Topic 3.
Thinking Outside the Box: Spark your Creativity
Group Activity 3.1 Brainstorming and Speaking
• In what situations do you need to generate ideas?
• How can we generate ideas? What is the most popular method for it?
• What techniques do you use to generate ideas?
How to generate ideas?
Brainstorming techniques
• There are multiple brainstorming techniques.
Work in pairs. Look at the pictures and discuss the questions:
- What, to your mind, does each technique imply?
- What do you think is involved in each process?
- Can you think of any situations where each technique would be the most useful?
• Work in groups of three/four.
Choose a situation and decide which technique you will use.
Carry out your brainstorming using the chosen technique.
Take notes and be ready to report back to the class. Be ready to elaborate on your ideas, answering questions from other teams.
Situations
o Your faculty needs a promo video to advertise itself. What can it include to achieve the best result?
o Your group is planning to spend the holidays in the country whose language you are studying. What are the best ways to remember them forever?
o Your student/best friend has asked for a piece of advice to overcome their language barrier.
o What advice can you give to a beginning language learner?
• What solutions have you come up with? Present your ideas to the class.
At the end of the task, we will vote for the best idea presented.
Reflection:
Which brainstorming technique seems the most effective to you? Why?
Will you use any technique in the future? In what types of situations?
Group Activity 3.2 Writing
Imagine that you and your groupmates are bloggers. You write about linguistics and language learning.
You're going to work collaboratively and write an engaging blog post about some exciting experience you've got connected with your language learning journey.
The post aims to attract as many readers as possible, grabbing their attention and making them interested in languages;
Divide into groups of three/four.
• Plan and brainstorm:
Think of an exciting, inspiring, unusual (may be extraordinary or funny) topic of interest/experience connected with your language learning journey.
Brainstorm and specify what you want to write about (any situation/incident/conversation/trip/ findings/ fun facts/ personal insights/ fascinating topics you’re exploring, etc.).
Make a mind map to brainstorm and organize your ideas, make it easier to see connections and develop a coherent structure (go to Webliography and choose a platform - Miro, Coggle, etc.).
Send the link with your mind map to the teacher.
The mind map assessment checklist will help you accomplish this task:
Mind Map Assessment Checklist
• Work with a model text:
Read the blog post*. Discuss the questions:
- What is the author’s main point?
- How does the author make this point?
- What techniques does the writer use to make the post engaging and/or even dramatic?
- What techniques do you now to make a piece of writing more impactful, creative and vivid?
Look at the Stylistic devices mind map* and identify some examples in the text.
Do you use any of these techniques/devices in your free writing?
Blog post (example)
(from Roadmap, Advanced, Pearson)
• Draft:
1) Look at your mind map. Think of a sentence containing the key message you’d like to convey to your readers -it will be the title.
Discuss and put down your ideas.
2) Think about how you can make your post more creative, impactful and engaging.
Brainstorm and write down a few expressions using some of the stylistic devices discussed (hyperbole/simile/personification/metaphor).
Write your blog post (350-500 words) using your examples of the discussed devices, the title, ideas and structure/plan from your mind map.
Refer to the Collaborative Blog Post Checklist * as you prepare for the task;
Follow the links (1 and 2) to see more examples of blog posts and some useful tips how to write your first post;
• Revise:
Use the checklist* to revise your blog post.
Publish your blog post on whichever platform you chose for your e-portfolio (go to Webliography). Send the link to other groups for peer-assessment (leave your comments on the content and structure where appropriate);
• Edit:
Use the language editing checklist* to edit your writing for any language errors.
Make any necessary changes based on the results of self- and peer-assessment;
Republish your post.
• Present and reflect:
In class, read each other's posts.
At the end of the class, we'll vote for the most creative and engaging blog post (anonymously).
Collaborative Blog Post Checklist
Editing Checklist (language errors)