ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the kinds of activities that students find interesting—especially those involving creativity, choice, and variety. It examines how teachers can support students’ learning by using a variety of media, and through their scaffolding of students’ performance. Creative teachers get lots of attention. Everyone is impressed by teachers who know how to engage students in exciting activities that keep them interested in school. When teachers move away from textbooks and worksheets and start using art, drama, digital technology and the like, everyone takes notice—students, parents, administrators, and other teachers. Some teachers who avoid teaching about other religions, however, point out that they live in more homogeneous communities, and so there’s no need to bother learning about such differences. English language learners need many opportunities to take part in language activities—reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Language is a practice and students improve only when they have many chances to engage in these.
