Thinking outside the box turkish EFL tea

Thus, the aim of the study is to explore the perceptions of Turkish EFL teachers about creativity and their creative teaching practices.. This study explored the perceptions of Turkish E

Contents lists available atScienceDirect Thinking Skills and Creativity journal homepage:www.elsevier.com/locate/tsc

creativity

Seçil Tümen Aky ıldıza,* , Vildan Çelikb

a Fırat University, Turkey

b The Ministry of National Education, Turkey

A R T I C L E I N F O

Keywords:

Creativity

Creative thinking

Creative teaching

EFL

Teacher perception

A B S T R A C T Creativity is one of the essential 21st-century skills that need to be developed in students because

we are living in an age that is ever-changing and unpredictable Students should be encouraged

to think outside the box not only through subjects like art, music, science, literature, etc but also

in educational settings like English as a foreign language (EFL) classes Teachers certainly have the most significant role in fostering students’ creative thinking abilities by implementing crea-tive teaching in their lessons Thus, the aim of the study is to explore the perceptions of Turkish EFL teachers about creativity and their creative teaching practices It was designed as a quali-tative research; interviews were held to probe in-depth into their perceptions on creativity

In line with the aim of the study, the research questions were determined as follows: 1) What does creativity mean to Turkish EFL teachers?

2) What kind of creative teaching activities do Turkish EFL teachers utilize in their class-rooms?

3) What are the factors affecting creative teaching and learning?

As the instrument, an interview form was prepared to collect data by reviewing relevant lit-erature and consulting the specialists’ views The researchers conducted interviews with fifteen secondary school EFL teachers, chosen randomly They participated in research from different schools voluntarily The participants were selected regarding their schools’ socio-economic po-sition, their experience, gender and age to prove a general perspective of creativity The data obtained from the interviews were analyzed through qualitative content analysis Thefindings have revealed that the majority of the teachers are not aware of the central philosophy of creativity, and they do not apply a creative approach in their teaching However, it is indicated that they use several activities in their classrooms like brainstorming, games, snap-words, and storytelling to encourage creativity It is emphasized that there are factors constraining creativity and their creative teaching practices such as content-heavy curriculum, exam-oriented education, students, limited course duration and technology On the other hand, there are factors facilitating creativity, like teacher motivation, technology and students It is worth noting that‘technology’ and‘students’ were addressed both as facilitating and constraining factors This study explored the perceptions of Turkish EFL teachers about creativity and their creative teaching practices It is hoped to contribute to thefield with valuable results

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2020.100649

Received 2 January 2020; Received in revised form 17 March 2020; Accepted 19 March 2020

⁎Corresponding author

E-mail addresses:stakyildiz@firat.edu.tr(S.T Akyıldız),ucmazvildan@gmail.com(V Çelik)

Available online 04 May 2020

1871-1871/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved

T

1 Introduction

The age we live in is ever-changing and unpredictable.Craft (2011)stated that the 21st-century is the most uncertain ever Thus, creativity is more important now than in the past to overcome‘evolutionary changes’ (Runco, 2004, p 658) Creativity is recognized

as‘a burgeoning topic’ (Kaufman & Sternberg, 2007, p 57) and‘a global renaissance’ (Tangaard, 2011, p 219) of interest It is in great demand by variousfields such as science, technology, economy, and politics It has also raised interest in the field of education eminently (Cimermanova, 2015;Craft, 2003,2005;Kurt & Önalan, 2018;NACCCE, 1999;Tangaard, 2011) since its aim is not only to provide academic achievement for students but also notably to prepare them for the future As for some scholars, educators should help students to develop creativity and to prepare them for an uncertain future (Guilford, 1950;Vygotsky, 2004).NACCCE (1999) informed that creativity in education is necessary to prepare individuals for their future career; to bring them up responsible members

of the society they belong to and empower them to adapt changing conditions as culturally tolerant ones.Guilford (1967)asserted that‘creativity is the key to education in its fullest sense and to the solution of mankind’s most serious problems’ (p.13)

Contrary to common belief, creativity is not for only a few special people (Kaufman & Sternberg, 2007;Richards, 2007;Vygotsky,

2004) instead; it could be improved or taught via education (NACCCE, 1999) As explained byTorrance and Torrance (1973), creativity is teachable That‘hidden potential’ (Richards, 2007, p 25) can be enhanced or undermined through the type of education

at schools (Birkmaier, 1971) Accordingly, teachers have the most significant role in fostering students' creative thinking by im-plementing creative teaching in their classes (Sternberg & Williams, 1996).Tangaard (2011)believed that teachers could facilitate creativity not only by their teaching but also by their attitudes while they talk about creativity According to social learning theory, people learn through observing behaviors, coding and then performing similarly (Bandura, 1977) Thus it can be inferred that creativity can be learned or improved likewise Teachers are always role models for their students If they think out-of-the-box, their students may start to think similarly If they think inside the box, then their students may continue to think in a similar way and never learn to think creatively In this respect, at schools, creative thinking should be encouraged by teachers not only through subjects like art, music, science, literature, etc but also in English as a foreign language (EFL) classes According toHodges (2005), it is note-worthy to reveal the common understanding of teachers on creativity and give them opportunities to talk about it Concerning this, understanding teachers' knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes about creativity is of primary importance

Around the world, there are many research conducted on creative thinking in EFL context (e.g.,Al-Nouh, Abdul-Kareem, & Taqi,

