On October 20, 2021, Dr.Vincent T. Greenier,a senior Lecturer in Linguistics & TESOL at the University of Aberdeen, U.K., delivered his first lecture to the teachers and students of School of Foreign Languages via Tencent Meeting at 7 p.m. He is scheduled to give two lectures aboutEnglish Education. The first lecture entitled “A C-Change in CLT: Moving from Communicative to Creative Language Teaching” was hosted by Prof. Yang Chaojun, Dean of School of Foreign Languages. Over 350 postgraduates and faculty members attended the lecture with interest and excitement.
Dr.Vincent T. Greenierearned his B.A. at Eastern Michigan University (U.S.A) in 2003 and his Ph.D. at University of Auckland (New Zealand) in 2018.He has been an ESL/EFL teacher and teacher educator for nearly two decades and has lived and taught in several countries across four continents. His main research interests include creative approaches to language teaching and learning, leadership and professionalism in ELT, language teacher education, language teacher identity, and innovative approaches to qualitative research. His articles can be found in journals such asTESOL Quarterly,System,RELC,The Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, and others.
During the lecture, Dr. Vincent T. Greenier systematically introduced the differences between the traditional communicative language teaching and the creative language teaching. In the poem The Tempest, Shakespeare introduces the phrase “sea change” to mean “a significant transformation.” This presentation proposes a “C” change in CLT towards a greater emphasis on Creativity. Since its conception, CLT has been difficult to implement in many contexts because the approach is not clearly defined or understood and situational demands, such as large classes and high-stakes tests, make it seemingly impractical (Li, 1998). Re-envisioning CLT with a creative focus will help teachers prepare better communicative activities, more effectively address classroom demands and challenges, and improve students’ thinking skills. But what is the relationship between creativity and L2 learning? Empirical research has been sparse and inconclusive in part because the existing literature has investigated this question primarily through correlation analysis that has given little consideration to the learning context or participant interactions. Hence, this talk will draw on data from qualitative research that contextualizes actual classroom practice. It will discuss several studies that employ creative activities analyzed through a qualitative and mixed-method lens that explore creative engagement. This presentation aims to show how creative interaction can have positive benefits for both creativity and L2 development and will elaborate on the interconnection between these competencies. The talk will conclude with some guiding principles for greater communicative effectiveness and pose some key features that can help make the language syllabus more creative.
In sum, all the audience were deeply moved by Dr. Vincent T. Greenier's passion for academics and profound knowledge as well, and they all look forward to his next lecture.
