Teaching Dogme: Materials-light, Autonomy-rich?
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| Year of publication | 2018 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Dogme approach in English Language Teaching is a material-minimalist strategy that puts the learners back at the centre of the learning process and gives them unprecedented amount of control over the content of the lessons. Dogme has thus famously challenged the way we as teachers use textbooks and technology in our lessons. Drawing on the principles of critical pedagogy and humanistic education, proponents of Dogme call for a classroom in which dialogue plays a central role and genuine, authentic topics are sought to engage the learners. Although teaching textbook-free may require little more than a marker and a board as far as props are concerned, Dogme teaching is only seemingly effortless - it puts more strain on the teacher in terms of data search, on-the-spot decision making and responding to the needs of learners on demand. The question that this presentation addresses is whether this materials-light and conversation-driven approach inevitably leads to more autonomy on the part of both students and teachers. The author also deals with the constraints she identified while implementing elements of the Dogme paradigm. Finally, examples of Dogme-inspired tasks in the context of tertiary education are provided and the shift in the position of a Dogme-enthusiastic teacher is discussed. |