2014;Avila, 2015;Baghaei & Riasati, 2015;Fitriah, 2017;Ghonsooly & Showqi, 2012;Iakovos, 2011;Khadka, 2014;Liao, Chen, Chen, & Chang, 2018;Nedjah & Hamada, 2017;Rahimi & Hematiyan, 2012; Tin, 2013;Wang & Kokotsaki, 2018) In Turkey, however, the majority of the studies conducted on creativity are about school subjects like Turkish language, science, chemistry, math, music, art or preschoolers Due to the fact that there are very few studies available about creativity in EFL context, this study is worthwhile Another reason to indicate the significance of the current study is that -to the researchers’ knowledge- it is the first study

in Turkey examining the perceptions of in-service Turkish EFL teachers on creativity There is already one study byKurt and Önalan (2018)exploring the perceptions of Turkish EFL teachers, yet it is about the perceptions of pre-service teachers In the English language teaching curriculum prepared by the Turkish Ministry of National Education in 2018, creativity is mentioned only once as a key competence for students’ learning outcome Therefore the last reason that indicates the prominence of the study is to reveal the teachers’ perceptions of creativity despite the limited emphasis of the current concept in the curriculum

Consequently, the present study has aimed to explore the perceptions of Turkish EFL teachers about creativity and their creative teaching practices in detail, and it is hoped to contribute to thefield with considerable results By this aim, the current study will discuss creativity in general, creativity in education and creativity in EFL context; thefindings will be displayed and discussion will be held respectively

2 Creativity

The meaning of creativity and its process has been described by several researchers Although there are some common compo-nents of creativity such as novelty and originality, there is no consensus on the concept of creativity yet.Boden (2001)defined creativity as‘the ability to come up with new ideas that are surprising yet intelligible, and also valuable in some way’ (p 95) Csikszentmihalyi (1996)described it as‘any act, idea, or product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing domain into a new one’ (p 28).Beghetto (2007a)made a definition combining many definitions of creativity as ‘the ability to offer new perspectives, generate novel and meaningful ideas, raise new questions, and generate solutions to ill-defined problems’ (p 1) According toBeghetto and Kaufman (2014)andSimonton (2012), creativity is not only being new or original but also being useful or appropriate A more radical meaning of creativity is‘to rebel against authority or rules and regulations’ (Tangaard, 2011) For Birkmaier (1971), the creative process includes‘adventurous thinking or imaginativeness, an insatiable curiosity, getting away from the main track, being open to experience, permitting one thing to lead to another, discovering, innovating, inventing’ (p 345) According toTorrance (1993), creativity is‘sensing difficulties, problems, gaps in information, missing elements, something askew; making guesses and formulating hypotheses about these deficiencies; evaluating and testing these guesses and hypotheses; possibly revising and retesting them; and, last, communicating the results’ (p 23)

Creativity is still accepted as an art, because the procedure of creative thinking could not be explained well Creativity can be nurtured both by individual orientation and institutional encouragement (Ma, 2009) There are studies revealing some environmental and personal factors affecting creativity (Basadur, Graen, & Green, 1982;Sternberg and Lubart (1995) Environmental factors are‘the school’ and ‘community’ in general terms The sub areas for the school factor are setting of the school, classroom atmosphere, curriculum, school subjects and providing gifted resources to students As for community factor, the roles of parents and society are

the related sub areas (Chan & Yuen, 2014) Individual factors on the other hand are personality, intelligence, knowledge, thinking style and motivation (Sternberg and Lubart (1995) A creative person may be defined with references to the personal factors such as personality characteristics, demographical features, cognitive ability, academic achievement, thinking style, motivation, attitude and experiences (Ma, 2009)

Apart from factors contributing to creativity, many theories and models of creativity which involve similar or completely different principles have been introduced to the literature such asAmabile’s (1996)‘Creativity in Contexts’,Sternberg and Lubart’s (1995)

‘Investment Theory of Creativity’,Rhodes’ (1961)‘4 P Model’ andKaufman and Beghetto’s (2009)‘4C Model’ Among them, 4C model

of creativity makes distinctions between levels of creativity as mini-c, little-c, Pro-c, and Big-C Atfirst, there was only Big-C and little-c distinction, in which the former is regarded as the creativity of eminent people like great artists, scientists or philosophers while the latter, as stated byRichards (2007), is about everyone instead of a few selected ones and is related to everyday life Later, mini-c and Pro-c are added byKaufman and Beghetto (2009) Mini-c is‘the novel and personally meaningful interpretation of experiences, actions, and events’ and ‘highlights an important relationship between learning and creativity’ (Beghetto & Kaufman, 2007, p 73) Pro-c, on the other hand, is about‘anyone who attains professional-level expertise in any creative area’ such as a famous restaurant’s cook who is more creative than a home cook but‘have not reached eminent status’ of a great chef yet (Kaufman & Beghetto, 2009, p 4-5)

Another significant model isRhode’s (1961)‘the four P’s of creativity’ which stands for person, process, products and press These four aspects of creativity are emphasized entirely or separately in other theories, approaches and definitions Person is about the

‘personality, intellect, temperament, physique, traits, habits, attitudes, self-concept, value systems, defense mechanisms, and beha-vior’ while process refers to ‘motivation, perception, learning, thinking, and communicating’ Press is about the environment such as family, culture, etc which can affect the whole creative process Product is last, concrete, original form of a creative idea (p 307–309)

Creativity is regarded as an investment theory that requires buying low and selling high Creative people buy low when they come

up with the idea that is new, strange or not favored Although they are criticized and attacked by others because of their ideas, they insist on what they create and sell high in the end According to this theory, creativity has six distinct but interrelated resources such

as intellectual abilities, knowledge, thinking styles, personality attributes, motivation, and a supportive environment These resources highly influence the process of creativity (Sternberg, 2006)

Another argument that will be mentioned here is domain generality or specificity of creativity models which is one of the debatable issues of creativity studies Various research has been conducted tofind out whether creativity is domain-specific and thereby applied to only specific disciplines or tasks (Baer, 1998) or whether it is domain-general and applicable to all disciplines (Plucker, 1998) ForKaufman and Baer (2005)andPlucker and Beghetto (2004), on the other hand, creativity is neither domain-general nor domain-specific

