What is Dogme methodology all about?

Dogme methodology simply defined is a way of teaching that is TOTALLY student centered. So the focus of a class is not likely a lesson from a book (the book decided in that case what you were going to study) or from a completely pre-planned lesson (you decided the focus of the class in that case).

Dogme in its best form is an extension of using elicitation, as we discussed in ESA methodology, and building your class from what you revealed or discovered during the elicitation.  You can relate the topic revealed to a previous lesson, to a bigger concept that class covers or just stay confined to smaller topic area.

Some things that might come up...

• Student A brings an e-mail she has to answer in English at work
• Student B had difficulty with a customer about an order that was not filled correctly
• Student C got lost on a recent vacation and was not sure how to ask directions
• Student D had to deal with a customer complaint at the restaurant where he works and wasn't sure what to say
• Student E is studying for a TOEFL examination and wonders how to improve her listening skills
• Student F is leaving for university in the UK and wants to improve her reading speed so she can study more efficiently

Note the examples are with adult students and this methodology is probably best used with adults.

All of these topics can easily arise from a simple elicitation at the beginning of class.  You can even say something as simple as, Okay, what's on your mind today? or What would you like to work on today? and build a class from that.

Lesson still requires guidance from the teacher

While this purports to be a totally student-centered method, it still requires the teacher to have some talent in guiding the direction a class might go in and then grabbing the best topic that students might propose that fits the group best.  Or it is much easier when teaching online with only one student. You simply teach the topic they propose, but even that requires that you keep the topic narrow, so you can cover the key components in a 45-60 minute lesson.  You might also agree to better define the topic and save segments of it for following lessons.

Simplify lesson ideas with functions

A key component of such a lesson could be to teach functions and an easy to understand article about teaching functions is here:  Don't Teach Grammar, Teach Functions.  Dogme also disapproves of grammar-based lessons, and you will too after you read that short article.  As the article suggests, you still need to teach grammar, but teach it within the context of the function/skill/lesson you are teaching.

Some online schools will have lesson guides broadly built on where classes might go using this approach.  Check with your employer if this is what you are doing.  If you are working independently, do a Google search for Dogme Lessons and you will have to dig through the chaff a bit, but you'll find more lesson ideas than you'll know what to do with.

How to avoid too much freewheeling

One important suggestion: You can reach the same place by asking your student(s) at the end of each class, "What would you like to talk about (learn/study/work on) for the next class?"  This approach gives you more time to prepare and you don't have to feel quite as stressed about improvising during the class.

Try Dogme both ways and see where it goes. Not everything works the same way with every student, or even the same student twice.  BUT don't lose the central and most important idea: the student determines where the class goes and what you work on.

Why is it important that the student determine the topic of the class?

If the student suggests the topic it is most likely relevant to their daily life.  Relevance in a lesson creates student motivation. A motivated student works harder, learns more and is a lot more fun to teach.  Motivation gets the student engaged in the class.

The student is your customer.  When a student feels that you have their interest (their topic?) at heart, they are more likely to come back for more lessons.  This is critical if you are teaching at a language school, online, or even at a private school/college/university where enrollments pay the bills.

Topics suggested by students, especially adult students, often help solve a problem for them.  Back to functions here: how to deal with complaints, how to improve my writing skills for an exam, how to describe my company's product to a customer, etc.  When you help a student solve problems, they are more likely to come back for more lessons.

Dogme is the suggested methodology when teaching online. When you are teaching English online, you are in fact a small business (even if teaching for an online company) and every small businessperson knows that helping customers get what they want is the key to success.  Be responsive and help your students develop the skills they need to solve problems and you will find your online experience successful.

Dogme vs PPP/ESA

Some teachers feel more comfortable with a more structured lesson plan. And perhaps rightly so,  Know that online schools use a wide variety of methods and many also use PPP/ESA/TBL, but we just want to be sure you see something different and understand that other approaches do exist. It is best to not get too invested in any one way of doing things, but... bottom line - good basic PPP is a very strong place to start.  Unless you are teaching your own private students, your employer will usually decide the method you are to use.

You now have the option to submit a PPP/ESA/TBL-based lesson for the Teaching English Online certification.  Keep in mind that this should be a very student-centered lesson and you can allow it to wander off track a bit if that is helpful for your student.

Example Dogme Lesson Plans:

Three example lesson plans can be found at the bottom of a webpage here: https://tefleducator.com/esp-examples/
The password for that page is 88888888 (eight 8s).  You don't need them right now, but you may want to bookmark that page for when your lesson plan is due. The example lessons will give you some models for how to proceed.