Social:Teaching reading: whole language and phonics
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There are different approaches to the teaching of reading, the most common being phonics, whole language and balanced literacy.
Phonics
Phonics emphasizes the alphabetic principle – the idea that letters (graphemes) represent the sounds of speech (phonemes). It is taught in a variety of ways, some are systematic and others are non-systematic. Phonics approaches include synthetic phonics, analytic phonics, analogy phonics, embedded phonics with mini-lessons, and phonics through spelling. Phonics is gaining world-wide acceptance.
- Systematic phonics is not one specific type of phonics instruction; rather the term refers to several phonics approaches that are taught directly, explicitly and in a structured, systematic manner. They are systematic because the letters and the sounds they relate to are taught using a specific sequence and methodology, as opposed to incidentally or on a "when needed" basis. Systematic phonics is supported by several major studies and used in many countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom and some parts of the United States. [1][2][3][4][5]
- Analytic phonics has students analyze the connection between letters and their sounds, but does not use blending. It is taught at the word level and students learn to analyze letter-sound relationships once the word is identified.[6]
- Analogy phonics is a sub-set of analytic phonics in which students analyze phonic elements according to the speech sounds in words. It is also taught at the word level and may teach students by using rimes (e.g. in the words cat, mat and sat, the rime is "at".)[7]
- Embedded phonics with mini-lessons is the type of phonics instruction used in some whole language programs. It is not taught systematically, but rather on a "when needed basis".[8]
- Synthetic phonics teaches students to read by sounding out the letters then blending the sounds to form the word. It is required by law to be used in all (local-authority-maintained) primary schools in England. [9]
- Phonics through spelling, for some teachers, is a method of teaching spelling by using the sounds (phonemes).[10] However, it can also be a method of teaching reading by focusing on the sounds and their spelling (i.e. phonemes and syllables). It is taught systematically with guided lessons conducted in a direct and explicit manner including appropriate feedback.
Whole language
Whole language has the reputation of being a meaning-based method of teaching reading that emphasizes literature and text comprehension. It discourages any significant use of phonics, if at all.[11] Students are taught to use context and pictures to "guess" words they do not recognize, or even just skip them and read on.
As of 2020, "Whole language" appears to be still used in many parts of the US and Canada. However, in some US States and many other countries, such as Australia and the United Kingdom, it has lost favor or been abandoned because it is not supported by evidence. [12][13]
Some notable researchers have clearly stated their disapproval of whole language and whole-word teaching. In his 2009 book, Reading in the brain, cognitive neuroscientist, Stanislas Dehaene, said "cognitive psychology directly refutes any notion of teaching via a 'global' or 'whole language' method." He goes on to talk about "the myth of whole-word reading", saying it has been refuted by recent experiments. "We do not recognize a printed word through a holistic grasping of its contours, because our brain breaks it down into letters and graphemes."[14] In addition, cognitive neuroscientist Mark Seidenberg refers to whole language as a "theoretical zombie" because it persists in spite of a lack of supporting evidence.[15]
Balanced literacy
Balanced literacy is not well defined, however it is intended as a method that combines elements of both phonics and whole language. While some profess to use balanced literacy, it has received criticism from researchers and others suggesting that, in many instances, it is merely whole language by another name. [16][17][18]
Specific concerns are expressed by critics such as neuroscientist Mark Seidenberg who state that struggling readers should not be encouraged to skip a challenging word, nor rely on pictures or semantic and syntactic cues, to "guess at" a challenging word. Instead, they should use evidence-based decoding methods such as systematic phonics. [19][20][21]
See also
References
- ↑ "Teaching Reading (Australia)" (PDF). Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training.. http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=2&article=1004&context=tll_misc&type=additional.
- ↑ "Complete report - National Reading Panel (UK)". https://www1.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/nrp/Documents/report.pdf.
- ↑ "Findings and Determinations of the National Reading Panel by Topic Areas (USA)". http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/findings.cfm.
- ↑ "Independent review of the teaching of early reading, Final Report, Jim Rose, March 2006". https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100512233640/http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/0201-2006PDF-EN-01.pdf.
- ↑ "Explaining Phonics Instruction, An Educator’s Guide, International Literacy Association, p.1, 2018". https://literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/ila-explaining-phonics-instruction-an-educators-guide.pdf.
- ↑ "Understanding Terminology of Grammar and Phonics". https://www.ldaustralia.org/utgp.html.
- ↑ "Analogy based phonics, LD Online". http://www.ldonline.org/glossary/Analogy-based_phonics.
- ↑ "Understanding Terminology of Grammar and Phonics, Learning diffeculties, Australia". https://www.ldaustralia.org/utgp.html.
- ↑ "Literacy teaching guide: Phonics". https://my.vanderbilt.edu/specialeducationinduction/files/2011/09/1-Literacy-teaching-guide-phonics.pdf.
- ↑ "Phonics instruction, Reading Rockets". https://www.readingrockets.org/article/phonics-instruction.
- ↑ "Frank Smith, 2004, Understanding Reading". https://archive.org/stream/UnderstandingReading-FrankSmith/frank-smith-reading_djvu.txt.
- ↑ Seidenberg, Mark (2013). "The Science of Reading and Its Educational Implications". Language Learning and Development 9 (4): 331–360. doi:10.1080/15475441.2013.812017. PMID 24839408.
- ↑ "Blog, Early reading instruction, Paul W. Bennett, 2013-01-26". https://educhatter.wordpress.com/category/early-reading-instruction/.
- ↑ Stanislas Dehaene (2010-10-26). Reading in the brain. Penquin Books. pp. 222-228. ISBN 9780143118053.
- ↑ "The persistence of the [whole language] ideas despite the mass of evidence against them is most striking at this point. In normal science, a theory whose assumptions and predictions have been repeatedly contradicted by data will be discarded. That is what happened to the Smith and Goodman theories within reading science, but in education they are theoretical zombies that cannot be stopped by conventional weapons such as empirical disconfirmation, leaving them free to roam the educational landscape." Language at the speed of light. 2017. p. 271=author=Mark Seidenberg. ISBN 9780465080656.
- ↑ Whole Language Lives On: The Illusion of "Balanced" Reading Instruction, 2008, Forward, Louisa Cook Moats, ISBN:978-1-4379-0236-5
- ↑ "It’s time to stop debating how to teach kids to read and follow the evidence, Emily Sohn, Science news, 2020-04-26.". https://www.sciencenews.org/article/balanced-literacy-phonics-teaching-reading-evidence.
- ↑ "Unbalanced Comments on Balanced Literacy, Timothy Shanahan, 2014-10-31". https://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/unbalanced-comments-on-balanced-literacy.
- ↑ Seidenberg, Mark (2017). Language at the speed of sight, pages 267 & 300-304. New York, NY: Basic Books. ISBN 978-1-5416-1715-5.
- ↑ "Is it a Good Idea to Teach the Three Cueing Systems in Reading?, Timothy Shanahan, Reading Rockets, 2019-04-01". https://www.readingrockets.org/blogs/shanahan-literacy/it-good-idea-teach-three-cueing-systems-reading.
- ↑ "The three-cueing system in reading: Will it ever go away, National Institute for Direct Instruction,". https://www.nifdi.org/news-latest-2/blog-hempenstall/402-the-three-cueing-system-in-reading-will-it-ever-go-away.
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