2.1 Creativity in education

Before the 20th century, creativity was regarded as a skill belonging to the artists It is still a widespread belief to some extent today Then, all the disciplines have been acknowledged as having something to do with creativity and problem-solving driven (Tatarkiewicz, 1980;Treffinger, Young, Selby, & Shepherdson, 2002) The study of creativity has concerned severalfields such as psychology, somefields of aesthetic and arts, economics, literature, the world of business, science, technology, politics, economy, and education (Cimermanova, 2015;Cremin, 2009; Kaufman & Sternberg, 2007;NACCCE, 1999; Richards, 2013) As Kaufman and Sternberg (2007)asserted that creativity enriches educational settings

Creative approach in the context of education can be traced toKaufman and Beghetto’s (2009)mini-c and little-c creativity from their 4C model Especially, mini-c creativity emphasizes that there is a significant connection between creativity and learning It is also‘concerned with the individual creative processes involved in student knowledge construction and development of new un-derstanding’ (Beghetto & Kaufman, 2007, p 78) In addition,NACCCE’s (1999)democratic view of creativity which is based on

little-c and everyday little-creativity little-can be assolittle-ciated with edulittle-cation belittle-cause it highlights the idea that‘all people are capable of creative achievement in some area of activity, provided the conditions are right and they have acquired the relevant knowledge and skills’ (p 29)

Improving the thinking skills of the students has gained much more importance with the developments and the swift changes in the world Therefore, it is required to change educational strategies in terms of developing thinking skills like creativity (Li, 2016) There is an ongoing debate between traditional rote learning and creative learning in educational context Most of the educators still utilize pencil-paper teaching AsTangaard (2011)reported, this kind of teaching is no wonder easier than a creative one which requires so much time and effort for preparation Similarly,Lillejord and Dysthe (2008)noted that in the age of life-long learning authentic activities such as calculating length distance in the football ground or counting eggs and spoons when baking cakes should

be utilized They claim that when these kinds of activities are replaced by paper-pencil ones, creativity is dulled in the classroom Sawyer (2004)drew a parallel between a traditional curriculum-driven teacher and an actor who reads his manuscript and act accordingly As a result of this kind of teaching test scores of students may rise On the other hand, a creative teacher challenges his/ her students to go beyond the limits such as test scores and to be open daily risks and freshness as well.Palaniappan (2008),Schacter, Thum, and Zifkin (2006)also make it evident that comparing to the traditional rote learning creative learning is more meaningful In line with the researchers mentioned,Sarsani (2008)highlighted the fact that mathematics, science, and social sciences are the subjects disliked by most of the average students if they are conducted by traditional didactic methods Whenever creativity is engaged in those subjects, students change their attitudes accordingly

Traditional teachers tend to stifle students’ creativity instead of improving it (Dacey & Lennon, 1998;Grigorenko & Sternberg,

1997); however, at this age, it is really important to provide relevant conditions to foster creative thinking of the students at schools The best way to ensure it is to utilize creative teaching in the educational context Creative teaching is defined in two different ways

as 'teaching creatively' and 'teaching for creativity' Teaching creatively means teachers' using various creative approaches so as to make learning more meaningful, efficient, exciting and amazing In this process, teachers use diverse approaches, methods, and materials which can arouse students' attention and increase their motivation for learning Teaching for creativity, on the other hand,

is the way of teaching that aim to improve students' own creative thinking abilities The latter involves the former which means in order to improve students’ creativity; it is fundamental for teachers to teach creatively (NACCCE, 1999).Craft (2005)pointed out that sometimes teaching creatively and teaching for creativity can be applied in the classroom at the same time or one of them can dominate the other due to class conditions or teachers' wishes Both of them‘involves a high level of pedagogical sensitivity and skillfulness in being alert to the meld of environment, learner engagement, and experience, moment, domain…as well as adopting appropriate strategies to support creative learner engagement’ (p.49) As forKaufman and Sternberg (2007), teaching creativity cannot be accomplished directly but a teacher can teach for creativity which‘requires the recognition what creativity is, in large part,

an attitude toward life” (p 58) When teachers are creative and willing to use creative approaches and materials without being suppressed, students will reveal or develop their creativity (Cimermanova, 2015;Fitriah, 2017;NACCCE, 1999;Rahimi & Hematiyan,

2012;Tangaard, 2011)

Creative teaching is essential in that students need‘to see differently, to take risks to do things differently, to take decisions, to be different’ (Cimermanova, 2015, p 1969) Added to that, creative teaching increases students’ motivation and self-esteem and helps them get ready for the future (Fisher, 2006;Richards, 2013).Lin (2011)indicated that fostering creativity with the help of education

is‘to support the individuals’ development in creative qualities to face everyday problem, to support their need for self-actualization,

as well as enhance their capacities for future success’ (p 151) Creative teaching is also proved by the researchers to increase students’ achievement at the elementary level (Schacter et al., 2006) As pointed out byRichards (2013)creative teaching can be beneficial for teachers and institutions as well as students because it‘provides a source of ongoing professional renewal and satisfaction’ for teachers while it increases‘the quality, effectiveness, and reputation of the school’ (p 42)

Providing a creative climate in school settings is necessary to prepare students for the requirements of creativity (Davis, 1991) To ensure itMoutrie and Young (2009)proposed six qualities that creative teachers should have These qualities are to be analytical problem solvers; have the freedom to some extent; support ideas of students; create a trusted environment; use humour and take sensible risks In addition to these, providing feedback to the students, utilizing project-based activities (Tangaard, 2011); involving students in the continuous process of decision making in the learning process (Feldhusen & Treffinger, 1980;Tangaard, 2011); giving students declarative knowledge which is just factual information (Runco & Chand, 1995); organizingflexible educational programs; utilizing teaching techniques to promote divergent and convergent thinking, giving problem-finding-solving assignments (Karnes

et al., 1961); providing group activities (Davis, 1991); putting emphasis on not only cognitive but also affective domain (Fasko,

