Culture, art and creativity are effective tools for learning a foreign language

On November 14, 2025, an engaging guest lecture by Jeannine Daly (TESOL, Clinical Field Supervisor at the City University of New York) took place on the Zoom platform, organized by Violetta Panchenko, Associate Professor of the Foreign Languages and Teaching Methods Department at the Social Sciences and Humanities Faculty of BSPU. The event was attended by academic group curators and higher education students enrolled in bachelor’s degree educational and professional programs “Secondary Education (English Language and Literature)” and “Philology (Germanic Languages and Literatures (including translation), first – English, second – German),” as well as master’s students majoring in “Secondary Education (Language and Literature (English)).”

During the exceptionally captivating, practical, and inspiring interactive lecture “Amazing Alebrijes,” participants had a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the vibrant world of Mexican folk art and experience the power of the communicative approach to learning English. Alebrijes are fantastic, brightly colored figurines that are an integral part of Mexican cultural heritage, combining features of various animals and creating incredible chimeric images.

During the interactive session, participants drew their own fantastic alebrije creatures, actively learned descriptive vocabulary in English, and completed creative tasks in pairs and groups. This effectively demonstrates how culture, art, and creativity can inspire and support foreign language learning for students with varying language proficiency levels.

Jeannine Daly shared her extensive pedagogical experience and showed how to integrate Task-Based Learning and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) into English language teaching practice. Participants gained not only valuable methodological insights but also practical tools that can be immediately applied in their own teaching activities.

The lecture sparked lively discussion among students and faculty, who noted the speaker’s high professionalism, innovative approach to teaching, and the friendly atmosphere of the session. Such international meetings expand the academic horizons of higher education students, facilitate the exchange of advanced pedagogical experience, and motivate future teachers toward a creative and student-centered approach in educational practice.