Abstract
This study aimed to examine the structural relationship between speaking and creative thinking and their impacts on students’ academic performance. Researchers in this field of science argue that there is a close relationship between student achievement and creative thinking. Students with high creative thinking skills show good results in mastering knowledge. Therefore, we tested the students’ ability by giving them creative assignments while teaching the Kazakh language. The study aimed to track the development of students’ speech skills using methods aimed at developing creative thinking. The research includes methods, such as observation, questioning, semiotic analysis, discourse analysis, and analytical essay. Tasks aimed at developing students’ creative abilities do not require the usual mechanical action that students perform automatically. It requires action, which is carried out at a high creative level, and activity that arises as a result of creative thinking. Therefore, these tasks should be based on the principle of creativity and should include elements of the game. In this regard, we called the system of tasks used in our practice “game tasks.” It allows students to actively participate in language communication through creative thinking. These tasks allow students to think creatively while playing and develop the ability to freely express their thoughts in oral and written speech. However, it is important to consider the number of students in the experimental group. The number of participants should not exceed 20 students to keep track of the individual abilities of students.
1. Introduction
The experience of leading countries in the international arena proves the need for an educated specialist with high functional literacy, able to cope with any situation and think creatively [1–3]. Therefore, in modern education in Kazakhstan, special attention is paid to training individuals who can think creatively. Research that looks at creativity from an individual perspective focuses on student personality, creativity, life skills, and motivation. According to scientists, the creative personality of a student begins in childhood and gradually develops as he grows up. He is influenced by various life circumstances and forms his own “I.” This contributes to the development of his creative thinking. The student’s “I” is enlivened by his creativity, which stimulates his public interest and activity [4–6].
The study area of the Kazakh language has widened, and with the new direction, it became possible to study our people’s features [7–9]. The development of language communication through creative thinking was guided by traditional principles in the educational process and special principles aimed at teaching the topic of research: scientific principles [10,11], the principle of connection between theory and practice, the principle of consistency, the principle of consciousness and activity [12], the principle of demonstration, and the principle of integrity [13,14].
Communication is the first sign of a child’s activity. The child develops his most important aspects through various relationships. As the child grows up, his cognitive activity deepens [15,16]. He begins to look for answers to the following questions: “What is this? Who is this? What is it called?” Education at school allows you to form and develop the cognitive activity of the child. The student as a person can creatively acquire social experience and freely enter the system of social relations. A person can express himself in a social environment through the results of his actions and relationships [17–19].
Scientists considering the intellectual level of a person recognize “a set of interrelated ideas, concepts, and actions that ensure self-knowledge, self-improvement, and development of a student as a unique personality” as a system of individually oriented learning [20,21]:(i)The individuality of the future specialist;(ii)The social identity of a person prone to a changeable environment;(iii)The ability to develop the character qualities and capabilities of the individual;(iv)The activity of a person who has shown a conscious creative activity in knowing himself and the environment;(v)The presence of a “mental” approach;(vi)Self-activating personal position;(vii)Position of individuality;(viii)Subject position;(ix)Position of choice;(x)The principle of creative success.
Undoubtedly, the development of a person’s creative thinking is facilitated by the traits inherent in her personality. In student-centered learning, this issue is of paramount importance. The teacher, having mastered language communication, in the development of the student’s creative thinking, first of all, pays attention to his personal qualities, depth of knowledge, impetuous and quick thinking, and presentation of ideas. In student-centered learning, special attention is paid to the student’s search for his place in life by improving his thinking and actions such as speech and reasoning [22–24]. For this, the teacher must, first of all, determine the purpose of the lesson. Having set a specific goal for each lesson and having precisely defined the ways to achieve the final result, the student will also be able to achieve a certain result. When a teacher notices the abilities of each student in time and improves them by creating various creative works, the result is immediately visible [25]. As you know, the main goal of student-centered learning is to activate the student. According to some scientists, “creativity is a category of personality, specificity of behavior,” and the student’s activity, whether cognitive, linguistic, or personal, contributes to the development of the student’s creative thinking [26–28].
2. Materials and Methods
Problems that are not creative are mostly repetitive. The works are of an imitation nature. They can be performed without going beyond well-defined forms and algorithms. Creative tasks, on the other hand, turns out to be heuristic, close to a real-life situation, requiring the creation of a product (Figure 1).
