1. “Dogmetising” Exam Classes
@natibrandi, IH Buenos Aires

2. Conversation Driven (Meddings &
Thornbury: 2009)
Text Driven (Thornbury: 2013)
Materials light
Focus on Emergent Language
DOGME

3. Standardised exams
Different papers: Reading, Writing,
Listening, Grammar and Vocabulary,
Speaking
Cambridge English Examinations
IELTS
Michigan Exams
International Exams

4. 1) Little room for creativity.
2) Backwash.
3) “Teachers have little flexibility in
determining the course content”.
4) Overdoing exam practice.
5) Exam tasks can be very artificial.
6) Frustration.
7) Anything else .
Disadvantages

5. Advantages?
1)”Passport to an English teaching job in
some European countries”.
2) Valid evidence of the learner´s level.
3) Although some tasks are
rather artificial, the skills involved
in completing such tasks can be
transferred to the real world.

6. “Chatting has the beneficial effect of
relaxing the group , and helping
forge a group dynamic that is
conducive to learning.”
(Meddings & Thornbury:2009:10)
Conversation Driven: Activity 1 Intro

7. Conversation Driven: Activity 1: Procedure
Visualisation: My ideal English Self
Objective: By the end of the activity learners will have
discussed what motivates them to study English.
Procedure:
1) Selling?
2)“Imagine yourself in two years’ time, you´re using the
English language, where are you? What are you doing? Why
are you using English?”
3) Share with partner.
4) Group discussion.
Follow up: Chatbox?

8. Conversation Driven:

9. Conversation Driven: Scaffolding
“The metaphor of conversation, as a
supportive, but temporary, scaffold
for language development, is central
to the dogme approach… the
learning of any skill is co-
constructed”

10. Conversation Driven: Activity
1) Get learners to read a text. Such text comes with
an exam task with 7 multiple-choice questions.
2) Don´t get learners to do the task, instead do it
yourself explaining why you would do it as such, or,
even better, make a recording of you and a
colleague discussing the exercise.
But why do we do this?

11. Poll
Would you ever get learners to do
the exact same activity three times
or more?

12. Materials light:
Imagine that while doing a word formation
activity you find students have problems with
adjectives ending in -ed and -ing. What would
you do to help them improve?

13. Materials Light:
I´ve been……………….. (interest) in education
since I was a kid.
I decided to move to Buenos Aires because I
thought Montevideo was a bit………………
(bore)
I think Reality Shows are absolutely………..
(fascinate).

15. But why repeat the same activity?
Demand High 3Ps
Once is never enough.

16. Back to Slide 1
Conversation driven. How can we foster
conversation in class to establish good St-St T-Ss
relations? How can we use teacher talk / student
talk to scaffold learning?
Materials light – How can we use less materials so
that lesson can be more conducive to learning?
Focus on emergent Language: OR
Emergent learner needs. How can we tackle our
students´needs?

17. @natibrandi
natibrandi@gmail.com