7/23/13

Dogme: A teacher's view

PublishedonTeachingEnglish|BritishCouncil|BBC(http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk)
Home>Articles>Dogme:Ateacher'sview

Dogme:Ateacher'sview
TeachingEnglish Dogme:Ateacher'sview SubmittedbyTEEditoron6August,200413:00 Inthisarticleoneteachergivesusherviewofhowtheideasandprinciplesofanew approachtoteachinghaveshapedherclassroompractice. Dogmeis... MyDogmeclassroom Learnerobjectives Thelessonplan TheDogmefile Pros Cons Conclusion Dogmeis... Dogmeisateachingphilosophy.Itgoesbeyondthestandardpedagogicalmethodsthatwe aresooftenusedtohearingabout. Thethinkingbehinditisthatstudentslearnwhentheyfeelinvolvedandinterestedin thesubject. Ifthematerialtheyuseisn'trelevanttothemthenthelikelihoodthey'llretainany informationisslim. ThesolutionwithinDogmebasicallyconsistsofremovingallirrelevantmaterialto enhancelearning.Itinvolvesinfactremovingallmaterial.

www.teachingenglish.org.uk/print/376

1/5

7/23/13

Dogme: A teacher's view

ADogmeclassroomisatextbookfreezone.Toacertainextentwecouldsaythata Dogmespaceisaclassroomfreezoneasweknowit. ScottThornburyisthemainforcebehindthisrevolutionarymovement.Heandhiscolleagues realisedthattoomanyclasseswerebeinginvadedbylessonplans,textbooks,workbooks, tapes,transparencies,flashcards, cuisenairerods,tapesandothersuchgimmicksthatthestudentsthemselveswerenolonger (assumingtheyoncehadbeen)thefocusofthelesson.ByinventingDogmethey'veputthe learnerbackintolearning. ThereareDogmerulesthatcanbefollowedbutintrueDogmestyletheyaretheretobebent andmouldedtoyourownteachingcontext.Herearesomeofthemainones: Resourcesshouldbeprovidedbythestudentsorwhateveryoucomeacross.Ifdoinga lessononbooksthengotothelibrary. Alllisteningmaterialshouldbestudentproduced. Theteachershouldalwaysputhimselfatthelevelofthestudents. Alllanguageusedshouldbe'real'languageandsohaveacommunicativepurpose. Grammarworkshouldarisenaturallyduringthelessonandshouldnotbethedriving forcebehindit. Studentsshouldnotbeplacedintodifferentlevelgroups. MyDogmeclassroom Thestudentsaren'tseatedbehinddesks.It'smuchharderforthemtoexpressthemselvesin thisartificialsetting.There'snoreasonwhytheycan'thavesomepaperandpensbut definitelynotextbook.Ialwayshave apaperboardorwhiteboardforthemtouse,ifpossiblesomecomfychairsorwithlarger classesacomfyfloorspaceandcushions,andsomemusicplayinginthebackground.Ina 'pure'Dogmeclassroomthoughtherewouldn'tbemusicunlessproducedbythestudents themselves.Theatmosphereshoulddefinitelyberelaxed.Oncethestudentsunderstandthe conceptofautonomyandcontrollingtheirlearningIfindtheyarefarmorewillingto participate,leadthesessionsanddisciplinealmostbecomesathingofthepast.Theysoon entertheclassroombrimmingwithideasandenthusiasmwhileyousitbackandfacilitatethe learningprocessratherthandrownit. Learnerobjectives BeforelookingatthedetailofalessonitselfIalwaysbegintheyearbylookingverycloselyat thestudents'objectives.Withyoungerstudentsthelinguisticobjectivesaremorelikelyto resembleeachother,buttheoldertheygetthemoreawarethey'llbeofwhythey'relearning

