International Journal of English Language and Translation Studies
IJ-ELTS
e-ISSN: 2308-5460
Volume: 2, Issue: 1
[January-March, 2014]
Editor-in-Chief
Mustafa Mubarak Pathan
Department of English Language & Translation Studies
The Faculty of Arts, the University of Sebha
Sebha, Libya
[email protected]
Senior Associate Editors
Dr Nicos C. Sifakis, Hellenic Open University, Greece
Dr. Anastasia Novoselova, Birmingham Metropolitan College, UK
Dr. Muhammad Abdel-Wahed Ali Darwish, Assiut University, Egypt
Dr. Abdurahman Ahmad Hamza, The University of Sebha, Libya
Dr. Firdevs KARAHAN, Sakarya University, Turkey
Dr. Sabria Salama Jawhar, King Saud bin Abdul Aziz University for Health Science, KSA
Dr. Claudia Porter, Oregon Health and Sciences University, Oregon, USA
Dr. Kuniyoshi Kataoka, Aichi University, Japan
Dr. Choudhary Zahid Javid, Taif University, KSA
Sayed Khaja Ahmad Moinuddin, MANUU, Hyderabad, India
Dr. M. Maniruzzaman, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh
Dr. Nagamurali Eragamreddi, Faculty of Education, Traghen, Libya
Dr. Zaheer Khan, University of Benghazi, Libya
Dr. Mzenga A. Wanyama, Augsburg College, Minneapolis, USA
Mirza Sultan Beig, S. R. T. M. University, India
B. Somnath, VNGIASS, Nagpur, India
Dr. Hassen ZRIBA, University of Gafsa, Tunisia
Dr. Sana Akram Saqqa, Al-Jouf University, KSA
Mariam Mansoor, The University of Sebha, Libya
Safia Ahmed Mujtaba, The University of Sebha, Libya
Assistant Editors
Omran Ali Abdalla Akasha, The University of Sebha, Libya
Dr. Prashant Subhashrao Mothe, Adarsh College, Omerga, India
Elena Bolel, Maltepe University, Istanbul, Turkey
Noura Winis Ibrahim Saleh, The University of Sebha, Libya
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International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
ISSN: 2308-5460
Teaching Unplugged: Applications of Dogme ELT in India
[PP: 141-152]
Sadeqa Ghazal
School of Humanit ies and Social Sciences
Indian Inst itute of Technology
Patna, India
Dr. Smriti Singh
School of Humanit ies and Social Sciences
Indian Inst itute of Technology
Patna, India
Abstract
The socio-polit ical changes across the world indicate that it is, increasingly, becoming a
questioning world. It is simple co mmon sense that this change must also be reflected in the
education system. A crit ical pedagogy that foregrounds dialogue and encourages quest ioning
is therefore more relevant in the present times. The top-down approach of teaching only
hampers the development of learners by silencing their voice and agency. In this respect, this
paper focuses on the Dogme, or unplugged teaching, approach in English language teaching
(ELT) in Indian context. The paper explores theoretical reasons, based upon the views o f Lev
Vygotsky, Paulo Freire, and Charles Taylor, in support of adopting Dogme in ELT for
radically changing the face of prevalent second language teaching scenario in India. An
analys is o f exist ing lit erature and empirical evidences strongly suggest that implement ing this
approach would be appropriate for mult iple reasons. Being a dialogue based approach, it
gives the learner, as well as the teacher, a chance to grow and learn together. It creates a zone
of proximal development which helps learners to recognize their own voice and leads to selfdiscovery. Dogme in ELT can be mot ivating and empowering. As it is a pedagogy, o f bare
essent ials, it is pro-poor and can be used even in under-equipped classrooms. Moreover, as it
is grounded in the personal experience o f the learner, it can fit well into a mult icultural
context. Therefore, it is implied and assumed that this approach would work very well in
Indian context which is mult icultural and econo mically diverse.
Keywords: Dogme, English language teaching, Critical pedagogy, Dialogue based Approach,
ELT in India.
The paper received on:
24/01/2014
Accepted after peer-review on:
21/02/2014
Published on:
01/03/2014
Suggested Citation:
Ghazal , S. & Singh , S. (2014). Teaching Unplugged: Applications of Dogme ELT in India.
International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol-2, Issue-1, 141-152. Retrived
from http://www. eltsjournal. org
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1 Introduction
If all curriculums are stories then we need a pedagogy that encourages us to narrate and
listen to them (Grumet, 1981). This ho lds even truer for a language class as language is the
primary means through which we express our thoughts and ideas, share our visio ns, and tell
our stories. Learning a language is o f vital importance and, as wit h all things important, its
not easy to acquire. Mastering the nuances of ones first language takes a lifet ime, more so in
the case of a second or third language. In India, the popular medium o f instruction in higher
education, is primarily English except for specific language courses. English is a second
language for most Indian students, although in some cases it is the third language for learners.