2001); welcoming unusual ideas in the classroom and transforming mistakes to the positive tools to let students aware of their errors (Feldhusen & Treffinger, 1980); motivating students intrinsically (Hennessey & Amabile, 1987;Schacter et al., 2006) are the other qualities of teachers to enhance creativity in educational settings

While stimulating creativity is one of the essential duties of educators in the learning process, some constraints of creativity should be avoided.Tangaard (2011)claimed that centrally defined subjects and materials cause pressure on teachers and hinder creativity in this way The expectations of school administrators and parents of high grades also limit creativity in the learning environment.Fasko (2001)declared that creativity requires enough time Students should be part of the learning process and be grown a new person through creative teaching without any time limitation In other words, time limitation in the education settings hinders creativity (Feldhusen & Treffinger, 1980) External rewards and competition between students in the process are the other undermining factors for creativity (Amabile, 1983,1996;Hennesey & Amabile, 1987) Unqualified teachers, daily challenges such as crowded classrooms and considering creative activities as‘extras’ rather than essentials are other factors affecting creativity nega-tively (Beghetto, 2007b;Kim, 2008;Makel, 2009) In a study conducted bySchacter et al (2006)standardized testing and assessment systems and accountability were stated to limit creativity

In some countries, ministries of education have restructured their policies; in accord, they started to change their attitudes towards creativity Schools and teachers have been supported to improve students’ creative thinking skills One of the leading and

influential examples is the United Kingdom, where a report called "All our futures: creativity, culture and education" was published

byNational Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education (NACCCE) in 1999 As noted byCraft (2003), creativity has been promoted and fostered through various activities supported by the government and other organizations in England following the change Curriculum reforms have emphasized creativity development in education in America, France, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore apart from England (Lin, 2011) In the example of Turkey, the Turkish Ministry of Education announced“Turkey’s Education Vision 2023” report in 2018 Although it offers great changes and new perspectives in the whole education philosophy, creative thinking is not emphasized as much as inNACCCE (1999) Creativity is mentioned just once both in the report and in English Language teaching curriculum prepared in accordance with that report The European Commission has suggested including‘creativity’ in curriculums, as one of the key competences that students should gain However, merely nothing (such as its definition, implementation, etc.) is explained in detail about it

2.2 Creativity in EFL teaching

Creative teaching can be applied, and students’ creativity can be enhanced in EFL classes as well They offer a favorable

environment for creativity although EFL teachers have not completely realized the relationship between creativity and English teaching yet (Lee, 2013;Maley, 2013) This relationship is associated with the nature of the language itself which is open to creativity and imagination (Chomsky, 2008;Iakovos, 2011;Tin, 2013) Creative EFL teachers are knowledgeable, non-conformist, risk-takers and reflective They always help their students to be successful by using various strategies, techniques, materials, and activities which can lead to creative thinking They always prefer learner-centeredness and they try tofind creative ways to motivate their students They areflexible in terms of adjusting or modifying their teaching immediately when something goes wrong Lastly, they creatively use technology (Richards, 2013)

There are three advantages of language teachers to enhance students' creativity Thefirst one is about language's being creative naturally which means people can use language creatively, recreate or reformulate it, change its structure or express the meaning differently during communication The second advantage is about language classes' being limitless in terms of topics such as sport, law, and foods, which provides more creative contexts And the last one is that in contrast to many other subjects, creativity can be applied easily in language classes because more creative and real-life situations can be provided there (Stepanek, 2015).Clarke (2005)also noted that foreign language teaching is a widely available andflexible field in which creative activities can be readily applied

Enhancing students' creativity is much more significant in EFL compared to other subjects in that both it provides 'affective and cognitive engagement' necessary for the acquisition of the language and a clear understanding of using language for effective and natural communication; and it develops their 'predictive, analytical, critical and problem-solving skills' as well as their 'confidence and self-esteem' (Tomlinson, 2015).Liao et al (2018)reported that creative teaching practices in EFL classrooms increase students' motivation, creativity, and academic achievement.Baghaei and Riasati (2015)stated that creativity in EFL context offers funnier and interesting class hours In order to increase students' interest and attention towards English, creative teaching strategies can effi-ciently be used in the process Both teachers and students can be affected positively (Avila, 2015) The purpose of creative English language teaching should be allowing students to learn to question and display critical attitudes towards all kinds of texts, to produce new, unique and different things, and to express their ideas and thoughts enthusiastically in various ways and media (Cremin, 2009) Creative language learning can occur in an environment where ideas are freely expressed To be creative while learning a foreign language depends on developing an atmosphere in which students can develop their imagination, self-confidence, self-perception besides the skills and knowledge about the foreign language Being successful in these processes substantially concerns the teachers who are accepted as manager of learning It is extremely significant to make the students be busy with the language outside the classroom and make the society or environment a centre of language research if students are expected to be successful Since innovative and creative thinking do not rely on verbalization but conceptualization (Birkmaier, 1971) To enhance positive attitudes and necessary skills in English, creative tasks can be used in language learning settings While common language learning tasks have

an only aim to make the students to be communicative, creative tasks increase students' enthusiasm to improve their language and make the language more engaging and permanent (Tin, 2013)

