There is no best possible way to teach creativity. The teaching method varies depending on the  course content, availability of  infrastructure, and the school  environment . 

Well if your context allows for the use of social media, you can engage students in topics of interest such as fashion, music, film, sports etc. and simultaneously addressing their EFL needs in their writing. The attached conference paper gives an example of how this can be done in Facebook. Hope this is helpful for you: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263767122_Social_Media_in_Education_Bringing_Your_Classroom_to_Life_-_UWI_Research_Expo_2013

Best regards,

Debra

Conference Paper Social Media in Education: Bringing Your Classroom to Life -...

Hi Malini and thanks for the invitation to contribute..

There are several basic points that might help (actually had helped in my master study):

1. Informing the students about the goal of the EFL course (that will give them a clear idea about the supposed results they are to accomplish at the end of the course. In other words, a clear map of driving along their way learning).

2. Sharing a clear syllabus. 

3. Games, Games, Games! Student- no matter how old they are- LOVE games. I still remember some of my students who had a PhD in science, once they enter the class they call for a game. It played like magic in raising motivation. 

4. Work group technique is A MUST (I have some detailed section about this in my thesis): 

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zainab_Auda/publications?pubType=thesis

5. Engaging students in their colleague's assessment. Applying the formative assessment gives serious successful results for raising motivation. 

pls check the rubric I shared with my students 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269037468_Scoring_rubric_of_conversation

6. Once we promote motivation in class we will be able to promote creativity in class. EFL is not a mere language exchange class, it might be a drawing class, an art class, a shopping class, an auction class, a geography class, etc. Teachers might choose any activity to be applied in groups. Once there is challenge among groups for best production, there will be better creativity and of course better learning/ teaching results. 

Thanks again 

Data Scoring rubric of conversation

Dear Malini:

As Debra has said, I have observed that the use of social media as a complement of regular teaching can contribute in many ways to improve the learning experience. Young people feel at ease interacting in social media.

I've seen in particular some cases in which students who are introverted or reluctant to participate in the classroom intervene extensively in discussions in a virtual educational space.

I think the most important requirement is that the virtual experience actually stimulates exchanges and discussion (success in this sense, in my experience, is  not guaranteed:)

There are many ways to teach creatively in an EFL tertiary classroom. I think teachers can urge discussions and case studies in classroom is one of the best ways in this concern.

Teaching creatively in an EFL tertiary classroom, it is important that the teachers/ educators bear in mind that a friendly, supportive and non-threatening classroom atmosphere can have a positive impact on students’ motivation and language performance. Teachers should –

a)      improve students metacognitive abilities

b)      use effective questioning strategies

c)       have students use oral and written language often and informal

d)      design tasks that require thinking about content as a primary goal

e)      teach explicitly how to do the thinking needed for the tasks

f)       create a classroom atmosphere that promotes risk-taking and speculative thinking.

http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10063/1835/thesis.pdf?sequence=2

http://www.ijhssnet.com/journals/Vol._1_No._8;_July_2011/10.pdf

Dear Dr. Ganapathy,

I'd like to share one of my experiences. It's not the best possible way, but it more or less worked in my EFL experimental class. I used activities that combine creative writing and drama to get students to improve their integrated language skills.

In this experimental class, one time, for example, I started with giving students brief traditional grammar exercises, and then gave them a picture of an antique mirror. I asked them to imagine themselves walking through the mirror into a historical period of their choice, and to write a story in which they became main characters. They were required to write their fictional story based on facts of that period, and everyone in the group would need to have speaking parts; the more they spoke, the better they would score; then they would need to turn their story into a performance in the next class meeting. They could use PowerPoint slides as backdrops, and brought some props.

This class turned out to be the most enjoyable one for both students and me. Students learned more words from reading about their chosen historical period, could practice grammar through their speaking parts in the story, could practice their pronunciation through their performance, which also helped boost their self-confidence in speaking in public. And as they watched others perform, they could practice their listening a bit as well.

From this example, I'd like to say that using creative writing and drama together may not be the best, but is worth a try if we're still in search of the best possible way to teach creatively in our EFL classroom. 

Sincerely,

Cameen

Dear Cameen,

Your idea is novel and certainly creative - well done and thanks for sharing- kind regards  Tina

Dear Ms. Lindhard,

Thank you very much for your kind words.

Sincerely,

Cameen

Indeed, I am of the same opinion too. Thank you very much for sharing. Thank you all other RG members too. Your suggestions will be considered very much. Appreciate it!

You can engage the students by doing structured and well-defined 'Group Discussions' . In many subjects it is possible to carry out lab and/or field studies. I often assign a topic to a group of students for projects which they present in front of the whole class. I also encourage them to write weblogs. Show them some interesting clips and involve them in discussion. I have used Learning Management Software solutions for concept check which gives better results. The other option is industry mentoring wherein they spend 2-3 hours/week with an industry guide to understand the practical aspects

Real Time Learning (RTL) is an exciting initiative that focuses on enhancing student engagement. The program allows students time to participate in authentic activities.

RTL is built around the principles of Expansive Education where engagement occurs when students feel a sense of connection to others and a level of control over their learning.

Thank you very much Lukas and Subash. Your suggestions are highly appreciated.

Sounds interesting. Podcasts will have the potential to promote creativity I believe. Will checkout your paper. Appreciate your pointers. Thank you very much. 

We must bring and use multi-media in the class room.

Many interesting answers but I agree more with that of Prof. Debra Sharon Ferdinand-James and Dr. Zainab Jaafar Auda

Driven by the need for companies and organizations to be more competitive and by the movement towards learned-centred rather than test-driven teaching in schools, emphasis on Creativity is everywhere today that is believed to have widespread consequences. Schools in different parts of the world are being encouraged to focus more on creativity in the curriculum across all subject areas. Focus on creativity in language teaching through the use of texts drawn from a variety of different literary and non-literary sources may elicit creative thinking and foster the ability to make creative connections. Many of the language tasks favoured by contemporary language teaching methods are believed to release creativity in learners – particularly those involving student-centred, interaction-based, and open-ended elements, and are therefore in principle ideally suited to fostering creative thinking and behaviour on the part of learners.

http://www.professorjackrichards.com/wp-content/uploads/Creativity-in-Language-Teaching.pdf

Thanks for the great insight Yogesh!