English language learners represent a rapidly growing, culturally, linguist ically, and
economically diverse student population in India. But there is great disparit y between the
qualit ies o f English learning experiences being o ffered to students fro m different economic
and cultural backgrounds. The qualit y o f English language teaching is far fro m sat isfactory in
most government sponsored or supported schools. The condit io n is not better in low-budget,
privately funded ones. Only the up-scale private school students get a chance to have a better
language learning experience. While students belonging to affluent upper class can afford to
attend foreign schools, or costly public/private schools in India, the students belo nging to
underprivileged and econo mically weak community have to attend schools where the classes
are not well-equipped with technical equipments such as audio-visual devices or computers
as they cannot pay large sums for fees. In most of these schools English may not be the
medium of instruction for other subjects. As a result, the students often have a poor
experience o f learning English as a Second language. A student, who has knowledge o f
content in mathemat ics, science, or history, is not likely to demonstrate that knowledge
effect ively if he/she cannot interpret the vocabulary and linguist ic structures of the content.
This causes the learners to have lower self-esteem and hence a low motivat ion to go on
learning the language. Moreover, English is not the medium of communication at ho me for
the students coming fro m an underprivileged and economically weak background. In mo st
cases, none of the learners parents speak Englis h. Such students, seldo m, get a chance to
interact in English outside the classroom. These students have nowhere to go to practice their
second language other than various private establishments, popularly termed as coaching
which claim to teach spoken English. This causes the learners to invest extra sum into
learning a language which they should rightfully learn in the classroom it self. This is the
socio-economic side of the picture.
Moving on to the pedagogical side, we find that English Language Teaching has a rich
history o f developing and emplo ying different methods that facilitate learning English as a
foreign or second language the Silent Way, the Natural Approach, the Direct method, the
Bilingual method, and Co mmunicat ive Language Teaching (CLT) to name just a few. In
India, all o f these have been pract iced over the last few decades. It is a matter of grave
concern that st ill many learners complain about the difficult y they face in an English class,
including those studying in technically well-equipped schools. Many are not at ease while
speaking or writ ing essays or articles on their own despite possessing good grammat ical skills
and a sound vocabulary bank. So where does the problem lie? Why are not the learners able
to find their own vo ice? Teachers in India have emplo yed various English language teaching
methods and though these practices may result in so me language being learnt, more often
than not, it is quite a disengaged and mechanical process. It is clear that the exist ing methods
and pedagogies fail to engage the learners, fire up their imaginat ions, and give the m
something really useful to take back at the end of the day. What we need is not just another
method but a crit ical pedagogy that allows learners vo ice to emerge in an ELT class and
connects language learning to real-life experiences o f the learner. Teaching unplugged or
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Dogme in ELT is a crit ical pedagogical approach that has not been put to use in Indian
schools for teaching English language. Therefore, hypothesis o f this study is that introducing
the practice of Dogme in ELT classes will not only facilitate language learning among Indian
ESL students but also help establish a crit ical pedagogy that would establish the culture of
engaged learning. Being light on material resources, it will also bridge the wide disparit y
between the qualit ies o f English learning experience being offered to students from different
economic backgrounds.
Teaching unplugged, if applied properly, can be very fruit ful in Indian context due to
mult iple reasons. In this paper attempt has been done to explore the theoretical reasons which
support the proposit ion that Dogme approach should be adopted in English Language
Teaching classes in India. In order to support the claim, the paper draws on ideas of three
different educator-theorists Lev Vygotsky, Paulo Freire, and Charles Taylor. Also empirical
evidences have been emplo yed, as shared by teachers and educators on Dogme ELT website
to support the present argument. Making a connection, among Dogme ELT approach and the
current situation o f the resources available in an average government school in India as well
as the prevailing pedagogical pract ices, gives a clear indicat ion of the need to adopt a new
approach for teaching English in Indian schools.
2. A Dogme for ELT
2.1 Historical Background
Thornbury (2010) alo ng with Luke Meddings (2013) was at the helm o f developing
unplugged approach to teaching English, which promotes a pedagogy of bare essentials
(Thornbury, 2010, para. 1). In 2000, Scott Thornbury published an art icle in IATEFL
(International Associat ion of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language, Issues 153) titled A
Dogma for EFL which brought this approach out into focus and triggered the debate that
caused many teachers to adopt it. It captured the imaginat ion of educators and writers so
much so that a Dogme ELT discussio n group was formed on the web and teachers fro m all
over the world contributed to the debate surrounding it. Thornbury was very much concerned
about the way the wealt h of material resources, related to ELT has drowned out the real task
conversat ions that focus on our own stories. After all, we all learn languages to
communicate. But real plot of this story keeps lying buried beneath the avalanche o f
resources textbooks, workbooks, vocabulary-building books, grammar books, phrasal verb
dict ionaries, expanded edit io ns o f dict ionaries and lexicons, photocopiable resources, charts,
flash cards, posters, teachers guide, audio CDs for classroom and ho me study, videos,
websites and whatnot. Moreover, there is internet, fro m where a load of authent ic materia l
can be accessed and downloaded. There are web-sites offering practicing lessons in various
skills from grammar and vocabulary to pronunciat ion and phonet ics. There are more and
more English teaching establishments opening up each day. The emphasis is so much on the
material and methods that the learners needs and personal experience is pushed to the
margin.