Highlighting these key features of creative and noncreative assignments, we made high demands on each of the assignments we used in the course of practice in terms of their contribution to the development of students’ creative thinking, increasing their ability to fluent language communication [29,30]. Creative play is the main condition for completing assignment strict adherence to the “here-and-now” principle. American psychologist Maslow [31] believes that fear and weakness can prevent creativity or at least reduce it. Therefore, it is believed that the “here-and-now” syndrome reduces the fear of laughter and failure, and caution, and helps the audience to completely forget themselves and others, to be free, not restraining themselves, not hiding, and not protecting [31, 32].
At the practical stage of our research work, we used many tasks of the orientation, both traditional and innovative. According to Lodewyk et al. [33], there are some tasks that are recognized to have a positive effect on learning such as follows:(i)The task “find the national-cultural code of the word”;(ii)The task “to come up with a name for the site” Kazakh language;(iii)The task “to complete the task”;(iv)The task “auction”;(v)The task “come up with associations”;(vi)The task “Burime”;(vii)Assignment for writing an essay;(viii)The task “continue the poem.”
It should be noted that the researchers measured the validity of these tasks through an expert’s judgment technique. For this purpose, they invited two university professors to examine whether they were appropriate for this study. The university professors confirmed that the tasks can be used for this study.
Next, we analyzed several tasks that have been successfully organized and achieved the set goal at the level of requirements.
2.1. Task “Find the National-Cultural Code of the Word”
Language is not only a means of communication; language is the cultural code of a nation [34]. Words accumulate concepts generated by an individual’s life experience. In this regard, the scientist N. Uali writes, “A structure that has fallen into a concept-format in the linguistic consciousness can be further processed based on linguocreative thinking and give rise to a national-cultural concept” [35].
To discuss and master the words that have accumulated such a national-cultural code in the Kazakh language, students were asked to analyze the words (Table 1). The task was completed by the students together with couples sitting next to them.
Following the template, filling out the table, four students in two pairs came together, formed small groups, and discussed the written answers within the small group. Comparing the subject-figurative and linguocultural characteristics presented to them, they extracted the missing knowledge from each other. As a result, we managed to work on one task at two levels (pair and small group), complementing the answers as much as possible. In the course of the assignment, active steps were taken for mutual discussion, exchange of opinions, listening to each other’s opinions, differentiation, weighing, and analyzing opinions, and skills were developed to identify the most correct, accurate, and complete characteristics.
2.2. Task to Come Up with a Name for the Site “Kazakh Language”
When performing this task, elements of the brainstorming method are used. The goal of the assignment is to come up with a name for the site that would be convenient to speak, write, remember, pleasant to hear, reflect the content of all the information offered and concise enough to develop the students’ creative thinking.
The main conditions of the problem are as follows:(i)The name of the site should be short and accurate;(ii)It should be born in mind that the information provided on the site would be related to the lessons of the Kazakh language;(iii)It should be born in mind that users of the site would be not only representatives of the Kazakh nationality but also the peoples of the world.
The students took up this task with great interest. One of the students, looking for the right word, immediately began flipping through textbooks on the Kazakh language and literature, and someone immediately began to print on paper a list of names that came into his head. After 1 minute for reflection, the members of the group suggested options for the name of the site: “Tilalemi,” “Tilkazyna,” “Tilshi,” “Sheshen,” “KASSAK,” and “TIL,” where they actively discussed questions about what the content and structure of the site should be and what informational activity this site should perform. It is appeared to be dependent on the factors, such as co-interactants’ age and gender [36].
In the answers of the students, they were convinced that they think creatively in the mainstream of the modern information society, can work to honor, and raise their native language, Kazakh, to the world level, as the main national value.
2.3. Task “Upon Request”
The task “upon fulfillment of the wish” “completed while passing the topic” ethics of the word in social and everyday communication “in the textbook of the Kazakh language” [37]. In the cycle of audio programs “Speak Correctly,” prepared in the form of an interview with scientist [38], it is said that “the result of correct speech is execution.”
It was explained to the students that to fulfill their plans, it is necessary, first of all, to have a strong pragmatism, that is, to think in advance and express themselves about who the listener is and what linguistic means can be used to influence him. The students first worked on the audio curriculum and heard examples of how to achieve imitation opportunities using the set phrases in different styles.
