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To create or not to create? That is the question! While sitting in class, staring out the window, wondering “what if…?” she suddenly heard the roll of dice. That got her attention! Finally, something interesting was going on in class. “We will play a game today!” said the teacher. In today’s world there are so many distractions. Noise, politics and social media all play a part in sucking the creativity right out of the learning process. Still, if given the chance a student of language will choose an engaging, interesting activity over the drudgery of the day. If we as ESL teachers are able to provide creative sensational materials we will win this part of the battle. Worksheets, flashcards, songs, games and magazines can all be useful tools but we must be creative with our tools. Creative materials are important to learners of all levels and all ages for inspiration and motivation. They must however be used in an organized and relevant fashion. If we are creating our own materials we should make sure they are professional and of good quality. Tacky materials could make you seem less in charge and less prepared. If a student is paying for his or her own class this could be most important. If teaching in an institution or online they might also have to be approved by faculty in charge. There is no need to reinvent the wheel! There is an absolute plethora of information available for free that can be contextualized to fit the needs of your students. Online there are free and paid resources such as TEFL Tunes, fluentu.com, Busyteacher.org, and multiple Facebook and other social media communities. These are tools we can use for support and overcoming perplexity or apathy in our daily work. When using these tools however they must not become segmented but rather put into a series of lessons that have flow and congruency. Why not make the outdoors your classroom once a week or more if you are able? The world around you will serve as your living flashcards! Take a field trip or a walk to the park. Animals, plants, buildings, and really anything around you can be a learning tool. You can play Animal, Vegetable, Mineral or have an outdoor nature scavenger hunt. With children you can have them do jumping, cartwheels, and other physical activities and guess what these are called. This should ensure that boredom is a non-factor. Also, it is healthy to change physical locations if you are able to increase oxygen levels in the brain and increase energy for learning. Another factor in planning creative materials is to make sure that they are relevant to the group you are teaching. If it is all kids that like sport we can use balls, racquets, mitts, and bats to teach. If it is all wealthy housewives we could use fashion, cars and jewelry to make our points. Whatever it is just make sure that it is interesting to your audience. Personalization should be one of your first considerations when making a lesson plan. In conclusion why should we have to deal with the monotony that can be teaching when we are in control of the creativity and material? Let’s win this battle and use all of our tools including ones that have already been created for us. Inspiration is all around us if we will take the time and make the effort to have fun in our jobs as ESL teachers around the world and online.