Dogme ELT promotes a pedagogy that is unburdened by an excess o f material and
independent of the use of techno logy. Instead, it is grounded in the local and relevant
concerns of the people in the classroom. The Dogme ELT discussio n group on web
introduces itself in these words:
We are a mix o f teachers, trainers and writers working in a wide range of
contexts, who are committed to a belief that language learning is both socially
mot ivated and socially constructed, and to this end we are seeking alternat ives
to models of instruction that are mediated primarily through materials and
whose object ive is the delivery o f "grammar mcnuggets". We are looking for
ways of explo it ing the learning opportunit ies offered by the raw material of
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the classroom, that is the language that emerges from the needs, interests,
concerns and desires of the people in the room.
(Retrieved fro m http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/dogme/info)
2.2 The Dogme 95 and the Dogme ELT
The concept of Dogme in ELT was inspired by a group of Danish filmmakers known
as Dogme 95. These filmmakers rejected the artificialit y o f the cinema that has been the
hallmark of Ho llywood. Led by Lars Von Trier, they signed a vow of chast it y which
became the manifesto of the Dogme 95 film-making. They did away wit h all special effects,
even sound and light effects that were external to the setting of the scene being shot. Instead,
the focus was on the inner life o f the characters and the narrat ive itself was fore-grounded.
In fact, there were ten commandments that Dogme 95 filmmakers have to fo llow.
Similarly Scott Thornbury, Luke Meddings and other early pract it ioners o f unplugged
teaching proposed to fo llow ten rules. There are clear parallels between the ten
commandments of both these groups as illustrated in the table below.
Table 1. Parallels between the Dogme 95 and the Dogme ELT
Dogme 95
Dogme ELT
1. Filming must be done on location. Props and
sets must not be brought in
2. Music must not be used unless it occurs within
the scene being filmed
3. The ca mera must be ha nd-held; filming must
take place wher e the action takes place
4. The film must be in colour. No special
lighting
5. Optical work and filters are forbidden
6. No superficial action (No murders,
weapons,etc.)
7. No temporal or geographical alienation.
8. No genr e movies
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1. Teaching should be done using only the
resources that teachers and students bring to the
classroom - i. e. themselves - and whatever
happens to be in the classroom. If a particular
piece of material is necessary for the lesson, a
location must be chosen wher e that material is to
be found (e.g. library, resource centr e, bar,
students' club)
2. No recorded listening material should be
introduced into the classroom: the source of all
"listening" activities should be the students and
teacher themselves. The only recorded material
that is used should be that made in the classroom
itself, e.g. recording students in pair or group
work for later re-play and analysis.
3. The teacher must sit down at all times that the
students are seated, except when monitoring
group or pair work (and even then it may be best
to pull up a chair). In small classes, teaching
should take place around a single table.
4. All the teacher's questions must be "real"
questions (such as "Do you like oysters?" Or
"What did you do on Saturday?"), not "display"
questions (such as "What's the past of the verb to
go?" or "Is ther e a clock on the wall?")
5. Slavish adher ence to a method (such as
audiolingualism, Silent Way, TPR, task-based
learning, suggestopedia) is unacceptable.
6. A pre-planned syllabus of pre-selected and
graded grammar items is forbidden. Any
grammar that is the focus of instruction should
emerge from the lesson content, not dictate it.
7. Topics that are generated by the students
themselves must be given priority over any other
input.
8. Grading of students into differ ent levels is
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International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
9. The aspect ratio must be 4:3, not widescr een.
10. The dir ector must not be cr edited.
ISSN: 2308-5460
disallowed: students should be fr ee to join the
class that they feel most comfortable in, whether
for social reasons, or for reasons of mutual
intelligibility, or both.
9. The criteria and administration of any testing
procedures must be negotiated with the learners.
10. Teachers themselves will be evaluated
according to only one criterion: that they are not
boring.
(Sources: Retrieved from - http://www.moviemail.com/film-shop/collection/509-A-Beginner-s-Guide-to-Dogme-95/,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XusBw9_LeUE and http://www.thornburyscott.com/tu/Its%20magazine.htm)
These are the parallels between Dogme 95 and Dogme ELT but this is where the
similarit ies end. For later was inspired by the former but not grounded into it. A crit ical
pedagogy constant ly quest ions itself, above all, and hence keeps evo lving. So, while Dogme
95 became a redundant filmmaking mo vement, Dogme ELT is st ill flourishing. Furthermore,
it has evolved to accommodate the changing needs of connected classes.