Suggested phrases are as follows: organizing an exhibition, visiting a museum, copying a report, pouring water into hands, receiving money, receiving a book, selling a mobile phone, finding out the answer to a question, etc.
The students then created oral texts using phrases written on noodle sheets. Although the examples are based mainly on constructing the text in a colloquial style, depending on the meaning, some phrases offered two identical texts in a colloquial and formal style. According to the condition of the assignment, the student must take the phrases written on the noodle sheets and immediately begin to read spontaneously, and there is no time for reflection. This requirement increased the skill of the student’s creative thinking. The task was carried out under the technology of pair learning. The students were divided into pairs, and using this phrase, they expressed their intentions and their intentions to each other. At the end of the assignment, the students rated how realistic each other’s answers turned out to be, how much they managed to achieve the set goal, and at what level they were able to complete the assignment.
2.4. Task “Auction”
In this task, students find epithets characterizing the monuments of ancient Turkic writing. The game is played in the “auction” order. The moderator gives the floor to the students who raised their hands one by one. Under the terms of the game, words should not be repeated. The last one to win is the student who finds and pronounces an epithet that has not been previously mentioned.
According to the terms of the game, the students could name the epithets in turn: “engraved inscription, mysterious inscription, painting symbols, cuneiform, stone inscription, ancient inscription, old inscription, and the ancient symbol, stele.” In the case when there were incorrect answers among them (not epithets or answers that were not related to the ancient Turkic written monuments), we corrected them promptly. The student who answered incorrectly was removed from the answer in one turn and “punished.” It should be noted that, in task-based learning, language knowledge, creative thinking skills, and mobility were improved.
2.5. Task “Come Up with Associations”
The best way to develop a creative thinking system is to look for associations. For example, schoolchildren were asked to open a textbook of the Kazakh language, close their eyes, and mark two words with their finger. The students then received a pen and a blank sheet to write down their thoughts. They were instructed to compare words, look for points of contact, analyze, and write down all the associations that came into their thoughts. The fact that you need to think about the reason for the connection between these two words, give vent only to imagination, was explained by the following examples:(i)“For example, is there something in common between the words “pen” and “artistic”?(ii)“Literary work”!(iii)Or what connection can be found between the words “monument” and “village”?(iv)The “history” association will come!
A comparison of the objects of creativity appears. Small details are compared, contrasted, and linked together, and imperceptible signs of objects that do not immediately come to mind are not visible to the naked eye. Then, unusual thoughts arise. Man does not find anything new; he reproduces his experience in a new way, his attitude to the environment.
In the process of completing the assignment, the level of imaginary inventiveness of students was manifested in the invention of various associations that do not come to mind in one breath. For example: Book-Mirror-TABLET; Image-light-SCREEN; Content-link-WIKIPEDIA; Symbol-road-SACRED PLACES; Hero-world-ATYLLA; News-place-ADVERTISEMENT; River-word-POET, etc.
Sometimes, even some crazy ideas were proposed, and we all listened to them, supported, discussed, and considered everyone’s opinion because it was very important to support the student’s free expression of their thoughts in language communication. The child should behave freely in creative work and learn to openly express the ideas that have come to mind, without hiding them; this definitely will contribute creative thoughts to be freely illuminated in an open relationship [6].
2.6. Task “Burime”
Translated from French, “Burime” means a poem composed according to given rhymes. The student is offered several pairs of words that match the rhyme. Word pairs specified at the request of an assignment cannot be created or modified otherwise. From these words, the student must compose the text of a meaningful poem within a limited time (5–7 minutes). The purpose of the assignment is to develop the creative activity of students, without going beyond the given position, using only clearly defined words, and creating beautiful rhyme verses.
During the passage of the chapter “Word relief and style,” this task game was organized. The students were divided into two groups: “isker-asker,” “hat–zat,” “korkem–orken,” “soz bederi–oi tereni,” “kyska–nuska,” etc., and they competed in writing poems with the give words (Table 2).
As can be seen from the examples compiled by the students, whole verses were formed from words.
