English Speaking Activities and Iraqi EFL Learner’s Creative Thinking Skills: How are They Inter-Related?

Abstract

Students are encouraged to think quickly, generate unique ideas, and express them clearly through creative thinking, fostering active participation in a dynamic learning environment. This research paper examined how English-speaking activities influence the emergence of creative thinking skills in students in second grade of secondary schools in Iraq. The main question was to find out whether speaking activities play a part in enhancing fluency, originality, and flexibility as three fundamental aspects of creativity. The quantitative form of research design used, involving a pretest and posttest experimental design to determine the impact of speaking activities on fostering creative thinking. The results demonstrated that participation in oral English activities has a positive significant relationship with the performance of learners in tasks that require creative thinking. Drawing from these findings, the data indicated that English speaking activities were not only critical in improving language competence but also a stimulus to mastering creative thinking. Based on the findings, the researcher concluded that English-speaking practices are necessary in ensuring that EFL learners in Iraq think creatively. The relation of the language output to the creativity indicates the transformational power of communicative means in language teaching.