Another effect ive way to understand Dogme ELT is to know what it is not. Dogme
ELT is not just another fancy method in ELT nor is it a rigid dogma. Rather, it can be better
described as a state of mind that beco mes an integral part of a teachers classroom pract ice. It
must be very adaptable to local condit ions, even funct ion compatibly wit h course-books and
in hi-tech connected classes. The prescribed commandments are only facilitat ive and not
prescript ive, as Lars von Trier has explained in an interview- "That's the who le point of these
rules - they are a tool to be used freely" (as cit ed in Thornbury, 2001, para. 3). So what
remains o f the main principle? The central part is to remain true to the foregrounding o f the
inner life of the learner and also the teacher and to maintain the belief in dialogue and
empowerment.
3. How Language Gets Lost
The way in which teachers think and act, differs across the world. A variet y of factors,
related to economic, po lit ical and demographic context, result in this difference, but teacher
thinking, and act ion, is also a cultural construct. Pedagogical pract ices in Indian classrooms
are largely based upon four cultural constructs (Clarke, 2001). The first construct is a shared
ho list ic worldview that supports the acceptance o f regulat ion. In ho lism, since individuals are
not autonomous but linked together in an int erdependent system, context and social
relat ionships drive the individual. Secondly, intertwined wit h the acceptance o f regulat ion is
the conception o f instruction as dut y. Duty-based cultures enshrine so me blueprint for how
people should live and what they must do, regardless of what they feel like do ing. The third
cultural construct, related to teacher thinking and teaching, is a social framework that is
defined by structural and qualitat ive hierarchy (Roland, 1988). Structural hierarchy is based
on the caste structure, and the organizat ional structure operating wit hin families, and the
qualitat ive hierarchy is based on the qualit ies possessed by the individual who ho lds a higher
posit ion. The fourth cultural construct is knowledge as co llect ively accumulated, attested and
transferred. An individual's decis io ns and cho ices made are often constructed by the cho ices
made by the co mmunit y rather than by individual experience and percept ion. In this process,
an individual constructing his or her knowledge beco mes less significant. As a result of
culturally constructed pedagogy, teaching pract ices are integrated within social structure and
highly resistant to change.
Both of the above t ypes of hierarchy apply to the teachers in Indian classroom contextstructural hierarchy, in terms of the establishme nt of authorit y in the organizat ion of the
classroom, and qualitative hierarchy, in terms o f the teacher being more knowledgeable than
the student. Duty-based culture leaves no cho ice for the students but to obey the instructions
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of the teacher. They are told what they must do or must not do regardless o f what they feel
like do ing. In this process, the learner beco mes less significant as the choices he/she makes
are often constructed by the teacher. The Indian education system, on primary, secondary, or
even higher level, is curriculum-based and teacher-centered. The teachers and the educat ion
boards (comprising o f those educators who are not even in touch with the actual learners)
control what is to be learnt, how much is to be learnt, in what order it is to be learnt, and how
the overall learning is to be evaluated. This is true for all the subjects including languages. It
is believed that such a system may look very neat from the outside but creates a lot of mess in
the learners lives. In order to avoid diverging into wider implications o f this problem,
therefore, attempt is done to focus here on the effects of such a top-down approach on
learning English as a second language.
Here, it is described how a part icular Englis h language class works in a t ypical Indian
high school, where English may or may not be the primary medium o f instructions. This
descript ion is based on personal narrat ives of former students. A class of learner strength 50,
or even more, is taught by a single teacher according to the guidelines provided by the school
management, which in turn fo llows the rules o f the education board with which the school
happens to be affiliated. Typically there is a main text-book supplemented with its pair o f
work-book. There is one addit io nal reader-text for the sake of increasing fluent reading. If the
administration is very particular about good language learning, there can be an addit ional
grammar work-book. According to the Central Board of Secondary Educat ion, a 6-day
working week should include 240 minutes of second language teaching (40 minutes per
session). The teacher is expected to cover it all by the end of the academic year. Now, it is a
well known fact that the course book texts are not so much as texts as pre-texts of introducing
pre-selected grammar syllabus. No matter how colorful the book is or how different ly the
lessons are designed, the goal is only to provide what Dogme ELT educators call grammar
McNuggets (Pulverness, as cited in Thornbury, 2002, para. 7). This can be easily perceived
by anyo ne who has ever had a chance at teaching English or had been invo lved in course
book production. Typically t he main text-book has 12 chapters and similar is the case wit h
the work-book. Being controlled by external forces, this allows litt le freedo m to experiment
with language teaching; even a very learned teacher would find himself/herself confined
while juggling between three or more books. Where is then any time left to focus on the inner
life of the learners? Who cares to allow the vo ices to emerge? More often, than not, learners
are not actually engaged wit h the language and learning process. Same is the case wit h the
teacher. The pressure to cover the ent ire syllabus is so much on the teacher that if they try to
do something creat ively radical, then, the prescribed course work wont be completed. This
might result in ugly scenes wit h the parents as well as administration and the teacher may
have to lose his/her job.
