Implications of a Dogme lesson in the context of a Sri Lankan classroom in learning English as a second language

Abstract

The Dogme English Language Teaching (ELT) is a teaching approach with less material use. The undergraduates in the study context have an intimidating attitude towards the English language. Less research is available in Sri Lanka, evaluating the learner interest with a Dogme ELT lesson. The researcher conducted a quasi-experiment with 40 students as part of a mixed- method study, selected from a semi-government university in Sri Lanka. Both experimental and controlled groups had 20 students respectively. The researcher taught both groups for 4 days. The experimental group underwent language scaffolding with Dogme ELT with less material use. The controlled group learned the same topics, with heavy material use. The lessons scaffolded in the experimental group were: (1) Use of Prepositions, (2) American Vs British English, (3) Types of Nouns, and (4) Formality of vocabulary. After the intervention, the proficiency scores of both groups were analyzed with an independent T-test. The results were significant with a p-value of <.00001, claiming Dogme ELT could be effective in the Sri Lankan context. It could be stated that the students can maximize their learning potential with less material use. The researcher provided questionnaires to the students in the experimental group, enquiring their opinions towards this methodology. The findings through descriptive analysis and thematic coding of the data related to the student questionnaires revealed that the students should be free to suggest content in their syllabus, especially regarding the speaking skill. The teachers in the same department were given questionnaires to evaluate their opinions about this methodology. It was discovered that these lessons should be minimized in the classroom due to the unpredictability of emerging topics, which do not align with the objectives in the syllabus. However, in this study, a small sample was used, in an undergraduate context. It can be tested with school-level students for a longer period.