There are various studies about creativity in the EFL context worldwide While some of them are giving tips, strategies about how

to implement creative teaching in EFL classrooms, others are empirical studies conducted on students or teachers For instance,Lee (2013)andRichards (2013)made suggestions for English teachers about how to enhance creativity in their classes.Avila (2015), Cremin (2009),Kral (1995), andMaley and Peachy (2015)suggested several creative activities that can be used in EFL classrooms WhileBaghaei and Riasati (2015)investigated the relationship between teacher creativity and its effect on students’ academic achievement;Pishghadam, Khodadady, and Zabihi (2011)examine the relationship between learner creativity and its effect on students’ academic achievement Cimermanova (2015)investigated the creativity of pre-service EFL teachers and its effects on teaching whileAl-Nouh et al (2014),Fitriah (2017),Khany and Boghayeri (2014),Nedjah and Hamada (2017),Wang and Kokotsaki (2018)tend to explore in-service EFL teachers’ knowledge and perceptions on creativity

In Turkey, however, there are a limited number of studies about creativity in the EFL context One of the very few studies belongs

toÖzbek (2006)who investigates the effect of creative thinking implementations on EFL students' attitudes toward creativity in writing courses Another study is implemented in Northern Cyprus to the teachers working in primary, secondary and high schools by Özcan (2010) The researcher revealed the effects of teachers’ behaviors, on learners' creativity The other research is done byKurt and Önalan (2018) They intended tofind out pre-service English teachers' perceptions of creativity Lastly,Yagcioglu (2017)carried out a study with preparatory class students at University to see the role of creativity and humor in students' achievement and motivation

Creativity differs from teacher to teacher depending on their perception On one hand, a teacher may see it as a tool to enhance learning; the other may recognize it as a barrier (Freund & Holling, 2008) Since creative teachers are the“inspirers, navigators, and sharers of knowledge” (Baghaei & Riasati, 2015, p 22) and the ones who will model creativity to foster students' creativity (Cremin,

2009), undoubtedly they have the most crucial role in creative teaching (Avila, 2015;Baghaei & Riasati, 2015;Birkmaier, 1971; Cremin, 2009;Lee, 2013;Nedjah & Hamada, 2017;Rahimi & Hematiyan, 2012;Richards, 2013;Sternberg & Williams, 1996) In EFL classes also students will not be able to improve their creative thinking skills if their teachers are not aware of the concept of creativity in detail and its applications into teaching (Lee, 2013) Thus, understanding EFL teachers' knowledge, perception, and attitude towards creativity has a great impact on the creative teaching process in the class

2.3 Purpose of the study and research questions

From the discussion held in literature review section, it is clear that the perceptions of EFL teachers about creativity have a crucial

effect on their practices There are not a number of studies addressing the perceptions of in-service EFL teachers on creativity in the

world and none in Turkey -by the best knowledge of the researchers The absence of‘creativity’ as an important concept in The English Language Teaching Curriculum led the researchers to investigate it in the educational settings by the aim to contribute to the field The study therefore explored the perceptions of Turkish in-service EFL teachers on creativity and their creative teaching practices through a qualitative approach In line with the aim of the study, the research questions were determined as follows: 1) What does creativity mean to Turkish EFL teachers?

2) What kind of creative teaching activities do Turkish EFL teachers utilize in their classrooms?

3) What are the factors affecting creative teaching and learning?

3 Methodology

3.1 Research design

Researchers mostly attempt to reveal different ways of understanding of social realities in social sciences (Jackson, Drummond, & Camara, 2007) In qualitative research main focus is mostly on experiences and reflections of human beings (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) Participants are required to give in-depth responses about their experiences, which add to the richness of research (Jackson et al.,

2007) In line with the views about qualitative research this study was designed as a qualitative one Interviews were conducted to probe extensive into EFL teachers’ perceptions on creativity

3.2 Trustworthiness of the research

As forGuba (1981)who has been accepted as an authority by many in thisfield there should be four criteria to be met to prove trustworthiness of a study They are credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability The researchers tried to meet these criteria throughout the study, which will be explained in detail in this part

3.2.1 Credibility

Credibility is one of the crucial agents in proving trustworthiness (Lincoln and Guba, 1985).Merriam (1998)noted that re-searchers should seek the answer of‘how congruent are the findings with reality?’ to establish credibility In the current study to ensure credibility there are some implementations One of them is random sampling of participants AsBouma and Atkinson (1995) supported random sampling in qualitative research warrants that the random chosen participants are representatives of the greater group

Triangulation is another factor to affect trustworthiness of a study Different methods are not used in this study to ensure credibility asGuba (1981)suggested, nor are wide range of informants used asShenton (2004)asserted Instead, site triangulation was achieved within this study According toShenton (2004), site triangulation may be achieved including different informants from several organizations to eliminate local factors That is to say, participants of the current study were selected regarding their schools’ socio-economic level, their experience, age and gender The researchers tried to include participants representing diverse views to ensure credibility

There are some other ways to help ensure honesty in participants.Shenton (2004)claimed that participants should have chance to refuse to attend the study In this study the participants were chosen voluntarily, which is thought to contribute the credibility of the research

The background, qualifications and experience of the researcher are also important to ensure credibility (Shenton, 2004) Patton (1990) emphasized the credibility of the researcher who is the primary agent of data collection and analysis (as cited inShenton,

2004) One of the researchers of the present study is an academic who has not only 10 years of EFL teaching but also seven years of lecturing as an academic background and has several other qualitative research The other researcher on the other hand both the master student of the former researcher and an EFL teacher in a state school forfive years Therefore, both of the researchers are aware of the importance of credibility of research

The last factor to ensure credibility of the current research is direct quotations of participants.Shenton (2004)indicated that using real episodes from the interviews let the readers believe in the research To enable our readers understand the categories, codes and their congruence with the quotations direct excerpts were given infindings and results section

3.2.2 Transferability

According toMerriam (1998), transferability is external validity thatfindings of a study may be applicable to the others On the other hand,Shenton (2004)asserted thatfindings of a small sample of participants in a qualitative study cannot be applied to other situations and populations Since thefindings are specific to those particular participants Within this insight, this research may not assert that the views of the participants represent others due to the case of their country and some personal issues

3.2.3 Dependability

It is reliability in other words It means if the study was conducted again in the same context using the same methods and participants, similar results would be achieved (Shenton, 2004) Lincoln andGuba (1981)claimed that there is a strong tie between credibility and dependability If a research provides the conditions of the former it will also provide the terms of the latter.Shenton (2004)also stated that researchers should report the process in detail to ensure dependability Thus this research may be taken as a

dependable one as it provided several factors necessary for credibility and it reported the process in depth.

