As a linguist and researcher, I am convinced that a teacher’s creativity does not conflict with academic rigor — it amplifies it. My artistic practice, including the exhibition “Present In The Past” at The Kildare Gallery in Dublin, is not merely an act of self-expression but a laboratory of ideas for designing curricula and teaching materials. Visual imagery, colour, and synesthetic metaphors often generate unconventional, authentic tasks for language learning.
Integrating authentic articles and cutting-edge research enables us to create materials that both inspire and develop real-world communicative competence. Studies consistently show that authentic materials increase learner motivation and strengthen the connection between classroom content and the outside world.
I advocate for an arsenal of methodologies rather than a single “panacea” approach. In my courses, I combine:
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Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
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Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT)
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Lexical Approach
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Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)
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Corpus-informed instruction
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Project-Based Learning (PBL)
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Genre-Based Approach
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Flipped Classroom
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Dogme ELT
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Formative Assessment
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and elements of Neuroeducation
Many of these are taught and refined in leading universities worldwide and are supported by systematic reviews and research.
Task-based approaches, for instance, have been shown to strengthen speaking and listening skills, learner autonomy, and motivation — provided the teacher receives adequate training and institutional support. CLIL, meanwhile, enables the simultaneous development of subject knowledge and language proficiency — crucial for teaching ESP and academic English.
In practice, I select authentic texts (scientific articles, podcasts, journalistic materials), analyze corpus data to extract key collocations and lexical patterns, and design challenge-based tasks that merge artistic interpretation with linguistic precision. This results in measurable progress in lexical accuracy, communicative confidence, and students’ ability to critically analyze language and content.
I encourage fellow educators to see themselves as teacher-researchers: through ongoing action research, collaboration with universities, participation in conferences, and peer-reviewed publications, we can continually refine our methodological toolkit. When educational institutions value and support a teacher’s creative engagement and provide space for pedagogical experimentation, innovative and learner-centered curricula emerge.
The fusion of creativity and evidence-based pedagogy is not a luxury — it is a necessity for 21st-century education. It empowers learners with both freedom and mastery, while keeping teaching intellectually alive and profoundly human.
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