www.teachingenglish.org.uk/print/376

2/5

7/23/13

Dogme: A teacher's view

Englishandwhatareastheyneedtoworkon.Howeverthisisnotalwaysthecaseand spendingtimeonthisbeforeyoulaunchintoacoursemakessomuchsensetothelearners themselvesasyouprogressthroughtheyear.Theadvantageofdoingthisisthateachlesson thestudentscanreferbacktotheirpersonalobjectivesheetandrelateeverythingthey choosetodoinclasstoatleastoneoftheirobjectives. Thelessonplan Ialwaysstartalessonbyputtingtheclassintothreeorfoursmallergroups.Howyouorganise thisstageofthelessonwillobviouslydependonthenumberofstudentsyouhaveinyour class. Eachgroupdecideswhattheywanttoworkoninthelessonwiththeirobjectivesheets closetohand.Thiscouldtaketheformofspeakingskillsand'practisingtalkinginfront ofotherpeople'or'improvegrammaticalaccuracywhenspeaking'forexample. Thenaspokespersonfromeachgroupgoestotheboardandwritesupinnoteforma coupleofthemostpopularchoicesfromwhatthegrouphasdecided.Thisprocess shouldbefairlyquickandwillbecomequickerastheygetusedtoit.Iprefertoleavethe classroomandreturnwhenthetimelimitisupandthenotesareontheboard.However forsecurityreasonsthisisnotalwayspossibleandwiththeyoungerpupilsImakeit clearthatIamnotgoingtointerveneatallinthisprocess. ThenIreadwhatthestudentswouldliketoworkonandusethisinformationtofacilitate therestofthelesson. Youmayfindthatsomestudentswanttoconcentrateonwritingwhileotherson listening.Thisisuptothestudentstonegotiatewhoseobjectivesthey'regoingtowork oninthatparticularlessonanduptoyoutohaveactivitiesupyoursleevethatenable themtoworksimultaneouslyondifferentskills.Agreatexampleofthisisarunning dictationwheresomepeoplecanworkontheirwriting,someontheirlistening,someon theirreadingandothersontheirspeaking. TheDogmefile IdofindithelpfulforstudentstohaveafileofwhattheylearnandIadviseonwaystorecord theirwork.Itisofcourseuptothemhowtheyorganisetheirfilesbutit'susefultoguidethem onthevariouspossibilitiesinthebeginning.Idosaythoughthattheyshouldkeepita monolingualfileasmuchaspossible. InsteadofwritingthetranslationnexttotheEnglishwordfornounsandadjectivesIget themtodrawaquickpicture.Forstudentstobecomemoreindependenttheyalways haveaccesstomonolingualdictionariesandarefreetolookupwordswhentheywant. Thisenhancesathirstforknowledgeandtheyaremorelikelytoremembertheword thanifIweretotellittothem. OneofthewaysIadvisethemtorecordtheirlanguageisindifferentsubjectsratherthan

www.teachingenglish.org.uk/print/376

3/5

7/23/13

Dogme: A teacher's view

alphabeticalorchronologicalorderasit'softeneasierforthemtoretainandreusethe word. Pros Fromateachingpointofviewitcutsdowntremendouslyonpreparationtime. Thestudentsfeelcompletelyincontroloftheirlearningandarethereforesomuchmore motivated. Itkeepsyoualertandspontaneousasyouneverknowexactlywhatcouldhappenin classandsomustthinkonyourfeet. Youcanhandlealmostanythingonceyou'vetaughtinaDogmeclassroom. Studentsareconstantlyawareofthe'why'behindeverythingtheydo. Cons Somestudentsmayfeeluneasyaboutitatfirst,feelingthey'renotbeingspoonfeda teacherledlesson. Itmightbedauntingforanewlytrainedteachertoworkwithoutthesecurityofa textbook. Someteachersmaybelockedintoaspecificsyllabus. Youmaybeworkinginverylargeclasseswheretablesareboltedtothefloor. Someteachersmayfeelthattheirroleand'power'isbeingunderminedbythismore studentcentredapproach. Conclusion Forme,theDogmeclassroomisfarremovedfromthepreconceivedideaofalazyteacher, nothavingpreparedtheirlesson,walkinginandsaying"Sowhatdoyouwanttotalkabout today?".It'ssomuchmorethananopenconversationclass.Itinvolvesahiddenstructure whichallowsthestudentstobecomeautonomousintheirlearningandgivesthemcomplete controloverwhattheylearnandhowtheylearnit.Youaretheretoguidetheprocessand watchyourlearnersbloomintoenthusiasticEnglishspeakers. FurtherReading: YoucanalsojointheYahooDogmediscussionforumhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/dogme/ wherelivelyDogmerelateddebatestakeplaceandexchangesofideasareconstant.
www.teachingenglish.org.uk/print/376 4/5

7/23/13

Dogme: A teacher's view

JoBertrand,Teacher,Materialswriter,BritishCouncilParis

Tag Anyage Coreteaching CourseandLessonPlanning Learningtheory Methodology/approaches Presentation/input Teachingcompetencies Articles methodology TermsofUse|Privacy|Freedomofinformation|Frequentlyaskedquestions|Accessibility |Cookiepolicy|Contactus BritishCouncil,10SpringGardens,LondonSW1A2BN,UK BBCWorldService,BushHouse,Strand,LondonWC2B4PH,UK

SourceURL:http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/dogmeateachersview

www.teachingenglish.org.uk/print/376

5/5