3.2.4 Confirmability

Patton (1990) (as cited inShenton, 2004) specified that objectivity in qualitative research is very difficult to achieve by human made instruments To remove the doubt of subjectivity the researchers asked two academics of Education Faculty to read the answers

of participants and confirm the codes; identified the participants in the paper and preserved the data carefully The form was prepared andfilled in either Turkish or English To provide comfirmability not only the researchers but two different English lan-guage instructors also translated the Turkish forms into English

A voice recorder was used during the interviews, and the recordings will be preserved to provide confirmability

3.3 Participants

Participants of the research were 15 secondary school EFL teachers who were currently teaching in different schools in Elazığ, a city located in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey Their schools were determined beforehand to represent different socio-eco-nomic levels of students They accepted to participate in the research voluntarily The majority of the teachers were female with the number of 11 and there were only 4 male teachers The population of EFL teachers in the schools included to the research was mostly females, so only one third of the participants were males There were fourteen teachers with the age of 21–30 and only one teacher was 32 years old Experience is also a determining factor to get a wide range of perceptions Thus, ten teachers had teaching experience in EFL between 1–4 years while five of them had between 5–10 years There were no teachers in those schools having more than ten years’ of experience

3.4 Data collection

Data were collected through an interview form prepared by the researchers investigating the related literature in detail The researchers also consulted two professors in the Education Faculty about the questions to ensure the questions’ scope and their appropriateness to the research Having their suggestions the questions were revised Thus three questions were prepared to explore the perceptions of EFL teachers about creativity and their creative teaching practices Thefirst question asked the participants what creativity is to reveal their own perceptions of creativity The second question asked if they implemented creative teaching in their classes Then according to their answers they were asked to indicate some examples of creative teaching activities they used The third question asked them to identify the factors to constrain and promote creative teaching and learning The interviews, of which aim was to obtain participants' opinions on the process, were conducted in person and recorded by a voice recorder To provide a comfortable environment, the interviews were conducted either in their native language (Turkish) or English optional The re-cordings were translated, transcribed and analyzed consecutively

3.5 Data analysis

The written data were analyzed through qualitative content analysis Content analysis is one of the ways that allows the re-searchers to expand the understanding of theoretical issues by extracting written data into categories (Cavanagh, 1997) Four main stages were followed asBerg (2001)recommended The researchers identified the meanings first, included the content, identified codes as homogenous groups and lastly drew realistic conclusions by the help of calculated frequencies For uniformity and con-sistencyOleinik (2010)suggested pathways to ensure reliability of the content analysis One of them is getting help from others to confirm the codes Thus, two professors of the field confirmed the codes constituted by the researchers To preserve the participants’ privacy, codes were used to report their statements instead of full names such as A1 and C2 These codes stood for 1st participant of thefirst question and third participant of the second question The letters were utilized in alphabetical order with the number of questions

4 Findings and results

Analysis of data revealed the perceptions of the participants on creativity, creative activities in EFL classrooms and factors affecting creativity The results of each research question were provided below

RQ1 What does creativity mean to EFL teachers?

Findings related to thefirst research question resulted in the categories and codes given inTable 1

The analysis of data revealed 2 main categories for thefirst research question Examining the answers the researchers identified thefirst category as ‘taking English as a living language’ The participants of this category (f = 9) generally declared that ‘English is not a subject to teach but a language to live in’ Thus, creativity in this context is related to life itself As seen inTable1, in terms of the first category 3 different codes were labeled The participants who took the English language as a living mechanism identified creativity in this context accordingly Some of the participants (f = 4) defined creativity as developing new thinking ways rather than ordinary ones and helping students to do the same A1 declared“In my opinion, creativity is thinking what others think differently, seeing things upside down, and not thinking what comes to mindfirst I can make my class upside down and transform my teaching into a creative one thinking originally.” D1, on the other hand, answered the question considering students and expressed herself as "Creativity in EFL is giving a chance to students to think differently to reveal their realm of imaginary Without imagination and creativity, the English language

course is like mathematics which teachers teach formulas and problem-solving ways However, if we allow students to use their creativity and think in the way of the target language they can explore the language and enjoy it.” 2 of the participants stated that creativity in EFL meant having new experiences in a new language F1 stated that“Creativity is discovering a new world in one’s mind and having new experiences

in this new area As English language teachers, we know that people are born with an innate ability to learn a language of course with the help

of environment and experiences So we should help our students to use their innate capacity and have new experiences in it I think this is the way to make language learning permanent.” The last code (f = 3) is being open-minded in the EFL context Teachers answering the question in this way took the language learning as learning a new culture So, they remarked the necessity to be open-minded and be open to new ideas In this respect, N1 quoted "In EFL context as teachers we do not just teach the language rules or the students do not need

to learn just grammar or sentence structures Instead, we all as the stakeholders of the process should view language learning as a journey in which we meet new cultural and linguistic elements Thus we should be open to novelties in this journey.” Similarly, K1 stated, "I prefer going different and untried ways.”