2.7. Essay Writing Assignment
In Kazakh language lessons, essay writing work often needs to be done. Students of the 10th and 11th grades, by writing an essay, must generalize, formulate their creative ideas, and adapt to the written presentation on paper. In this regard, as a form of work that adapts to the written form of verbal communication, we performed the task of writing an essay 4-5 times in each class during one academic year. The main disadvantages that we noticed when writing essays in the early stages of our experience include the following:(i)Students cannot correctly structure the essay;(ii)Deviates from the topic;(iii)Does not know how to distinguish the main idea;(iv)Examples representing arguments are weak or not at all suitable for perception as an argument;(v)Cannot offer their conclusions;(vi)Cannot generalize his opinion.
Having identified these problematic issues, we explained in detail to the students the requirements for the structure and content of the essay. The structure of the essay is presented in Table 3.
The work on the essay began to give its results after repeated repetitions. Only after, in our practice, the students realized that the main difference between an essay and writing a traditional essay was a rigid structure and strong argumentation and their work became more demanding.
2.8. Task “Continue the Poem”
One of the important tasks for the creative thinking of students and the ability to expressly express their thoughts in oral and written speech is the task “continue the poem.” This type of assignment is offered after students get used to doing such work that requires creativity. As thinking creatively may not be enough, it requires a special ability to illuminate the world in a game-based language communication. It takes some time for this skill to develop in students. To demand to build his game, not on words, but a poem, the teacher must first prepare the children. The “Continue Poem” method can be implemented in different ways. In our practice, work was carried out on composing poems using synonyms and antonyms. The work was carried out with great interest, enthusiasm, and activity, in which the students, divided into pairs, with the use of phraseological units, carried out in practice, demanded each other to continue the lines of poetry in response. It should be noted that we offer a detailed description and analysis of the task in the experimental part of our work.
2.9. Tasks Organized during Warm-Up
Creativity requires quick thinking and active language communication. In most cases, tasks that instill creativity are organized quickly, in a short time. This allows students not to interfere with activities that are conducted following the main curriculum. An invigorating moment relaxes and distracts students from the topic of the main lesson, activates their brain activity, promotes the faster perception of the lesson, and concentrates their attention. To this end, we will focus on several assignments that aroused the students’ interest in creativity.(i)Pronouncing words exactly the opposite;(ii)Coming up with 10 exotic names;(iii)Drawing a picture of an animal that does not exist in life, and come up with a name for it;(iv)Making up phrases from incoherent words. For example, sweet salt and real lies.
In conclusion, we were convinced that the tasks that aimed at developing linguistic communication, instilling creativity, are necessary for the modern generation. A conscious generation capable of thinking creatively and freely expressing their thoughts in linguistic communication will quickly adapt to global changes, from which future scientists and inventors, representing Kazakhstan to the whole world, may grow up. Therefore, it is very important to often complete tasks that instill such creativity. Students must be relaxed and open to express any ideas they come up with when completing these assignments. In general, the experience of using the proposed system of creative tasks in the educational process made it possible to achieve the following results:(i)Realistic, productive, heuristic tasks, not based on building on known forms, were quickly accepted by students;(ii)Eagerly strove to complete each proposed task;(iii)The system of tasks had a great influence on the creative thinking and active communication of students;(iv)Methods of the interaction of teaching ensured the involvement of students in active and continuous communication, mutual exchange of information;(v)A fire flashed in the eyes of each student and faith in their abilities increased;(vi)Stable friendly relations of students were established within the team, and they learned to look at each other, imitate, support each other, listen to each other’s opinions, and evaluate their point of view;(vii)Every time the students completed each task, conscious creative thinking and active speech activity developed.
3. Results
Scientists studying the psychology of creativity believe that the concept of “creativity” implements the idea of experimenting with new results obtained in the course of the creative process [39]. From this point of view, the process of creativity itself, based on the creation of new, original, and new results that did not previously exist within the framework of the proposed topic or problem, constantly passes as one new experiment. In the course of the experimental study, along with the definition of the level of creativity of students, the hypothesis of its assessment was clarified and tested, and the conditions for the development of the students’ abilities to freely enter into linguistic communication through creative thinking were determined.
Experimental research work was carried out among students in grades 10-11 of secondary school No. 42 in the city of Almaty in the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 academic years. In the course of the research work, the position of the “small group” psychologists regarding the most convenient number of students in the group was taken as a basis. In this regard, only 28 students took part in the experimental study, of which 12 were in the 10 “B” class and 16 were in the 11 “B” class. The purpose of the study was to prove the effectiveness of the proposed methodological system by determining the initial and achieved levels of creative thinking and participial potential of students. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were implemented:(1)Develop levels and criteria for assessing the development of the system of creative thinking of students;(2)Analyze the research results;(3)Develop and test a pedagogical model for the development of verbal communication through creative thinking;(4)Analyze the dynamics of the development of language communication of students through creative thinking.
