Imaginative and Creative Teaching

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Imaginative materials: teaching with authentic materials

Catalogues, shop brochures and leaflets are a type of authentic material often available free and in quantity. Here are some ideas for using these, whether printed in English or another language.

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Teaching creatively: What is creativity?

In the first article in this series, Chaz Pugliese explains what creativity is and looks at how we can develop our creativity.

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Teaching creatively: The impact of creativity on students

In the second article in this series, Chaz Pugliese examines the impact that creativity can have on students.

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Teaching creatively: The impact of creativity on teachers

In the third and final article in this series, Chaz Pugliese examines the impact that creativity can have on teachers.

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Teaching creatively

This series of articles and lesson ideas by Chaz Pugliese explores what it means to be creative in the classroom, why creativity is important in a learning context and how teachers can become more creative in an ELT setting.

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Teaching creatively: Lesson ideas

In this set of lesson ideas to accompany the Teaching creatively series, students practise writing with Proust, speak about a hobby and look for common ground.

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Imaginative materials: Receipts

Do you keep your receipts? Jim Scrivener presents some innovative ideas for using these in the classroom, including role-plays, crime-solving and guessing games!

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Imaginative materials: ideas for using advent calendars

In the run up to Christmas, why not take a look at some of Jim Scrivener's exciting ideas for using advent calendars in the classroom. 

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Imaginative materials: radio radio

The radio is a tremendous resource of listening material and the internet has suddenly opened this world up for classroom use. Instead of listening to the crackling and fading of shortwave transmissions, it’s now possible to save clear copies of programmes from all around the world. Here are some ideas ...

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Imaginative materials: yummy yummy yummy!

An interesting way to teach basic food vocabulary at lower levels is to also include some colloquial expressions such as ‘Yummy!’ ‘I’m starving!’ and ‘Yuk!' Once students know a dialogue you can easily substitute words to practise the names of different foods.

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Imaginative materials: Texting

Do you get annoyed when your students concentrate on using their mobile phones to text each other rather than focusing on the lesson? Here are five ideas for exploiting text messaging in class.

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Imaginative materials: fab phone features

Mobile phones have many features and can provide great opportunities for activities. Here are a few ideas to get the most out mobiles in lessons.

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Imaginative materials: teaching with newspapers

Teachers rarely have access to whole class sets of newspapers. Here are six ideas for things you can do using a single copy of a newspaper.

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Imaginative materials: teaching resources: sound effects

Sound-effect CDs are an exciting teaching resource. These are recordings that have hardly any words on - but instead contain a sequence of noises such as crashes, bumps, bangs, whistles, screams etc. Here are some ideas for using sound-effects in the classroom.

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Imaginative materials: teaching English using timetables

Printed train or bus timetables are often available as free leaflets or can be downloaded and printed from the internet. This simple resource can be used in a number of ways.

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Imaginative materials: teaching with simple props: bags

Teachers and learners carry books and equipment to their lessons in a variety of smart or scruffy bags. Here are some ways you could make use of these unassuming objects in class.

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Imaginative materials: teaching with simple props: dice

Some of the most useful teaching props are the simplest. Most ELT teachers will have used dice at some time, perhaps when groups are playing a board game. Here are three ideas for more unusual uses of dice in class.

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Imaginative materials: using movies to teach English

Most students enjoy watching a good movie, whether at the cinema or on TV. Here are a few ideas for making use of their interest and knowledge to create some unusual activities.

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Imaginative materials: teaching with simple props: string

Some props don't immediately suggest themselves as useful teaching aids. For example, what could one possibly do with a bag of clothes pegs and a piece of string? Mmm…

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Imaginative materials: using computers to teach English

Mulitmedia presentation programs (e.g. Microsoft PowerPoint) are a good way of storing and showing images and text in unusual ways – as a high-tech slide show. Here are some teaching ideas, all suitable for classrooms with only a single computer.