Acts of creativity in oral and written language teaching in secondary school: a handbook review

Abstract

This review of the handbook by Olesia Liubashenko & Olha Drahinda, "Enhancing Students' Oral and Written Creative Language," is intended for English-speaking readers interested in the achievements in the development of creative oral and written language skills among secondary school students in Ukraine. It is aimed at university students who have been trained to teach the Ukrainian language to secondary school students, with a particular focus on fostering creativity in both oral and written expression. The authors' training is based on the investment theory of creativity. According to this theory, creativity is defined as generating ideas that reflect the success of human capital investment. This implies that even a common notion, a well-established truth, or information that has been repeatedly conveyed retains the potential for creative transformation. A mere alteration of perspective, a revision of analytical techniques, or an examination of what may initially appear to be implausible is sufficient to trigger creativity. Accordingly, the book presents a teaching strategy that integrates the creation of oral and written texts with the acquisition of the Ukrainian language, its genres and the stylistic standards outlined in the school curriculum. It includes Ukrainian translations of English fiction, non-fiction, and academic texts, providing resources that foster such an important type of thinking as lateral thinking. The authors offer a set of classroom-ready tools to equip pre-service teachers with the skills to design engaging lessons, unleash their own creativity, and inspire their students to engage in creative pursuits within the context of a modern, multicultural, and multilingual educational environment.

Keywords

• oral and written language teaching
• acts of creativity
• secondary school
• lateral thinking
• teaching strategy