What is the best course for you? Dogme and student-led teaching

English language courses at ILC are foreveryone, whatever their level or age.

We have many course books and resources and all the materials to learn English, study exams such as IELTS, TOEIC or the Cambridge exams.

However, what happens if you, the student,don’t want to follow a book?

Are you tired of just following a course book, page after page, exercise after exercise?

Maybe you just want to improve your English speaking, so you can chat to local Bristolians, make friends and meet people.

Maybe you have particular interests and passions: history, art, literature, sport? Following a book can have its own advantages,such as giving a solid structure, or if you are practising for an exam, but what about what we would call student-led teaching?

Dogme teaching

The idea of teaching being more student-led is called Dogme teaching.

What is Dogme teaching?

Dogme is an approach to teaching that argues that teaching should focus on the learner and not be driven by the resources available. It is named after a Danish experimental filmmovement in the 90s, which used a more natural, improvised approach to filmmaking. Obviously, at ILC, the teachers plan the lessons for each English language course,but how we plan lessons depends on the needs of the students. Students tell us their needs when we first meet them.

So,what happens in a Dogme lesson?

Let’s look at some examples of Dogme or student-led classes:

Discussing news

You come to class and choose something that is in the news. The teacher guides the discussion and teaches any grammar or vocabulary points that come up. Conversation allows learners to come up with coherent ideas, and not isolated sentences that might not be relevant

Talking about local trips

If you study English in Bristol, there are many things to do, from visiting the Harbourside, the Clifton Suspension Bridge, or nearby trips to Bath or Glastonbury. Talk to the other students, get advice about what to do, all guided by the teacher.

Create your own resources

In the classroom there are no resources or course books - apart from those that the student brings, whether it’s a website you like, an article, a hobby. So, the teacher involves the learners in a lesson that is set by the students depending on your objectives.

Other ideas could be: role-plays, giving presentations about something you’re passionate about, discussing ideas that are important to you, talking about something or someone that is special to you.

Focus and develop your English

Focus and develop what the students want and what they need - if a group starts talking about a specific subject - what they did in Bristol at the weekend, then the lesson can follow that.

Up-to-date material

The world is moving fast and some text books,even if they are published a couple of years ago, can be a bit outdated. Dogme teaching ensures all the material is contemporary and relevant,student-generated and locally-created.

Dogme teaching is a creative, fun way to go off-road, improve your English speaking skills, explore and learn what you want to learn as a student, rather than having someone else decide for you. And there is always a book there if you need it.

‍