Text-Based Discussion

Students generate a discussion from a single image or prompt; the teacher transcribes emergent language on the board; the class then uses that co-constructed text for brief language work before returning to a deeper discussion.

Procedure

1. Display a single provocative image, headline, or sentence — nothing more. Give students 30 seconds to look.
2. In pairs, students tell each other what they see, feel, or think. No preparation.
3. Open to the whole class. Teacher elicits responses and transcribes interesting phrases, useful language, and anonymised errors onto the board as they emerge.
4. The board becomes a shared text. Teacher highlights one language point that appeared organically — a useful phrase, a common error pattern, a structural gap. Brief, focused language work: form, meaning, use (3–5 minutes maximum).
5. Return to the original stimulus. Students discuss a deeper question the image raises, using the board language as a resource.

Tips

• The core principle is Dogme ELT: teaching is conversation-driven and materials-light. The text is not pre-selected — it emerges from what students say, making it immediately relevant to their level and needs.
• The teacher's role is to listen, transcribe, and notice — not to present. Resist pre-teaching vocabulary or explaining the image before students have spoken.
• The language work in step 4 must be brief and genuinely tied to what emerged. If nothing interesting came up, move on — don't manufacture a grammar point.
• Best with intermediate and above, where enough language emerges to work with. At lower levels, a question frame or partial sentences scaffold the initial pair stage.