Using Dogme ELT in Reading Classes

Abstract

This study was an attempt to investigate the effect of Dogme ELT on EFL learners' reading comprehension. Accordingly, 60 upper-intermediate female and male EFL learners were selected from among a total number of 92 through their performance on a piloted sample First Certificate in English (FCE) test. Based on the results, the students were randomly assigned to an experimental and control group with 30 participants in each. Both groups underwent the same amount of teaching time which comprised teaching reading comprehension based on Dogme ELT for the first group and teaching reading comprehension based on the general guidelines of the language school for the control group. A posttest (another sample FCE reading comprehension) was administered at the end of the treatment to both groups and their mean scores on the test were compared through an independent samples t-test. The resultled to the rejection of the null hypothesis, thereby demonstrating that the learners in the experimental group benefited significantly more than those in the control group in terms of improving their reading comprehension. In other words, Dogme ELT proved beneficial for teaching reading. Based on the findings of this study which reaffirm the results of similar studies in other countries, there seems to be ample evidence supporting the promotion and application of Dogme ELT in reading classes in the Iranian context.