The system of surveys, methods, and tasks, selected following specific goals and objectives, made it possible to successfully carry out the experimental work. The student’s level of creative thinking will vary. In this regard, Vygotsky [40] notes that creative thinking activity changes from low-level creativity to mature creativity. Therefore, during the lesson, the teacher should take into account the individual capabilities of each student as much as possible.
3.1. An Experiment to Determine the Directions and Levels of Creativity
The Torrance test is considered very effective in determining the various creative qualities of students. However, this survey cannot be conducted twice for members of the same group. Therefore, leaving the Torrance test itself in the final experiment, we compiled our questionnaire based on this test. We called the survey “evaluate yourself.” The students in grades 10 and 11 involved in the practice assessed their qualities of poetry, fantasy, risk-taking, self-confidence, openness, pragmatism, love of music, memory, sociability, ability to navigate, thinking, passion for aesthetics, etc., on three levels: “no,” “a little,” “high.”
The results of the survey are presented in Figure 2. The diagram only shows the numbers of students who rated their creativity as “high” among the surveyed students.
The test, conducted to differentiate the level of students’ creativity, made it possible to recognize both the characteristics of their creative thinking and the characteristics of the personality’s creativity. We arrange from top to bottom according to the number of students with the properties indicated in Figure 3.
At the same time, in the course of the experiment, it was possible to identify the general nature of the tasks organized and the methods used. Following the principle of student-centered learning, taking into account the individual psychophysiological, creative, and communicative capabilities of students, we managed to make clear predictions about how to organize individual and pair group work with each of them.
3.2. An Experiment to Determine the Initial Level of Creativity and Communication Skills
To identify the initial level of creativity and communication skills of the students, a comprehensive diagnosis was carried out based on the Williams test.
The Williams test is designed for a comprehensive diagnosis of the creative abilities of children and adolescents aged 5 to 17 years and assesses various qualities associated with creativity in thinking. Williams’ creativity test is considered one of the best psychodiagnostic tools for diagnosing creativity, as it is designed for all age groups of people and allows you to identify various creative characteristics of people. Students must answer the questionnaire in the form of pictures and topics. The main condition to be fulfilled when conducting a questionnaire is to observe the specific idea of the student. The test does not allow any changes and additions, since the reliability and significance of the testing indicators may change. Before the survey, no preliminary preparatory work for the students was carried out. During testing, the words “test,” “exam,” and “check” were also not used in order not to create panic, test, and competitive situations. The students perceived this survey as one of the interesting tasks that are carried out daily. To ensure the reliability of the results, a favorable psychological climate was created in the classroom, and in a friendly and confidential atmosphere, it was supposed to stimulate the imagination and interest of students. Before the assignment, an organizational stage was carried out aimed at stimulating, focusing, and developing the interest of students.
Assignment is as follows: “Unfinished figures are given. Interesting things and stories can be created by adding extra lines to them. Try to draw pictures that no one else can think of. Make each image clear and interesting by adding different details. Come up with interesting names for each picture, and write below. Try to get it done neatly and quickly in 25 minutes. If you have any questions, ask right away. Start with illustrations.”
For this test, students must, within a certain time, restore the given drawings of a certain shape, finish the drawing, and come up with a name for them. The test allows you to identify the level of language proficiency, along with the qualities of speed, accuracy, mobility of thinking, and the unusual judgment of students. By evaluating the completed drawings of students and the names assigned to them according to Williams’ criteria, we determined the initial level of students’ abilities to creative thinking and the ability to use vocabulary (Figure 4).
According to the results of the determination test, of the maximum possible 131 points of the Williams test, the students in grade 10 scored an average of 53 points and the students in grade 11–55 points. The average score for the survey was derived by summing the scores of all students in the class and dividing them by the number of students.