On the other hand, (f = 6) there were some opposite views about language teaching and creativity in the EFL context These views formed the second category as 'taking English as a subject.’ Within this category, respondents discussed teaching English as a subject like math, history, etc and so creativity in this manner Some of the teachers (f = 3) took creativity in EFL in terms of materials E1 defined creativity as “Adapting the materials according to the needs of the students” and J1 expressed her creativity perception in the EFL context as“English subject enables you to create more materials than the other subjects It does not limit you to create materials.” Other participants (f = 2) characterized creativity with regard to the use of methods and techniques in EFL G1 remarked“The first thing to

do in a creative class is to arouse curiosity and then choose the correct method and technique accordingly I think to be creative in an EFL classroom was to use an extraordinary technique to teach something.” The last code in the category is changing and adapting the curriculum for creativity (f = 1) B1 stated in this respect“I think creativity is related to the curriculums If the curriculum lets you be creative then you will use creative thinking in your classroom So I think creativity in EFL is strongly related to the curriculum.”

RQ2 What kind of creative teaching activities do EFL teachers utilize in their classrooms?

Findings related to the second research question resulted in the categories and codes given inTable 2

Asking the participants about the creative activities they utilize in education settings, 5 categories were attained Within the framework of thefirst category ‘Warm-up activities’ 3 codes were identified Most of the participants (f = 10) declared that they use brainstorming as a warm-up activity in their EFL classes A2 stated“I usually do brainstorming activities for the beginning of each unit in the coursebook For example, I write the topic (camping) in the middle of the board Then I ask students to tell me whatever comes to their mind about the topic I remember one of my students said "mosquito" and I write what they say to the board even if it's irrelevant.” The other code concerned the current category is‘drawing activities’ (f = 5) Respondent B2 commented as “I sometimes draw something on the board

Table 1

Creativity in EFL context

Table 2

Creative activities in EFL classrooms

about the previous topic and ask relevant questions about it, the warmer, in that case, serves as a reminder of the last and preparatory for the new topic.” 4 teachers noted using creative games as warmers in their EFL classes I2 exemplified “Before I teach the adjectives I usually use the game which studentsfind an appropriate adjective that begins with the first letter of their name such as; nervous Nil, selective Selen, etc.”

As for the second category‘Vocabulary Activities’ 5 codes were formed In the general framework of creative vocabulary ac-tivities, thefirst code ‘snap-words’ was declared by 5 of the participants Commenting in this manner N2 expressed “I always use snap words activities in every unit I want my students to give the meaning of the word by drawing something besides or on the word My students enjoy doing it for every unit's vocabulary.” 4 of the participants remarked to use pictograms to teach new words F2 stated “I don’t know whether you know the technique of pictogram that helps students to create words by using objects that they use daily life I use this technique of pictogram And students like this task a lot They use their imaginations and produce their materials.” 'Storytelling' is the third code of this category 3 participants noted that they utilize the story-telling technique creatively to teach new words F2 also declared“I use storytelling technique to show my students the use of the new words in the context I make up interesting and funny stories and use the words I taught them In this way, they can penetrate the meaning and the use of the words.” Songs are also utilized to teach new words by the participants of this study (f = 3) K2 indicated“I usually find appropriate songs including the related vocabulary for almost every unit The Internet is a pretty rich source for songs and we all know that teenagers like music So a creative teacher should utilize songs in her classes.” The last code of the category is 'Vocabulary games' 3 of the participants declared to use vocabulary games in their vocabulary teaching classes Each one of them told a different game So in this code, all of the three teachers' sentences are worth to share I2 stated "After I teach the names of some particular objects I pair students up and make them think of the object they have learned Each of the pairs should write on a paper at least 5 words describing the object Then they swap papers and try tofind out what the other person described.” L2 indicated“We all like charades So why don’t we use them in EFL classrooms? I use the technique to teach vocabulary I write words on a piece of paper and hand them out to the students If the classroom is crowded I divide students into teams Then they choose one actor to act out the word Teams have time limits to guess the words They enjoy it so much, and me too.” D2 declared “I think vocabulary games make class time more fun and exciting One of the games I make use in my vocabulary teaching classes in Bingo It requires a bit preparation but it is well worth it I prepare Bingo cards beforehand drawing pictures for each space and when we play it in the class I call out the word and if the students have it on their bingo card, they mark it and so on.”

The third category is‘Writing activities’ 13 comments were made about teachers making use of creative writing activities in EFL classrooms ExaminingTable 2it is clear that teachers utilize stories in both vocabulary and writing activities In the writing category, the stories are divided into 2 codes again in terms of its use in the classes Thefirst code is related to creating stories (f = 6) N4 told “I use creative writing in my classes I want my students to come to the board and draw an object they want When theyfinished I want them to create sentences or stories by using the names of the objects that they draw I emphasize they're being free to create funny sentences and to use their imagination In the end, they tell their sentences or stories I heard at once a sentence like 'Ömer dances with a bear and a mole'.” Some participants (f = 4) noted to use story completing technique in writing M2 stated,“I divided students into groups and gave each group stories and wanted them to end the stories as they wish.” The other respondents of this category (f = 3) declared that they use the free-writing technique H2 remarked“I placed a board in one of the hallways of the school and wanted my students to write whatever they want

by using the words or phrases that I taught Sometimes I see a short poem or a meaningful sentence on the board.”

The next category is related to grammar activities The participants in this category indicated the necessity tofind ways to make grammar teaching fun and creative since they depend on the curriculum strictly and the exam-oriented system also requires it 5 of the participants indicated the compulsion to transform the mechanic grammar activities into more communicating ones to make them more creative and long-lasting L2 told her way in this respect as“When I teach ‘ability: can-can’t’ I usually bring to my class ordinary objects such as a paper clip, a plastic cup, a hair clip or a stick I divide students into groups and give time to think individually within the group and then for the group discussion to create some extraordinary use of those objects using the 'can-can't' patterns.”

