Creativity in the Language Classroom:
Fostering Student Learning Through Creative Language Experiences
June 27–July 1, 2022
Synchronous* 1-week online summer institute
Anne Cummings Hlas and Amy Young
Creativity is a way of thinking about learning and teaching that emphasizes collaboration, problem-solving, intrinsic motivation, discovery, and an openness to new ideas. Designed for world language, ESL, and immersion teachers who want to promote creativity in their classroom while simultaneously improving learner's target language proficiency, this institute will examine the connection between multilingualism and creativity, and explore strategies to increase engagement in the classroom. Strategies will emphasize auditory, visual, kinesthetic, and tactile learning through novel student-centered projects, targeting language objectives at each student's interest and readiness level. Teachers will also learn how to inspire creativity in their students and integrate it meaningfully into daily lesson plans.
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Program
Schedule (9am–4pm Central Time)
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| Day 1 | Connections: Creativity and Language Learning
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| Day 2 |
Promoting Creativity through Auditory Tasks
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| Day 3 |
Promoting Creativity through Kinesthetic
and Tactile Tools
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| Day 4 | Promoting Creativity through Visual Tools
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| Day 5 | Promoting Creativity through Technology
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After this institute, you will be able to:
- Identify key elements from research foundations supporting the use of creativity to promote learning and language development;
- Describe meaningful strategies to support creativity in the language classroom;
- Apply improvisational techniques to improve creative flow;
- Use targeted language functions, forms, and vocabulary to support creativity;
- Create interactive group activities requiring creative thinking skills; and
- Plan a collaborative language lesson involving kinesthetic, auditory, visual, and tactile tools.
Instructors
Anne Cummings Hlas is a Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where she teaches methods courses for future language teachers and Spanish language courses. A veteran teacher, she regularly incorporates improvisation and creative thinking techniques in her classes to promote interpersonal communication and collaboration. She is the author of Practical Creativity: Activities and Ideas for your Language Classroom (2019) that is used as a text for this institute.
Amy Young is the English Language Specialist for School Support at the Minnesota Department of Education. Previously she was the EL/Migrant Education Coordinator and a principal in Owatonna, MN. Dr. Young worked at New York University in their Multilingual Multicultural Studies program, and lived for over 15 years in Mexico where she founded and was the national director of a creative problem-solving organization. Her research interests include strategies for facilitating learning in multilingual settings through collaborative dialogue, peer interaction, and integrating language and content.
Target Audience
This institute is designed for foreign language, ESL, and immersion teachers at the elementary through the postsecondary level. The institute is not intended for teachers in pre-K/K teaching contexts.
*IMPORTANT NOTES FOR THIS SYNCHRONOUS ONLINE INSTITUTE:
- This 1-week synchronous online institute will run from 9 am–4 pm (Central Time). The schedule includes many synchronous (real-time) presentations, group/partner work, and activities throughout the day. It also includes some off-screen time for independent work and a break for lunch each day.
- You must be available to participate for the entire day Monday–Friday as all activities build on each other.
- Make sure you can meet the tech requirements for this institute.
The Creativity Institute was filled with so many ready to use strategies that you can tailor to your learners regardless of their age, language, and proficiency level. The collaboration with colleagues from different parts of the country who teach different languages was great too! We definitely learned about creativity by being creative ourselves. 
