Research Progress Report

     I think I have narrowed down my topic from CLT in general to how does CLT affect students of different cultures and how can we in turn be more culturally sensitive to these students' needs. So far I have started putting together my outline of where I want to take the paper. I took your feedback of narrowing down my topic to where I could ask a specific question for my focus. I want to research the education systems of multiple countries (such as the article, The end of CLT) and study how it clashes with the principles of clt. After assessing the situation, I want to take it a step further and have a small focus upon how we can accommodate students from cultures where the clt style isn't applicable. Also as a final note, comment upon if there is a best method to account for all different learners.

1. http://www.mjal.org/Journal/Community.pdf
     The first article I found is a basic overview of clt from an american perspective.I thought it was interesting because the article states advantages but no disadvantages. I'm planning on using this article to display the elitist type attitudes Americans can have towards their own methods. It shows how we are not being culturally sensitive when saying this method is universal. It does provide a lot of good information though about the ins and outs of clt and how it is used in the classroom.

2. "The end of CLT: a context approach to language teaching" (Bax)
     I really wanted to include this article in my research because it gives specific examples of clt failing in other countries. It gave examples from Czech Republic, Holland, and Taiwan which is a good contrast. I feel many times people don't drastically separate us from European nations but their school systems are very different from ours. The article also has plenty of contrasting opinions which will help provide me with evidence of the contrast between U.S attitudes and other countries.

3. http://yin-yang-india.com/tag/comparison-of-education-systems-around-the-world/
     This is actually a blog by a woman who relocated to India after growing up in the States. She compares the Indian views on education (pre-college) to American views and standards. I think this is such an interesting perspective because it is a reflection upon her own culture. I experienced this when I went abroad to Spain, it caused me to somewhat question the way we do things in America and how it differs from other countries. She also provides TED talks links which could be useful (further research needed).