3.3. A Questionnaire for Determining the Conditions of Creative Thinking
For creative thinking and free expression of the game in the oral and/or written language communication of the student, their effective conditions must be determined and certain comfortable conditions were created. According to world scientists, voluntary social isolation increases the creative potential of people and opens them up the opportunity to think creatively and express their opinion. Creative people want to stay personal, retire, think, and write. We conducted a sociological survey to find out whether this opinion is correct. As a result, this question arises: “when do you feel creative and freely express your thoughts orally or in writing? 19 of 28 students answered the question “individually, in writing,” that is, 46%; “in a group, orally form”—17, i.e., 42%, and “never”—5–12% (Figure 5).
Summarizing the results of the questionnaire, we concluded that in addition to oral play tasks organized in the classroom during the lesson, one should not neglect individual written tasks, which maximally reflect the creative potential of students. Our identification experiment was not limited to these three questionnaires. This is because in the course of general practice, both with the use of each individual method and with the performance of each individual task, between their initial performance and the subsequent one, there was an outstripping development, an increase in indicators in a positive direction. Thus, with the repeated performance of each task, with the repeated use of each method, we were able to determine, control, and predict the levels of development of creativity and communicative competencies of students.
The shaping experience has been carried out for most of our research work. During the practice, the system of methods and tasks described above was fully covered, providing students with free access to language communication through creative thinking. Each task was performed at least 2-3 times. Methods and techniques were comprehensively involved in the performance of each task. To avoid repetitions, we will not dwell on all of them.
Having enough experience in the development of verbal communication is necessary which can be gained through creative thinking by completing complex text analysis. It is considered effective to perform the task of complex analysis of the text in the development of creative thinking and participial competencies of students. To complete this task, the text “The King of Flowers-Tulip” was selected in the 10th-grade Kazakh language textbook [37]. The students were instructed to familiarize themselves with the content of the text at home, as well as collect additional information on this topic from the Internet. 12 students in grade 10 “B” follow the content of the text:(1)Problem questionnaire;(2)Biologist;(3)Historian;(4)A correspondent;(5)Connection with life;(6)Politician;(7)Journalist;(8)Advertiser;(9)Artist;(10)Poet;(11)Writer;(12)Assigned the roles of the director.
Since the number of students in the class was small, there was one role for each child. The students, following their assigned roles, distributed their creative work in this proposed sequence. The students studied the text at home. Nevertheless, during the analytical work, it was allowed to open the book and look at the text. After 5 minutes allotted for preparation, the students in turn began to layout their analysis. A problematic question is as follows: “what conditions must be fulfilled for the abundant cultivation of tulips on Kazakhstani land?” The students rated the question as a good, really problematic question, actively discussed, and expressed their opinion. “Cultivation of tulips on Kazakhstani soil is very necessary, and there are all conditions and opportunities for this.”
A student biologist told the scientific characteristics given to the tulip flower. The student in the role of a historian told about the historical path from Kazakhstan to Turkey through the Great Silk Road and then to Holland. (According to information found on the Internet, scientists also recognized that the historical homeland of tulips is the land of Kazakhstan.) The reporter analyzed the meaning and origin of the word “Tulip” and expressed an interesting opinion that the full version of the word “tulip” is “qyzgaldaq.” Having become an ethnographer, the student noted that in Kazakh art, the image of a tulip flower is found on skin, wood, and ceramics. At the beginning of the lesson that binds life, he continued the thoughts caused by the analyzed problematic issue and said that it is necessary to grow flowers in Kazakhstan. The politician stressed the political and social significance of the tulip’s development as a national brand.
On the assignment, which was given to students in the roles of a journalist, advertiser, artist, poet, writer, and director, they gave free rein to creative thinking outside the content of the text and presented their creative work under the chosen roles. A small article presented by a journalist, an advertisement of an advertiser about the organization of the Tulip festival, poems, and essays by a poet and writer all this made a great impression. In conclusion, the artist drew a picture on one sheet, showed it to his students, and told how he depicted his thoughts and imagination. During the experiment, we were convinced that this type of text analysis is very effective. Actions taken during work and opportunities achieved the following:(i)All students of the class are fully involved in collective work;(ii)A small text was analyzed, and modern problems were raised;(iii)A small text was analyzed from different angles, in a versatile aspect;(iv)The task contributed to the development of students’ information competencies;(v)The task led the students to problem thinking, finding ways to solve the problem;(vi)The general atmosphere in the class allowed each student to think in terms of national pride, a sense of patriotism;(vii)The provided answer and the proposed creative work of each student became an example of a high level of creative thinking;(viii)The analysis of the work of each student became a clear example of active linguistic communication.
