Purpose: Through the action research study, this paper aims to examine how e-portfolios improve students' critical, reflective and creative thinking as part of higher-order thinking skills (HOTS). Besides, this paper also explores how e-portfolios enhance students' speaking skills. The study is carried out to improve the current state by…

Our study investigated the role of creativity in second language (L2) speech production using a picture narrative and an open-ended argumentative task administered to 60 Japanese-speaking learners of English. Following recent findings in the field of psychology, the participants' creativity was assessed in terms of cognitive dimensions (divergent…

Effective use of one's mother tongue has a positive impact on an individual's life, especially in mother tongue education at the K-12 level. During this period, students progressively learn to use the language more effectively, which is critical for fostering creativity. Therefore, emphasizing creativity in mother tongue education at the K-12…

Project-based learning (PBL) involves real-life-based use of investigative, interactive and creative tasks that extend beyond the classroom and culminate in authentic products. PBL can be used as a means to promote tertiary-level EFL learning, yet there is little research on the issue in Turkish higher education contexts. This study develops a PBL…

The article examines the development of speech in elementary school students. The research objective is to determine the status of coherent speech development in 3rd-grade students in the process of constructive and artistic activity. The article defines the criteria (structural and compositional, communicative and productive, and communicative…

Because most real-life foreign language speech is naturally unpredictable, spontaneous speech should be practiced in the foreign language classroom. Student teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) may benefit from practising methodology for spontaneous speech practice. This article reports the findings for a study into EFL student…

In this article, we show that "photovoice" and "photo-elicitation" are user-friendly, versatile techniques uniquely beneficial in International Business programs where English-mediated instruction is the norm. These techniques engage young adult students deeply in subject material as well as create the opportunity for students…

Implementation of the English Language Arts (ELA) Common Core State Standards (CCSS) reduces the traditional separation between the study of different subjects. Increased focus on nonfiction reading and writing means more incorporation of other content, such as music, into language arts classes. CCSS's emphasis on speaking and writing across…

Software avatars are increasingly applied to support children's collaborative storytelling because avatars may serve as a transparent shield or as embodied agents to facilitate creativity in children. However, when using avatars, it is not easy for children to practise and refine their speaking skills by narrating their stories to an audience. The…

An American, invited to speak on aesthetics and creativity, came away from the academic conference in the city of Perm fascinated by the character of the Russians he met, but depressed at the shabbiness and the creativity-dispelling gracelessness of the proceedings. Lecturers had apparently become accustomed to going through the motions in mumbled…

This article discusses the benefits of using stories in language teaching and ideas of how to use stories in the classroom. The authors believe that stories can help solve the problems caused by limited resources and are good ways to teach culture. They describe types of stories and how they can be used in teaching speaking, listening, reading,…

A teacher/storyteller recommends story creation by students to encourage creativity and pleasure in developing language skills. Suggested exercises include combining random nouns (e.g., "le fer et le bois") and creating a proverb about them, creating a story using names of consumer products, and developing a story using only body-language idioms…

Creativity measures and samples of private speech were collected from 42 preschool and kindergarten children. Statistical analysis revealed significant positive relationships among creativity measures, solving speech, and coping/reinforcing speech. Coping and reinforcing private speech were linked with high creativity measures. (DB)