4. How Language can be Claimed Back
This, rather detailed description, gives a good idea o f how flawed the language
teaching pedagogy is and how it fails at mult iple levels. The prevailing Indian educat ional
scenario is clearly what Freire (1970) calls the banking concept of education (P. 72). The
widely held belief is that a better teacher is one who fills the learners more completely and
good learners are those who allow themselves to be filled. Such a language learning process
is merely one of re-producing and devo id o f any actual production of language in the class. In
other words, co-creation of knowledge does not take place at all. Nothing can be a matter of
more grave concern, if classrooms are supposed to create a zone of proximal development
(Lake, 2012, p. 39). In such learning environments learners are totally detached fro m their
immediate realit y as the topics are completed alien to their own existent ial experience (Freire,
1970, p. 71).
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On the contrary, the Dogme approach in ELT establishes the who le learning experience
on what the learners bring into the class their own knowledge o f language no matter
however limited. For the new generat ion of ESL learners, English is simply there in various
forms in the world around them. What they need is to engage wit h it. The Dogme approach in
ELT grounds the language learning experience in the real and relevant world o f the learner.
The teacher begins to work with the English that the learners bring to the class, not pushing
externally prepared material on them. The who le lesson is built around dialogue and the
subsequent language that emerges. The pro mpts given are often in the forms of quest ions that
cannot be answered in mo nosyllabic words, learners have to come forward and take part in
the conversat ion. The quest ions are also not about some imaginary situations. Rather they are
often about the learners personal experiences such as Where are you planning to go this
summer? Or what did you do on this weekend? In advanced learner levels, the teacher even
leaves the cho ice o f the topic to the students as they are more likely to come up with
something which can be more of their interest. The focus is kept on three things knowledge,
experience, and feelings of the learners. The emergent language from this init ial dialogue
forms the basis of further dialogues, grammar exercises, or pronunciat ion drills. The teacher
allows the learners to choose where they want to go next; however he/she st ill steers the
conversation towards areas which may need more attention. But there are never any
prescribed grammar content or vocabulary lists that must be mastered at the end of each class.
Also photocopies and pre-recorded CDs or cassettes are banned. Real talk forms the lesson
core.
This sort of teaching is clearly driven by a student-centered pedagogy that connects the
who le learning process to the real life experiences. Learning a second language is not a linear
process, which is the way we are expected to learn fro m a course work designed for the
who le academic year. The who le course work is actually a linear grammar syllabus disguised
as a series of themat ic units supposed to be completed one after the other in a serialised order.
Is it really how we learn things in our day to day life? The real life is messy, not a series of
graded experiences. We learn a lot of things in various ways and later reconnect them to
make sense. Similarly, the process of language learning is a kind o f a bricolage where we try
to connect what we already know to what we are experiencing now (Meddings, 2012). In a
Dogme ELT class the learners are expected to put together all the bits o f language that they
already possessed or have been recent ly exposed to or experienced (Meddings, 2013). As
Thornbury (2000) explains,
Learning, too, takes place in the here-and-now. What is learned is what
matters. Teaching - like talk - should centre on the local and relevant concerns
of the people in the room, not on the remote world of coursebook characters,
nor the contrived world o f grammat ical structures. No methodological
structures should interfere with, nor inhibit, the free flow o f part icipant-driven
input, output and feedback. (Para. 12).
One might wonder whether it is not too haphazard and risky. If there is a danger that
next to nothing is learnt due to lack o f prescribed course content? There are two reasons that
put any such negat ive speculat ions to rest. Firstly, at this po int, one must consider the
immense and co mplex role that learner engagement, autonomy, and mot ivat ion has to play in
the overall learning process. Ellis (as cited in Thornbury, 2002) argues that "giving learners
control of the discourse is one way o f making the classroom acquisit io n-rich" (para. 3). This
is also consistent with Slimani's (as cited in Thornbury, 2002, para. 3) claim, that topics
init iated by learners are more readily recalled than topics init iated by the teacher. Relevant to
this, self-determinat ion theory states that the freedom to choose is a necessary prerequisite for
mot ivat ion (Deci and Ryan, 1985). Van Lier cites evidence that "intrinsic mot ivat ion is
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closely related to the perception o f being able to choose and o f being so mehow in control of
one's actions. Act ions that are perceived as being externally controlled (on the other hand)
have a tendency to reduce intrinsic mot ivat ion." (as cited in Thornbury, 2002, para. 3).
Gardner and Lambert (1959) showed, in their pio neering study, that language achievement is
not only strongly related to language aptitude, but to motivat ion as well. Therefore, it can be
concluded that topics that are "externally controlled" will have a de-motivat ing tendency.
Secondly, Dogme ELT approach is neit her haphazard nor unprofessio nal. Though it
does not tell the teachers what they should do, it surely suggests what they might like to do.
The teachers must go in the class wit h a clear idea of the needs of the class, which they ma y
learn through formal or informal means. Though the Dogme approach is dialogue based, the
teacher needs to be well prepared about where it will be going and how to check if it s getting
too much o ff the track. In other words, the teachers task is to provide scaffo lding to the
learners (Lang, 2012, p. 53). This means providing help as and when required by the learner,
making lessons flexible, and always willing to change the plans for the sake o f increased
learner engagement. According to Vygotsky, this is how a zone o f proximal development is
established where the teacher and the student co-construct knowledge (Lake, 2012, p. 39).