This task was carried out 2-3 times in both classes involved in the practice. With each lesson we held, we were more and more convinced that the students were growing creative thinking and the ability to freely enter into oral and written language communication. After reading poems written by pairs according to the condition of the assignment, the students in the class found and pronounced the phraseological units that they used. The task was completed with great interest and enthusiasm. No student was not involved in the assignment.
In the course of the formation assignment, the following capabilities were achieved:(i)Even though the number of syllables was slightly less, the most important thing is that none of the students refused to complete the assignment, and each offered poems at his level;(ii)Students’ confidence in their capabilities was formed;(iii)Thanks to the performance of the challenge in the form of competition, built on mutual humor, the sense of one’s own experience, and appreciation of national art has increased;(iv)An example of a high level of verbal communication was the presentation of creative ideas by students in the form of verse couplets.
3.3.1. Experience in Developing Essay Writing Skills
In the course of the practice, work was performed on writing a descriptive, reference, notification, comparative or contrasting, evidentiary, and argumentation type of essay. Since the type of literary essay is performed in Kazakh literature lessons, we did not consider it.
In grades 10-11, we paid more attention to this type of essay, as the students were required to write mostly reasoned essays. When writing an argumentation essay, the main condition is to formulate your main idea regarding the topic of this essay by bringing strong arguments. Above, we gave the structure of the argumentation essay when describing the assignment for writing an essay (Table 4).
The following topics were suggested for writing the essay:(1)“The educated generation determines the future of Kazakhstan”;(2)“The image of youth changes over time”;(3)“Youth is the bright future of Kazakhstan”;(4)“The main condition for confronting global challenges is the ability to apply your knowledge in life”;(5)“Openness of consciousness-readiness for changes that new technologies bring,” etc.
The work performed during the practice area as follows:(1)The structure of the essay was explained to students, and they were warned about the need for strict adherence.(2)The stages of work on writing an essay were explained to the students (Figure 6).(3)he requirements for the volume of the essay have been clarified. An essay consists of 180–200 words. Introductory part is 40 words. The main part is 90–100 words. The final part should be 50–60 words.(4)A list of words required for writing an essay is offered (about 20 words for each topic).(5)The criteria for evaluating the essay are proposed and analyzed together with the students.
During the practice of formation, students wrote 3-4 essays in each class.
As a result of the experiment, we were convinced that the work will be productive when the assessment criteria and especially its descriptors are clear.
3.4. Final Experience
3.4.1. An Experiment to Determine the Level of Creativity of Students
To determine the results of the experiment, we compiled a survey based on the Torrance test. The torrent test was carried out to determine the directions of creativity of survey participants and their level of growth. In the course of the study, we were able to determine the level of the initial directions of students’ creativity using a self-assessment survey conducted at the stage of identifying our experience, and at the end of the experience, we were able to determine the results achieved based on the experience of formation through a torrent test.
At the final stage of our research work, we presented the gained results.
The results of the survey are presented in Figure 7. The indicators of the diagram reflect the number of students involved in the survey.
Analyzing the results of the survey, we noticed that some students answered the questions posed by overestimating their capabilities. We perceived this as the actions of the students because they well understood the purpose of the experiment and clearly knew what was required of them. The desire of the students in this way to show their capabilities in the best possible way testified that some of the listed qualities were not fully revealed during the measured time, but the student was fully confident that his inner potential was high and could manifest itself in the future. Building students’ confidence in such a high level of creativity and the ability to freely enter into language communication showed that our experience achieved its goal.
3.4.2. A Questionnaire for Determining the Achieved Level of Creativity and Communication Skills of the Students
At the next stage of the final experiment, we compiled a new survey using the Williams test as an example. In particular, we replaced the unfinished shapes with other images. In doing so, we used the Torrance test to identify creative thinking and creativity. The survey was carried out using only images of the version proposed by Torrance, in the order of the Williams test, with the attachment of the results to the processing system. Therefore, the students were familiar with the procedure and methods for completing this questionnaire. As in the ascertaining practice, the students were not told a word about the purpose of receiving the test, since the students perceived this survey and completed ordinary interesting tasks. As we have already noted, thanks to this, we ensured that the survey results were reliable and specific.
