CREATIVITY AND ENGLISH AS FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN RUSSIAN LINGUISTICS STUDENTS

Numerous scientific studies in recent years suggest that the possession of several languages promotes creativity and fulfillment of personality. Based on the literature review, we assume that creativity is positively associated with the process and the result of a foreign language acquisition (FLA). The purpose of this study is to consider the correlations between the creativity and the success in FLA in linguistics students. The sample includes 128 (82% - female) first- and second-year university students in the Linguistics Department of RUDN University, all students learn English as their major foreign language (FL). The creativity was measured with the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA). The ATTA includes one verbal creativity task and two figural creativity tasks. We used indicators for each activity separately, total indicators of Fluency, Originality, Elaboration, Flexibility, and the total Creativity Index. To assess FLA we used the traditional academic achievement indicator (the semester final grades by English) as well as English teachers' assessment of FLA in their students by authors' expert scale (10 indicators and total score). The descriptive statistics methods, coefficients Cronbach' a and McDonald's., and Spearman rank correlation analysis were used for processing the data. Statistical processing was carried out in the R software environment for statistical computing and graphics, version 3.5.2. Contrary to assumptions, the results of our study show only a few correlations between the creativity and FLA indicators. In particular, we did not find any significant correlation between the indicators of verbal creativity and FLA, as well as between the final grades by English and all creativity indicators. We found only a few positive correlations between several expert assessments of FLA and non-verbal creativity indicators. Thus, we can conclude that most of the indicators used by FLA assessment are not related to the studied creativity indicators in the linguistic students. We suggest that teachers, most likely, are ambiguous about the manifestations of students' creativity in the process of FL learning. In general, the conducted research provides further arguments for discussing the problem of the criteria for pedagogical control and assessment, their objectivity and role in the development of students' creativity.