Franziska Davies Department of Language & Linguistics

Philosophy Features Aspects of Language Goodman’s Cues Whole Language and Phonetics compared Examples of Whole Language Approach Downfalls of Whole Language Suggested reading Links to Web Resources References

The whole language philosophy “...is a belief system about the nature of learning and how it can be fostered in classrooms and schools. It is not an approach, though some kinds of activities can reasonably be characterized as whole language because they are consonant with this philosophy...Language is kept whole, not fragmented into 'skills'; literacy skills and strategies are developed in the context of whole, authentic literacy events, while reading and writing experiences permeate the whole curriculum; and learning within the classroom is integrated with the whole life of the learner.” (Weaver, C. 1990)

The Whole Language approach: allows learners to observe real learning, specifically reading behaviors in non-threatening situations encourages students to learn to read by doing the task learning is not divided into different skills, kept as a whole

Children learn to read and write slowly Learning is stressed over the teacher being in the classroom Children should read and write every day in the classroom Reading, writing, and oral language are not divided into separate parts (adapted from Weaver, C. 1990)

Dog Welsh Corgi Small, tri- coloured, loud

Teachers of Whole Language teach to develop knowledge of the following aspects of language: I.graphophonemic II.syntactic III.semantic IV.pragmatic

Goodman came up with four "cueing systems" for reading, (four things that allow the reader to guess what is next) I.graphophonemic: letters and their sounds II.semantic: structure of the sentence III.syntactic: grammar of the language IV.pragmatic: purpose of the text in question

overlooks spelling and technical mistakes too little emphasis on word analysis- young readers might guess/skip over words they might not know how to read present problems for students with reading difficulties

Richards, J., & Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and methods in language Teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Weaver, Constance Understanding whole language: From principles to practice. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Goodman, Yetta (2005). Reading Miscue Inventory. Katonah, NY: Robert C. Owen Publishers, Inc.. Goodman, Kenneth (1982). Language and Literacy. Boston, MA: Routledge & Kegan. Itzkoff, Seymour (1986). How We Learn to Read. Ashfield, MA: Paideia Publishers. Moats, L. C. (2000). Whole language lives on: The illusion of “Balanced Reading” instruction. Washington, DC: Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.

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Goodman, Kenneth (1982). Language and Literacy. Boston, MA: Routledge & Kegan. Goodman, Kenneth (1996). On Reading. NH: Heinemann. Weaver, Constance. (1990). Understanding whole language: From principles to practice. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.