A colleague has described the current state of CI in this way:
…as far as I can tell, this is the business model of all the people capitalizing on the CI movement:
1. To access a blog or post on a blog they ask you to become a member by providing an email that goes into their database.
2. From there they start bombarding you with everything from FB groups, YouTube daily videos, webinars, self-paced course, podcasts, meetings in Instagram, “free” stuff and of course their services to schools (that’s where they make their most). All PLC communities have some kind of fee involved.
3. In short, they hustle – they have strong social media presences and are constantly posting everything everywhere to eventually sell their product. They attend conferences and provide in-person trainings through third parties as well. Their mission is to make money, Education and research-based second language acquisition training is lost in the bottom line of their products.
4. Three districts in my area have now purchased the TPRS curriculum and two others the M. Bex SOMOS curriculum….
I would add to the above:
Both the old TPRS curriculums and the new SOMOS curriculum have become like the old traditional textbooks. The model is the same. These models are out of touch with the research.
Just as with the old textbook model, districts are now spending up to and more than $10,000 on a set of Martina Bex’s materials and teacher trainings.
The problem – a problem that is running the actual and true research on CI off the rails and into the sand – is that neither the materials and trainings from Blaine Ray, nor those from Bex, again, do not have their feet in the research, but rather in sales.
This benefits the sellers but not the teachers, who need good information that aligns with the research in order to be able to actually reach their students with their language instruction. They don’t need another textbook. Teachers’ time and money is also thus drained in buying and studying products that don’t really work for them. The beat goes on and on and the teachers and kids lose out.
It’s not exactly a big surprise. We are in a decaying society that is swimming in greed, not to mention hatred, and one that is in free fall on many if not all levels. So, why would we in language education be exempt from all the chaos and confusion that is wiping out so many gains in our social fabric right now, gains that were the result of the heroism of recent generations?