The purpose of the test was to assess the indicators of growth in the level of language proficiency, along with the properties of speed, accuracy, mobility of thinking, and special judgment, determined at the beginning of the academic year.
According to the results of the test, the level of creativity of students in grade 10 rose from 53 points to 127 (Figure 8). The results of the questionnaire showed an increase in the creativity and communicative competence of class 11 students from 55 to 128 points (Figure 9). Having typed 127 and 128 points of students in grades 10, 11 of the maximum possible 131 points, we took it as proof of the achievement of the target result of our experience, the fulfillment of the educational goal.
The results of determining the level of creativity and the achieved level of creativity and communicative competence of students in grades 10 and 11 involved in practice indicated that the goals and objectives set for our research work have been completed in full. In the course of practice, to comprehensively prepare a linguistic personality for linguistic communication in later life, we tried to create conditions for creative thinking, free linguistic communication, creating an impressive, lively, interesting, emotional atmosphere that will be well preserved in the memory of every successful student.
Since the purpose of the experiment was clearly explained to the students at the beginning of the school year, they readily approached each assignment, anticipating creative assignments in each lesson. Although the tasks that develop creative thinking, leading to free language communication, at first seemed incomprehensible and unusual to the students, over time, the students developed skills. In assessing the quality of the students' creative thinking, many factors are vital such as the speed and mobility of thinking, non-standard thinking, the ability to analyze information and generalize the game, criticism ability, and the ability to assess. The new method in the assessment system—criterion assessment—showed great efficiency from the didactic point of view. In assessing the quality of speech communication of students, it was supposed to consider not only compliance with language norms but also functional, communicative, pragmatic, cognitive, and linguocultural aspects.
The study’s findings are in congruent with those of Lin and Wu [41], reporting that Web-based creative thinking teaching affects positively students’ creativity and learning outcome. They found that using Web-based creative thinking teaching can be considered as an effective approach to promote students’ creativity and learning outcomes. Additionally, the results of the study are in agreement with those of Seo and Woo [42] who found that the students who received the instruction based on creative thinking tasks outperformed the students who were educated through noncreative thinking tasks. Further, the findings of the study lend credence to those of Huang et al. [43], reporting that more promising results were earned by the students whose creative thinking was promoted through different tasks. Moreover, the results of the study are in congruent with those of Ernest et al. [44], reporting that the more creating thing teaching tasks are implemented in the classroom, the higher learning outcomes are obtained.
4. Conclusion
As a result of the research, we were convinced that the proposed system of creative tasks needs to be further improved and constantly used in the educational process. We concluded that the leadership of the concept of creativity should become the main condition for updating and modernizing the content of modern national education. According to the findings, we can claim that one of the most effective ways to foster students’ communication skills is working on their creative thinking skills.
The results of this study may have some implications for different stakeholders. First, the educational officials in the ministry may benefit from the study’s findings by providing the required facilities in schools such that teachers can design and implement tasks raising students’ creating thinking and communication skills. Second, teacher trainers may be beneficiary of the findings by including teaching approaches and strategies that foster creative thinking in students. For this, they need to engage them practically such that they know how to implement them in their classes. Third, teachers can take advantage of the results by employing tasks that cultivate students’ creative thinking, leading to the improvement of their communication skills. To achieve such an invaluable aim, they need to do different tasks and activities. Fourth, teachers should be cognizant of the findings that cultivating creative thinking can significantly improve students’ communication skills. Last but not least, the results of the study can be useful for parents. To improve their students’ communication skills, they should send the ground for prompting creative thinking.
In light of the limitations imposed on this study, some suggestions for further research are presented. Firstly, as this study was limited to a small sample of students, further studies can include larger samples to increase the generalizability of the results. Secondly, as this study was quantitative, future studies can use qualitative designs to disclose how raising creative thinking leads to the improvement of students’ communication skills. For example, they can use other data collection instruments such as observation to disclose the howness aspect of the issue. Thirdly, because this study was conducted in the setting of school with a sample of students, interested researchers can run the same studies in university setting with university students. Finally, since this study was cross-sectional, longitudinal studies can be formulated and implemented to document how creative thinking affects students’ communication skills with the cross of time.
Data Availability
The data will be available through direct contact with the corresponding author.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgments
The article is published on the basis of a grant project of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan “The Paradigms of Language Communication: Literary Speaking and Latin Graphic Writing” (grant no. AP08855685).