It is true that in Indian educat ional scenario, it is an int imidat ing prospect for a teacher
to relinquish even partial control of the class to the learner. But allowing learners, some say
in deciding the topic agenda, does not mean that teachers must relinquish their authorit y.
Their role is st ill very important as it is the teacher who helps the learners reach their full
potential by skillfully using the opportunities that arise during the course of a lesson. As a
mentor, the teacher helps the students notice what they might not see on their own (Lake,
2012, p. 63). It is not about being professio nal or unprofessio nal; it is all about sharing and
co-constructing knowledge.
5. Teaching Unplugged: A Critical Pedagogy
The Dogme in ELT was started as a critique of a weak form of Co mmunicat ive
Language Teaching (CLT) in 2000. Fro m then on Scott Thornbury and Luke Meddings have
tried to keep its crit ical essence intact with the support of Dogme ELT professio nals fro m
around the world. Dogme ELT is not just about materials-light and pared to minimum
approach to ELT; rather, it really seeks to bring about a change in the condit io n of its
learners. Thornbury (2001) declares that it is a state of mind that becomes part of a teachers
pedagogy forever. It is a sort of crit ical stance that permeates the consciousness of the
teacher-learner. By foregrounding dialogue and personal narratives o f the learners, it has
brought about a radical change in the process of language learning. The teacher is not allowed
to talk to or talk about the learners; rather, they are required to talk with each other,
engaging in a meaningful dialogue. This is what Freire (1970) calls authentic education:
Authent ic educat ion is not carried on by A for B or by A about B,
but rather by A with B, mediated by the world a world which impresses
and challenges both parties, giving rise to views or opinio ns about it. (p. 93).
At the same t ime, materials, especially course books, can also come between the
teacher and the students, preventing them fro m any meaningful discussio n suffused wit h the
vitalit y o f their own learning experience. Instead of beco ming the facilitator of crit ical
learning, the teacher may get reduced to a 'materials operator', separated from the learners by
a screen o f 'things to do'. Here the inherent problem is that the course book is written by
someone else, so mewhere else; who has never met the learners and the students, and hence,
does not know their backgrounds or their learning st yles. How can the author(s) or
publisher(s) be allowed to impose the materials of their cho ice on others? Giving vo ice to
every teachers concerns, Adrian Underhill (n.d.) has rightly asked:
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These absentee authors write the material which is then imposed on my
students who have to work through it. Is that the only way o f working? Why
should the total process be split in two, only half o f which happens in the
classroom? Fro m where co mes the assumpt ion that students should do only
half o f the total task? Why impose material from somewhere else if they can
make their own using their own resources as well as mine? (Underhill, n.d.,
para. 7)
Dogme ELT rejects any such unauthent ic materials that are not connected with the
learners own experience. Instead, learners are encouraged to design their own texts, taking
control of their learning materials. This is really an empowering step. If it sounds too radical
to be true then it must be noted that students have developed their own books in a variet y o f
scenarios. Kulchyt ska (as cited by Thornbury, 2002) describes how an advanced class of hers
in Ukraine designed and wrote what they called their "Alternat ive Textbook". They chose
their own themes and texts. One o f the students described it as an opportunit y that gives them
the freedo m to select what is more relevant and meaningful to them. It also makes them read
a lot of other authent ic texts. Nerina Conte (2013) also describes her own init iat ive in an
elementary children's class in Barcelo na, in which the children produced their own portfo lios
of work, complete with drawings and photos. Through such act ivit ies and init iat ives, the
language, in fact, becomes the means of communicat ion and activit y itself beco mes
meaningful. The students o f different intelligence types can also find their posit ion wit hin a
group and have the feeling of being important and significant which helps in contributing to
their intrinsic motivat ion which later reflects in their attitudes towards language learning
(Cimermanov, 2013, P.182). This is how education actually empowers the learners by
putting them into responsible roles, changing them fro m receptacles to co-constructors of
knowledge.
This exercise in creat ing ones own book is also significant on another level. It allows
learners personal agency to funct ion freely, thereby radically changing their percept ions of
themselves. A Dogme lesson in ELT does not use English for display, but for meaningfu l
exchange. The learners are mot ivated not by the need to pass a test, but by the co mmo nly felt
need to express their membership o f a small and interdependent culture. Here the teacher is
simply another member of the group a more knowledgeable other who significant ly
shapes the learners ident it ies as his/her own is shaped in return. The relationship that
emerges between the teacher and the learner eventually leads to self-discovery and selfaffirmat ion (Taylor, 1994). Dogme ELT, as a critical pedagogy, upho lds the notion that
everyo ne has their own way o f being who they are. So none can decide what or how others
should learn. Others can only act as facilitators and mentors.
