commonly used method. Note that they must be checked carefully in advance； moreover， some people may fail to open.

Solution 3： Send SOS to the nearest aviation bureau.

Evaluation： The result depends on weather， distance and so on.

Solution 4： Buy life insurance and you can choose to buy as much as possible.

Evaluation： This is normally required to do in case of accident， and it would benefit your family.

Solution 5： Prepare adequate small spare helicopters within the plane for emergency.

Evaluation： Maybe its the best one， but that might cause crowd chaos and theyre high-tech demanding.

3. Conclusions

By experimenting with these methods on students in English reading class， the author finds out that they have shown more interests and enthusiasm in class activity， giving more heated discussion and active performance of it， and have been improving their spoken and writing competence of English； furthermore， the methods are helpful to inspire students creativity， to encourage them to utilize their knowledge of English in various ways. Simultaneously， the teacher benefits as much as students do for not being the teacher-centered model any longer.

References：

[1]Iran Smallwood & Li Po Lung.College English Creative Reading[Z].Book I （Teachers Book）.Shanghai：Shanghai Foreign Language Education Publisher，2003.

[2]Susan martin.College English Creative Reading[Z].Book I （Students Book）.Shanghai：Shanghai Foreign Language Education Publisher，2002.

[3]Cortazzi，M.& Jin，L.Large Classes in China：“good” teachers and interaction，in D.Watkins & J.Biggs （eds.） Teaching in the Chinese Learner：Psychological and pedagogical perspectives[C].Hong Kong：CERC，2002：115-134.

作者简介：邓丽娜，北京卫生职业学院文化基础学科讲师，主讲课程：大学英语精读。