7 things I keep saying in training rooms that nobody writes down

Cecilia Nobre

Hey teacher,

You know that moment mid-lesson when something shifts and you make a tiny call that nobody will ever see in a lesson plan, but it changes everything? I collect those moments. I've been collecting them for years. Here are 7 of them, yours to keep.

7 small lesson tweaks that change everything:

Put reflection in the middle, not just the end (that's where the thinking is still "warm").
Let learners map their L1 to L2 differences openly because that tension is gold, not interference.
Teach meaning first, form second, always.
Add 1 multimodal task a week to see how your learners actually think, not just what they can produce. This could be as simple as asking learners to draw a concept before they explain it in words or to choose an image that represents how they feel about a topic and talk about why. You'll be surprised what comes out.
Recycle 1 language point 3x in the same lesson... we know that once is exposure and 3x is the beginning of ownership.
Turn a student's question into a teachable mini-moment because their curiosity is your best curriculum.
Use fewer slides and more human interaction. I promise the room will feel different.

Now, the image above is more than a pretty board. Let me walk you through what I think matters most in it.

It maps 8 things that hold a Dogme lesson together when there's no script to hide behind. Things like tasks that spark real talk, feedback that supports learning without killing the momentum and how to handle emergent language without derailing the whole conversation.

But the section I keep coming back to is number 6: questions that keep conversation alive. Specifically this:

Ask genuine, personal questions.
Use evaluative questions that invite thinking.
Let go of display and comprehension questions that stop interaction dead.

That last one alone is worth printing out and sticking somewhere you'll see it before class.

The image gives you the map. The Linkedin post is where teachers got honest about what it actually looks like in their classrooms. (come and read the comments, I think you'll find something that resonates)

And look, I know what some of you might be thinking. No plan, no coursebook, no fixed script... are we just showing up and hoping for the best?I understand why that question comes up. From the outside, it can look chaotic. But here's the thing:

Dogme doesn't reject preparation. It reframes it.

You prepare by knowing your learners well enough to respond to what matters in the moment. You prepare by sharpening your ear, not just for grammar slips, but for what's trying to be expressed underneath the words. It took me years to get comfortable with that. I was trained, like many of us, to treat a lesson plan as a map.

But Dogme is less about maps and more about orientation. You know roughly where you're going and you stay open to unexpected turns because sometimes that's where the best learning happens (I went deeper on all of this in a post that got some really honest comments. Read it here on Linkedinho )

So no, we're not winging it. We're working with what's already there and trying to make the most of it.

Have a beautiful week,

Cecilia

P.S. Speaking of Dogme in Action... my live synchronous course is coming back in June and if you've been quietly thinking "I really should do that one day" then friend, that day is coming. More details next week, but if you already know you're in, just hit reply and I'll pop you on the waiting list for a 20% discount before I open the doors to everyone else. First come, first served. You know what to do. 😉