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Abstract: The present article is devoted to the notion of creative writing as an essential tool and an undervalued and underused scaffold in the process of second foreign language instruction and acquisition. The author aims at specifying such terms as scaffolded instruction and creative writing, in order to prove the point that numerous limitations that characterize the second foreign language teaching process make a constant search for optimal methods indispensable, and creative writing can become an extremely useful resource in this regard, serving not as an accessory but a necessity, adaptable to those limitations. To conduct the research described, mixed methods have proven most efficient, including but not limited to observation and analytical research of language models, descriptive research conducted individually, in pairs or in groups; and project-based creative flow implemented within the framework of the interpretative and communicative language teaching models. Research has shown that creative writing as a teaching technique can be fully aligned with the main principles of scaffolded instruction and may contribute to creating a conducive teaching setting in which academic, personal, and linguistic progress of a student is prompted by additional motivation and varied sources of support. The article promotes the idea that techniques and methods described do not require additional classroom time or any radical changes of existing syllabi but rather can help make learning more efficient within the current restrictive educational setting for the second foreign language due to their high flexibility and adaptability. The article contains practical suggestions and hands-on solutions for incorporating them into a present-day higher educational institution curriculum for language students.

About the author(s) :

Aleksandra V. Hackett-Jones

Herzen University (Saint Petersburg, Russia)

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1880-4782

Publication Timeline:

Date of receipt: 29.01.2025; date of publication: 31.10.2025

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