6. Giving the Poor Their Due
The Dogme approachs goal is to restore teaching to its pre-method "state of grace" when all there was just a room with so me furniture, a blackboard, a teacher and some
students, and where learning was jo int ly constructed out of the talk that evolved in that
simplest of situations (Thornbury, 2000). Thats why Thornbury calls it a pedagogy of bare
essentials (Thornbury, 2010, para. 1). In India, there is a surprisingly great disparit y between
the pedagogy adopted for teaching English to the children o f rich and the children of poor,
marginalized people. Poor qualit y educat ion is mo re common amo ng disadvantaged segments
of societ ies, with educat ion being poorly adapted to the cultural and linguist ic contexts of
particular groups. The poor, who depend on the state-run schools, mostly have a very dismal
experience of English language learning. Dogme ELT is econo mically efficient as it adopts a
materials light approach. This would make it possible to be used in government schools
most of which are poorly equipped in technical equipments such as audio-visual devices or
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computers. Clearly, by adopting Dogme in ELT the disparit y between the qualit y o f English
language teaching available to upper inco me group students and lower inco me group students
can be reduced. It is important from a socio-economic perspective because poor qualit y
education risks reinforcing inequalit ies and sustaining inter-generat ional poverty and
marginalizat ion. By using Dogme ELT, learners could be taught English keeping their
backgrounds into considerat ion and imposing no extra financial burden. This would increase
the emplo yment opportunit ies of the young learners from marginalized co mmunit ies as well
as the resultant earnings and improved qualit y of life. Ult imately, it would contribute towards
building a more equal and fair societ y.
7. A Matter of Multicultural Identity
Exporting a methodology, which developed in a part icular regio n o f the world, to other
regions has not always met with success. What works wonder in one scenario goes dud into
another. The Dogme in ELT is fortunately o ne of those ideas that work all o ver the world
despite the amazing cultural disparit y on glo bal level. Its been successfully emplo yed on
primary level in Barcelo na, Spain; worked well in Peruvian Schools where English was the
second language of the teachers too; and was implemented successfully in Hungry for adult
learners (Thornbury, 2011). There is enough evidence to show that it is because o f the
adaptabilit y o f the approach which is grounded in real and local experience. Dogme ELT
acknowledges what Holliday suggests that language classes are "small cultures", locally
constituted, with local needs and local concerns (as cited in Thornbury, 2002, para. 9).
Hence, the texts, and the discourses which they require, should also be locally generated. In
practice, this might mean that the learners themselves choose their topics and texts. Dogme
ELT has a high potential o f success in India where the cultural variet y is mindboggling. Two
different scenarios can be considered for better understanding o f this approach. Take the first
example a dalit girl fro m a litt le town of Bihar should not need to go through a long story,
describing how the ghosts of Christ mas the past, Christ mas the present, and Christ mas the
future forced Old Mr. Scrooge to do some acts of kindness, in order to learn so me new
vocabulary or grammatical structure. She cannot relate to the concept of charit y being
associated with Christ mas as it is too alien to her own experience and culture. Forcing stories,
which co me fro m a strict ly Brit ish context, on learners fro m a very different culture results in
alienat ion rather than engagement. It can even have distorting effect on the learners
perception of self-recognit io n (Taylor, 1994). Instead, that girl, and her fellow learners, can
relate with the tales of kindness of so me local hero/heroine retold in English. A Dogme
approach will even encourage them to discover some more local legends. Take another totally
different scenario A mult icultural urban school in India where students of various cultural
and religious backgrounds study together. Everyone is forced to study about some religious
or cultural topic which may not be relevant to all. It may be even contrary to what some o f
the learners believe and they can never accept the text as facts. Such a text is again an
example o f academic vio lence that helpless learners have to endure. By adopting a Dogme
approach, the focus can be kept on language learning, instead o f promotion of the beliefs of a
particular communit y. A Dogme approach in ELT wont force a boy fro m Kashmir to study
stories fro m Kerala or vice versa; yet an overall similarit y in the level o f language learning
can be managed on national level. Dogme approach would work very well in mult icultural
scenarios because learners are not restricted by a single textbook or any other pre-designed
learning material. The emergent language in classroom dialogue would reflect the different
backgrounds o f learners. Instead of ho lding up one culture as the model to learners from other
cultures, this approach may bring different cultures to the fore by encouraging people to tell
their own story. Applying these reasons make it clear that this approach would work very
well in a culturally diverse context in India.
