What has the research demonstrated when comparing the whole language and phonics approaches?
journal article Show
Research in the Teaching of English Vol. 28, No. 4 (Dec., 1994) , pp. 391-417 (27 pages) Published By: National Council of Teachers of English https://www.jstor.org/stable/40171353 Read and download Log in through your school or library Alternate access options For independent researchers Read Online Read 100 articles/month free Subscribe to JPASS Unlimited reading + 10 downloads Read Online (Free) relies on page scans, which are not currently available to screen readers. To access this article, please contact JSTOR User Support. We'll provide a PDF copy for your screen reader.With a personal account, you can read up to 100 articles each month for free. Get StartedAlready have an account? Log in Monthly Plan
Yearly Plan
Abstract This study examined how 6 low-income children developed alphabetic knowledge in two different instructional settings, skills-based and whole language. Three learners from each setting were matched on their level of literacy experience at the beginning of kindergarten and on their level of achievement at the end of first grade. They were observed twice a week in their regular kindergarten and first grade classroom contexts. All 6 children learned alphabetic concepts and skills necessary for successful reading and writing, and the pattern of acquisition was similar across the two year period in both instructional settings despite differences in the pace of the children's acquisition of alphabetic knowledge. The learners in the skills-based classroom acquired alphabetic knowledge primarily through reading basals and writing from teacher prompts. The children in the whole language classroom acquired the same knowledge reading self-selected literature and writing texts with self-selected topics. Both instructional settings provided explicit phonics instruction (albeit contextualized differently), and both settings provided time for children to read self-selected books and to write. These common components may be necessary in beginning literacy instructional programs. Journal Information Research in the Teaching of English is a multidisciplinary journal composed of original research and scholarly essays on the relationships between language teaching and learning at all levels, preschool through adult. Articles reflect a variety of methodologies and address issues of pedagogical relevance related to the content, context, process, and evaluation of language learning. Publisher Information The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), a not-for-profit professional association of educators, is dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education. Since 1911, NCTE has provided a forum for the profession, an array of opportunities for teachers to continue their professional growth throughout their careers, and a framework for cooperation to deal with issues that affect the teaching of English. For more information, please visit www.ncte.org. Rights & Usage This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. The debate still rages among educators, parents, and experts. Whole language? Or phonics? Which approach to teaching reading works best? Is the pendulum swinging? Whole language? Phonics? A combination of the two? Which is the best approach? Proponents of each maintain their particular approach is the key to engaging children in reading. As arguments over methods -- arguments often based on politics as well as education -- intensify, the ability to read well is more critical than ever. Indeed, the ability to read is vital! Children who don't succeed at reading are at risk of doing poorly in school. That's why teachers and administrators are under increasing pressure to raise students' reading test scores. But actually guiding students to improve reading strategies and performance can be more difficult than simply recognizing the need. And then the haunting question remains: Which approach is best? Simply stated, supporters of the whole language approach think children's literature, writing activities, and communication activities can be used across the curriculum to teach reading; backers of phonics instruction insist that a direct, sequential mode of teaching enables students to master reading in an organized way. Emerging from the conflict over whole language and phonics is the increasingly widespread view that each approach has a different but potentially complementary role to play in the effective teaching of reading. Many educators now look for ways to use phonics as part of whole language instruction, striving to teach meaningful phonics in the context of literature. In a recent International Reading Association (IRA) position statement -- a statement that shocked many in the reading community who, rightly or wrongly, had seen the IRA as a bastion of the whole language movement -- the organization took a stance supporting phonics within a whole-language program. In "The Role of Phonics in Reading Instruction," the IRA maintains that:
"Early, systematic, explicit phonics instruction is an essential part, but only part, of a balanced, comprehensive reading program," maintains John J. Pikulski, IRA President. The organization's position is that no one approach to teaching reading and writing is best for every child. THE PENDULUM SWINGS THROUGH TIMEThe debate over the best way to teach reading isn't new. In fact, the question has been argued through much of the 20th century. A number of different approaches to teaching reading have dominated during that time span. The "look-say" reading method was widespread for 30 years, from around 1940 to 1970. From around 1970 to 1990, phonics was popular. And whole language gained a foothold around 1990. Several other approaches have also been utilized for a briefer time before they were found wanting. After a global approach, such as the "look-say" method, is popular for at time, the pendulum tends to swing in the opposite direction toward a more analytical approach, such as phonics. Proponents of one method are often extremely critical of another method, as if the effectiveness of each method precluded the success of another. WHO SUCCEEDS AND WHO FAILS?Writing in Principal, Marie Carbo asserts that "Children who do well in whole-language programs tend to have visual, tactile, and global reading styles." Global learners such as these, she maintains, tend to enjoy and learn from the popular literature, hands-on learning and peer interactions prominent in the whole language approach. To analytic as opposed to global learners, however, the whole language approach can feel disorganized, Carbo says. If the systematic teaching of phonics doesn't take place, analytic learners can fall behind and fail to develop the tools they need for decoding words. Using a single approach to reading generally doesn't work, Carbo concludes. Many combinations and permutations are necessary to provide an optimal learning environment for an entire class of readers. She cites an extensive body of research that backs "the global approach of whole language as a framework for teaching young children and poor readers -- but only as a framework." Within that framework, strategies from different approaches need to be utilized. COMBINING PHONICS WITH WHOLE LANGUAGE PROGRAMSCarbo's recommendations for teachers using primarily phonics include:
Her suggestions for teachers using whole language include:
TEACHING PHONICS STRATEGICALLYRegie Routman, author of Invitations (Heinemann Educational Books, 1991), asserts that one key to a successful whole language program is teaching for strategies rather than simply teaching for skills. In teaching for skills, she says, the teacher decides what the learner needs, and the skill is taught directly, often in a predetermined sequence. The student then practices the skill in isolation. In contrast, Routman maintains, teaching for strategies involves teaching skills in a broader context, after the student shows a need for specific skills. The teacher helps the student to determine the generalization of a skill and become aware of application of the skill to specific contexts. "Application of a skill to another context," she writes, "is far more likely to occur when the skill has been taught in a meaningful context that considers the needs of learners." For this approach to succeed, teachers need to become observers of what strategies students use or do not use in reading. In this way, the need for a predetermined skills sequence will diminish. In a whole-language program, Routman says, opportunities to teach phonics arise in shared reading, shared writing, writing aloud, self-selected writing, and guided reading. CAREFUL COMBINATIONWhich approach wins the debate then? Phonics or whole language? The majority of experts now contend that neither approach by itself is effective all the time but that both approaches possess merit. What does succeed then, many experts say, is a carefully designed reading program that employs part whole language approach and part phonics, and takes into account each student's learning style and demonstrated strengths and weaknesses. Parental involvement is vital to reading success no matter which approaches are used, reading experts assert. Many parents follow debates like phonics vs. whole language in the media, and form opinions on one side or the other. Explaining why and how phonics, whole language, or another method of instruction is used will help bring students' parents on board and support the classroom teaching of reading. Article by Sharon Cromwell What is differences between whole language approach with phonics approach?They key difference between phonics instruction and the whole language approach is the focus in the early stages of literacy: phonics stresses letter sounds within words while whole language prioritizes making meaning from complete words. Phonics instruction is also more explicit and sequential.
Why is phonics approach better than whole language?Systematic phonics explicitly teaches children letter-sound correspondences prior to emphasizing the meanings of written words. It is called systematic because it teaches letter-sound correspondences in a specific sequence as opposed to incidentally or on a “when-needed” basis.
What does research say about phonics?The sum of the research showed that explicitly teaching children the relationship between sounds and letters improved reading achievement. The panel concluded that phonics lessons help kids become better readers. There is no evidence to say the same about whole language.
What is the compromise between phonics and whole language called?The concept now called balanced literacy arose in the 1990s as a compromise between the two prevailing camps of reading instruction: phonics and what is known as whole language. Whole language instruction is based on the philosophy that kids will learn to read naturally if you expose them to a lot of books.
|