Developing a creative foreign language reader: in search of a theoretical approach and didactic techniques

The paper discusses different conceptions of creativity in relation to reading in a FL. It looks at psycholinguistic approaches that view creativity as a mentalistic individual creative thought. Further, it discusses sociocultural theories that take in account social, cultural and environmental factors. Special attention is given to a critical aspect of creativity. In the next section, the author looks at how psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic approaches view literacy and what they can offer for both FL/L2 research and pedagogy. The presentation argues for viewing the FL/L2 reading situation as an interaction of cognitive and social factors and emphases the importance of developing skills to critique texts. It suggests a set of tasks to be applied in a FL classroom aiming at improving creative reading skills