There is evidence that it is most effective when it is a standalone subject in schools, or at the minimum when it is a standalone subject within a broader curriculum in life skills. Where it is neither, the quality of sex education will be found to be failing to meet the needs of students (Whelan, 2013)
Young people in school are often faced with new and important decisions to make and problems to solve. School is oftentimes the place where "children learn how to make use of internal and external sources to solve problems" (Arslan, 2010, p
Body positions, hand gestures, facial expressions and eye movements are all part of the communication process. As an example, "eye gaze can be used as a cue to the speaker's communicative intention, and help a child infer the meaning of a word" (Baldwin, 2000)
Another website described communicative language teaching using almost the exact opposite phraseology by stating "most groups are enthusiastic about the lesson opportunities which CLT offers. However, some also indicated they felt constrained by the system under which they operated, especially those teaching in settings which are particularly exam-focused" (Belchamber, 2007)
Instead, CLT provides the students the classroom opportunity to have conversations and discussions using the target language. Studies have shown that the communicative language translation method of teaching allows for a much stronger relationship between the teacher and the student, and even though this relationship might be strong, there is even a stronger relationship "between an individual's language and their personal and ethnic identity (which) has received general acceptance and substantial support within social science literature" (Bishop, 2008, p
Communication and culture There are different methods for communicating depending on which culture the person is raised or comfortable in. In a recent book on cultural communications, Bowe and Martin state that even though speakers who are communicating interculturally typically do so using one single language, each individual usually brings to the table their own cultural expectations based on their understanding of the language (Bowe, Martin, 2007)
Australian Education and Culture The Australian educational system has recently undergone some heralded changes that have marked inclusion of all students. A 2008 report found that the newly elected 'liberal' government's educational focus was to emphasize the fact that "social inclusion must be a core responsibility for all institutions that accept public funding, irrespective of history and circumstances" (Bradley, Noonan, Nugent, Scales, 2008, p
That's not to say that religious educational systems are any better or worse than other educational systems, but the Middle East is also well-known for its low quality of education. One recent study determined that the "low quality of education is a primary concern and one of the greatest challenges facing education and government leaders across the region" (Chapman, Miric, 2009, p
In a recent book on cultural communications, Bowe and Martin state that even though speakers who are communicating interculturally typically do so using one single language, each individual usually brings to the table their own cultural expectations based on their understanding of the language (Bowe, Martin, 2007). Another study determined that the "important starting point in thinking about 'culture', in the context of intercultural communication, is the amount of baggage carried by generalized differences between national cultures" (Durant, Shepherd, 2009, p
So, at least according to their words, the Australians are making some serious changes to their educational system, and many of these changes on the higher level have been badly needed for some time. A recent report showed that "Only three Australian universities appear in the top 100 -- The Australian National University, The University of Melbourne and The University of Sydney -- and even then in the second half of that pack" (Gale, 2011, p
This approach has been in existence for a number of years and it has been commonly used for a number of language development courses. One recent study confirms the approach, stating; "the vast majority of language development studies have relied on written transcripts of the speech young children hear around them" (Goodrich, Kam, 2009, p
Other much more common gestures take place on a regular basis every minute of every day. One recent study determined that "90% of what people say and feel is communicated through their actions, not their words" (Hansen, 2010, p
Both the CLT method and grammar translation offer advantages and disadvantages to the teachers and students. Since "language has been shown to attribute meaning to an individual's understanding" (Kramsch, 2006) it makes perfect sense that the exact opposite is true as well; that an individual's understanding gives meaning to the language
Agresto. "You know your exact career for the rest of your life once you enter university" (Krieger, 2007, p
Another aspect to schooling in Australia, from the international student's perspective, is acquiring a language that is not even close or similar to their native language. A study of international students in Finland found that people who lived in countries whose official languages were not commonly spoken in other countries put a lot of emphasis on knowing other foreign languages (Lehtonen, Karjalainen, 2009)
83). Additionally, Li wrote that "one's thinking style or understanding is influenced by cultural values and childrearing processes" (Li, 2005, p
One recent report determined that such a situation might be found in Australia, at least concerning Iraqi, or other international students. The article reported that some universities in Australia were being blamed for allowing students whose first language was not English to graduate with communication skills that were insufficient (Maslen, 2008)
There have been a wide number of studies and experts that agree that such assimilation should take place, but the progress is slow. One expert described the risk of not doing so in the following terms; "If, because of rheir Muslim identities, Muslim-Australian youth are not receiving as strong and inclusive an educational experience as they could be, there is a danger that their educational outcomes will suffer, in turn impacting their ability to access the labour market and participate fully in civic life, two of the main avenues for active citizenship" (Mansouri, Kamp, 2007, p
One web site that provides readers with a definition of grammar translation may have presented it in the best conceivable manner when it stated "for left-brained students who respond well to rules, structure and correction, the grammar-translation method can provide a challenging and even intriguing classroom environment. For those students who don't respond well to such structures, however, it is obvious that the grammar-translation method must be tempered with other approaches to create a more flexible and conducive methodology" (Thuleen, 1996)
524). Since is generally accepted that "appropriate problem solving is achieved by effective communication" (McWhirter, Voltan-Acar, 2000) it lends to reason that as these young children grow and blossom, it is extremely important that they learn how to effectively communicate not only with teachers, instructors and administrators, but with their classmates and colleagues as well