Plugging into an Unplugged Classroom by Chia Suan Chong

[Heike Philp]

Recording (57min): http://lancelot.adobeconnect.com/p5stiiprnf6/

Chia Suan Chong

@chiasuan

Plugging into an Unplugged Classroom

After many years of focus on techniques, the teaching of English language in the last 20 years has come to a juncture where we realise that embracing the new does not mean we have to throw the baby out with the bathwater. By getting rid of coursebooks and the over-reliance on published materials, an approach like Thornbury’s Dogme gives the teacher the space to incorporate the best of all his/her techniques, approaches and knowledge, and allow for increased student talking time and tailored lessons to fit the individual student’s interests and needs. However, much has been discussed about the use of technology dominating the classroom, taking the focus off the students. This workshop looks at what Dogme is and how the improvised use of technology can provide reading and listening practice, learner training and enhanced learner choice, bringing the world to doorsteps of the Dogme classroom, where the learner remains at the centre of it all.

Bio

Chia Suan Chong is a Communication Studies graduate with an MA in Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching from King’s College London, and has been teaching EFL since 2002. She currently runs General English and Business English classes, in addition to teacher training (CELTA) courses at International House London, and has been active at conferences speaking about ELF, Dogme, Systemic Functional Grammar, and Pragmatics. Active on Twitter, Chia blogs regularly atchiasuanchong.wordpress.com.