could pose problems to any student . Writing a story or a poem is by contrast an activity that can boost self-esteem and confidence .
Noteworthy benefits of teaching creative writing :
• it broadens and improves formal and informal language skills ;
• it improves writing fluency ;
• it enhances vocabulary acquisition ;
• it broadens extensive writing skills ;
• it promotes the practice of language for functional purposes : describing , making comparisons , giving advice , requesting things , inviting , expressing regret , making apologies , etc .;
• it improves grammar by practising reported speech , verb tenses , the sequence of tenses , descriptive adjectives ;
• it can encourage collaboration and team work ;
• it can promote peer feedback ;
• it enhances the ability of planning , drafting , organizing and revising a text ;
• it stimulates creativity and imagination ;
• it is an engaging and pleasurable activity ;
• it encourages students to pay more attention to the internal “ mechanisms ” of a text and to read more appreciatively ;
• it stresses the importance of playing with language in a less restrictive manner ;
• tasks can be adapted to adjust to the students ’ learning styles ( Spiro , 6 ).
After reflecting on the most notable benefits of using creative writing tasks , a teacher might need to use certain activities that encourage the less imaginative students . The following paragraphs will look at the ways in which writing activities can help students carry out a writing task .
Creative writing activities When dealing with a writing assignment many students complain about not being imaginative enough . Those who feel discouraged might need to be offered more support from the teachers . Acting not only as an organizer , controller , and resource but also as a prompter could make a big difference to students ’ confidence . Besides this , providing them with clear instructions and multiple examples has remarkable benefits .
I have noticed that most young learners , especially those from primary school , are bursting with excitement whenever they come across a creative task . They enjoy stories mainly because stories are playful . Despite their excitement , they might become frustrated due to their lack of linguistic resources . Teenage learners , on the other hand , might possess the necessary vocabulary for writing a story but they lack motivation to do it . This is partly because they tend to dismiss creative writing tasks as being childish . On these specific occasions , they must be reminded of the fact that stories can depict realities in a more engaging way than a nonfictional text could do it .
Activities that might work well for young learners are those who encourage them to observe the ‘ ingredients ’ of a story : setting , characters , plot , conflict / plot twist . In her
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