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8. Conclusion
These are far fro m the final words about Dogme ELT. There is still much left to be
explored about its implicat ions in Indian context. Now, only empirical evidences, after a
practical applicat ion o f unplugged teaching, can provide further indications o f its success in
Indian context. However, on theoretical level, two big challenges, which this approach may
face, can be foreseen. First, the disapproval of parents as well as learners. Indian pedagogical
practices are deeply entrenched into culture (Clarke, 2001) and any attempt at novelt y is seen
as an outrage against tradit ions. Co mmo n masses would be very skept ical about any
pedagogy that brings teacher and learners on one plane, reducing the teachers role fro m
controller to facilitator. Teachers have occupied a place o f honour and worship in India since
the days o f yore. It will take so me sincere effort and lots of pat ience to bring about such a
radical pragmat ic shift in popular opinio ns. Another challenge is to find and train teachers
who can use this pedagogy effectively. As Dogme is a state of mind, a stance deeply
entrenched in consciousness; mere content knowledge o f English language wont be a
qualificat ion for being an unplugged teacher. The Dogme ELT teachers would also need to
make this paradigm shift, fro m viewing their role as a bestower of knowledge to that of a
mentor. He or she would need to be properly trained to explo it the situations in classrooms
for creating more knowledge and also to be ever understanding o f the learners needs.
Unfortunately, the teacher education is a much neglected field in academics in India. As
Dogme ELT can be locally adapted, it would need much brainstorming and discussio n to
develop suitable pract ices for various Indian contexts. Again it would need a lot of hard work
but the prospects are promising because India boasts of a youth populat ion that is ready to
welco me a change.
Indeed, there is no denying that unplugged teaching ho lds great potential for turning
around the ELT classroom situat ions. It would create zones of proximal developments that
would radically change the language learning experience. Hopefully it would establish a
dialogic pedagogy that would mark the beginning of a change in Indian educat ion scenario
on a broader level. It would be interest ing to try unplugged teaching wit h other subjects on an
experimental basis.
This was just our side of the story. Who, then, will jo in us and continue the dialogue?
About the Authors:
Sadeqa Ghazal is a research scho lar in t he School o f Humanit ies and Social Sciences at
Indian Inst itute of Techno logy, Patna, India. She co mpleted her masters in English fro m
Patna Universit y, Patna, India. Her area of research interest is English language teaching in
ESL/EFL context. Her other research interests include- childrens literature and translat ion
studies.
Dr. Smriti Singh is assistant professor in the School o f Humanit ies and Social Sciences at
Indian Institute of Techno logy, Patna. Her research areas include contemporary literary
theory, linguist ics and language teaching, and Indian writ ing in English. Her other interests
include Dalit literature.
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Works Cited
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Table of Contents
Sr.
No
1
Paper Title / Author(s) / Country
Pages
Editorial
-Mustafa Mubarak Pathan, Libya
03
A Model for Cognit ive Process of Neologisms Translation
04-19
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
-Seyed Moha mma d Moghadas and Masoud Sharififar, Iran
Abels Identity Crisis and his Journey to his Native S elf in House Made of
Dawn: A Critical Analysis Perspective
-Irem S eklem, Germany
Diversity vs. Differ ence: A Critical Analysis of Hybridity and Cultural Identity
Crisis in the Novels of Cheikh Ha midou Kane and Chinua Achebe
-Alassane Abdoulaye DIA, Senegal
Exploring the Struggle for Survival and Clashes of Generation Gap and Racial
Pride in Lorraine Hansberrys Raisin in the Sun
-Dr. C. N. Baby Maheswari and Dr. Katyayani Sanga m, Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia
Face Value: The Effect of Ethnicity and Gender on Student Expectations of
English Language Instructors in the UAE
-Nausheen Pasha Zaidi, Amy Holtby, Ernest Afari and David Thomson, UAE
Guidelines for Effective TAP (Translation for Academic Purposes) Tutorial
Courses
-Elha m Yazdanmehr and Sara Shoghi, Iran
Learn and Unlearn: Drama as an Effective Tool in Teaching English Language
and Communication
-Shiba ni Ba nerjee, India
Reading Stories to Enhance English Grammar Intake:Correlational Analysis
-Yoseph Gebr ehiwot Tedla and Mekwanent Tilahun Desta, Ethiopia
School-Aged Childr en and Adult Language Production in an Indonesian TV
Show
-Kisno and Dr. Sangga m Siahaan, M.Hum, Indonesia
Situated Motivation: A Framework for how EFL Learners are Motivated in the
Classroom
-Truong Sa Nguyen, Vietnam
Teaching English Idioms through Mnemonic Devices at SSC Level in Pakistan
Sidra Mahmood, Pakistan
Teaching Unplugged: Applications of Dogme ELT in India
-Sadeqa Ghazal and Dr. Smriti Singh, India
The Usefulness of Translation in Foreign Language Learning: Students Attitudes
-Ana B. Fernndez-Guerra, Spain
The Uses of bahi as a Discourse Marker in Daily Libyan Arabic Conversations
-Kha deja Mujtaba Ahmed, USA
Trauma of War as a Paradigmatic Discourse in Doris Lessings Martha Quest and
A Proper Marriage
-Dr. Deepti Dharma ni and Anu Sheoka nd, India
Trevor Griffithss Comedia ns from Marxist Perspective
-Jayalakshmi B. , India
Vol:2, Issue:1, January-March, 2014
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20-30
31-44
45-53
54-68
69-78
79-91
92-105
106-119
120-129
130-140
141-152
153-170
171-181
182-189
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