The last category of this research question is 'no creative activities' 4 teachers admitted not using creative activities stating the reasons such as exam-oriented systems, time limitations, and curriculum

RQ3 What are the factors affecting creative teaching and learning?

Findings related to the third research question were formed into the categories and codes given inTable 3

Table 3 Constraining and facilitating factors affecting creativity in EFL classrooms

The analysis of data revealed 2 main categories for the third research question In terms of the 'constraining factors’ category, 7 codes were identified Most of the teachers (f = 10) complained about the curriculum as an important factor constraining creativity in EFL settings M3 commented in this respect such as "Curriculum is too heavy to fulfill Thus as teachers, we don't have any space to move creatively in those heavy curriculums.” O3 stated a different point of view about the curriculum as “The curriculum doesn’t allow us to go beyond the needs of the students It assumed students as one type with similar needs.” The other code of this category was ‘Time Limitation’

as a constraining factor (f = 8) A3 remarked in this respect as“The course duration is 40 min and the curriculum is heavy, so teachers have to teach a lot of things in 40 min How can I be more creative within this time?" The third code is related to the exam-oriented Turkish education system One of the participants complaining about it stated as C3 "There are English language questions in high school entrance exam which measure the grammatical knowledge of students Some students don't want to participate in some creative hands-on or group activities According to them, it is a waste of time They think they just need to memorize the rules of the language to be successful in that exam." 'Student Factor' was mentioned as both constraining and facilitating ones In this category, participants (f = 6) stated their lack of creativity was strongly related to the students and some factors related to students such as their background and parents A3 expressed herself as "Students mostly think English lesson is unnecessary, so they don’t want to participate in the lesson This constrains both

my and their creativity After that, teachers may prefer rote learning to creative learning They may not want their students to think in different ways because of the negative attitudes of students." Similarly, N3 stated as "Students have prejudices towards English and some of them think that it is unnecessary to learn a language.” Some of the participants complained about the negative attitudes of the school adminis-tration towards some creative activities in-class hours (f = 4) B3 stated“The previous school administrators with whom I worked were narrow-minded When I tried to implement some creative activities in my class they accused me of not having my classes seriously and wasting students' time.” The next code is ‘crowded classrooms’ (f = 3) The participants claimed that crowded classrooms affect creativity negatively O2 admitted as“Unless my classrooms were so crowded, I would be a more creative teacher Teachers can conduct so many creative activities with a few students in a class However, if the classroom consists of 45 students, then it is very difficult to implement some creative activities.” The last code of this category was interestingly 'technology' (f = 2) In the other category, the same code was given

as a facilitating factor Therefore it is caught in the middle 2 of the participants reported that technology is a constraining factor for creativity in EFL classes One of them, L3, stated as "When I want my students to prepare a creative homework project, they go home and just search for it on the net and then prepare and submit it Generally, they use ready-made presentations or posters.”

As for the second category, 3 codes were formed Thefirst one 'Student Factor' was the most mentioned one (f = 11) among the others B3 stated“…seeing the light in the eyes of the students Seeing that they have learned something; their positive attitudes towards the lesson; the happiness of creating a difference…" Similarly, K3 reported as "Willingness of students enhances the creative teaching.” And N3 said“The most important one is student attitude If students love learning a language it is easy to teach creatively.” It is clear that student as the centre of the educational settings is the most important factor to facilitate creativity in EFL settings.‘Teacher motivation’ is the second code of this category (f = 6) Teachers claimed that they would be more creative if they were motivated both extrinsically and intrinsically C3 stated, "Students achievement makes me motivated and more creative for the next classes." On the other hand, I3 declared her expectation of reward as a source of motivation as "If I have some rewards as a result of my students’ achievement than I will be more motivated for the next times.” And the last code of the category is ‘Technology’ (f = 4) The participants commented on this code claimed that technology can facilitate creativity in EFL settings D3 noted“Without my internet connection in the classroom I cannot implement most of my creative activities 21st century is the age of technology so I cannot imagine a creative classroom without it.”

5 Discussion

Since regarded as one of the noteworthy 21st-century skills that need to be developed, creativity closely interests thefield of education Creative thinking should be used, fostered and encouraged in all subjects including EFL As the most significant role belongs to the teachers in the teaching process, the current study investigated the perceptions of Turkish EFL teachers on creativity, and their creative teaching practices

It revealed some notablefindings of Turkish EFL teachers’ perceptions of creativity The results of the data demonstrate that majority of the teachers’ perception on creativity is limited although they indicated that they use several activities in their classrooms

to encourage creativity In addition, it is emphasized that there are factors constraining creativity and their creative teaching practices such as content-heavy curriculum, exam-oriented education, limited course duration, and students' attitudes towards learning a foreign language

When the participants asked about the definition of creativity in EFL context, two categories were composed by their answers While thefirst category is considering English language as a living mechanism the other one is taking it as a subject to teach The participants of the former category illustrate the concept as developing new thinking ways, having new experiences and being open-minded The others defined it as being related to creating various materials, using new methods & techniques and changing the curriculum It is understood that there are still some traditional teachers who perceived English as a subject like math, science, etc by forgetting it is being a language in which creativity is inherent

It is also clear from thefindings of the first research question that the participants of the study are lack the general philosophy of creativity Since, they told that they use creative activities to contribute language learning process instead of talking about their creativity theory or creative teaching approaches It may be because of the absence of the creativity concept in the English language teaching curriculum of Turkey It means that the policymakers in Turkish Ministry of Education have not emphasized creativity in EFL context Therefore thesefindings may result from this problematic issue This result is in line with the findings of other re-searchers who explored the EFL teachers’ conception, perception or knowledge about creativity (Kurt & Önalan, 2018;Nedjah & Hamada, 2017;Wang & Kokotsaki, 2018).Henriksen, Mishra, and Fisser (2016)supported that creativity may be achieved only is it is