What+is+Dogme+2.0+for+ELT?

=Dogme 2.0 for ELT=

The term Dogme 2.0 for ELT was coined by //Howard Vickers// in an article entitled Dogme 2.0:What Teaching 2.0 can learn from Dogme ELT. Howard sees an opportunity for teachers using technology to adopt Dogme ELT principles, making sure that "//c////ontent should engage learners to enable learning//" and "//where the “2.0″ tag represents the ability for students to engage, interact and create online.//”

At first glance, because Dogme ELT is concerned with 'unplugging' teaching and moving away from a dependency on materials, aids and //technology//, it might seem strange that some language teachers involved in the //application of educational technology to language learning// are now taking an interest in this philosophy of language teaching.

However, although some members of the Dogme ELT Yahoo discussion list are clearly against any use of technology, it would be a myth and a mistake to believe that most practitioners of //Dogme ELT// are Neo-Luddites and disinterested in any use of learning technologies. In fact, the //Teaching Unplugged// book includes some ideas for activities that make use of technology (mobile phones and voice recorders, for example).



It is my view that //Dogme ELT// is clearly against the use of technology-for-technology's sake. They distance themselves from the //edutainment model// of language teaching and are against an //over-reliance// or //dependency// on technology, aids or materials.

It is also my belief that teachers who are interested in teaching with technology have a duty to integrate technology into their lessons and should not be tempted to use anything that does not facilitate learning. In his article Dogme in Transition?, Thornbury draws our attention to a quotation by Mark Warschauer:

“//For electronic learning activities to be most purposeful and effective, it would seem that they should (a) be learner-centred, with students having a fair amount of control over their planning and implementation, (b) be based on authentic communication in ways rhetorically appropriate for the medium, (c) be tied to making some real difference in the world or in the students’ place in it, and (d) provide students an opportunity to explore and express their evolving identity//”. (Warschauer, M. 2000:57 )

In a follow-up blog post, Vickers states that "//t////he questions of relevance, meaning and motivation...are the key links between Dogme ELT and web 2.0//." In other words, if we enable learners to find and create meaning through conversation is our priority, how we do this (with or without technology) is not as important as "the ability to create excitement and engagement such that language learning opportunities surface in class. "

This is what I hope to show you here through ten //Dogme 2.0// example practice activities.

Find Out More

 * Dogme in Transition?
 * Dogme 2.0:What Teaching 2.0 can learn from Dogme ELT
 * Relevance, Motivation and Communication: Connecting Dogme & Web 2.0
 * Warschauer, M. 2000. On-line learning in second language classrooms: An ethnographic study . In Warschauer, M. and Kern, R. (eds) Network-based Language Teaching: Concepts and Practice, CUP, p. 57)
 * Wikipedia - Dogme ELT & Technology
 * Dogme 2.0: A pedagogy for virtual worlds