-Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabridge Uinervtisy, it deosn´t mttaer in waht oredr the ltters in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit problem. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mind deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

- Psycholinguistic guessing game

The Whole Language Approach

• the idea of "whole" language has its root in a range of theories of learning called "holism".

Based on holism

- it is believed that learning small chunks of language can never tell us everything about how the entire human mind works.

Whole Language Approach

• describes a literacy philosophy which emphasizes that children should focus on meaning and strategy instruction. • focus on learning the complete meaning of a word. You don't stress the phonetic part of a sentence and break it down.

• focus on making meaning in reading and expressing meaning in writing

• constructivist approaches to knowledge creation, emphasizing students' interpretations of text and free expression of ideas in writing

• emphasis on high-quality and culturally- diverse literature

• integrating literacy into other areas of the curriculum, especially math, science, and social studies

Understanding Whole Language

- is directed toward teachers and teacher educators, and also school administrators. 

Whole Language Approach(Reading)

Whole language is an approach to teaching reading and writing which differs in many ways from the traditional system in which most of us learned to read and write.

Activities for Speedier Reading

•Have the child follow along as you read aloud and then stop reading; child must pick up reading aloud where you dropped off. •You read aloud at a normal pace; the child skims along and follows your reading by paying attention to the beginnings and endings of sentences and end punctuation.•Child reads easy or familiar material and practices going fast.•Demonstrate an appropriate reading speed by gently moving the child's hands across the lines of Braille.•Practice fast page-turning exercises and activities which can help develop good reading habits and faster reading.

Reading Practice

Books for beginner readers which support this approach of learning to read are known as authentic text early reader books. They contain short sentences written in simple language with some repeated phrases. . Your child uses the pictures to help guess difficult words and through repeated readings starts to recognize words by sight.

Advantages

•They have a better understanding of what they are reading, and a more interesting and creative approach to reading.•There are no lists of sounds or rules to be learnt.•Children are able to observe real reading behaviors in non-threatening situations and to imitate such behaviors without fear or shame.•Children are exposed to outstanding children’s literature from the very beginning of their reading experiences. They are not asked to read artificially simplified or contrived language. This makes reading more interesting for them.

Disadvantages

Students who are taught using a pure whole language approach without a phonics component have a difficult time learning how to spell.

Students misinterpreting words.

Disadvantages

Never learning how to sound out unknown words and not comprehending the basics of the English language.

Children with limited ability to memorize a sequence of words.

Cognitive skills of reading

Sub-lexical reading Lexical reading

Sub-lexical reading involves teaching reading by associating

characters/groups of characters with sounds or by using Phonics learning &

teaching methodology.

Lexical readinginvolves acquiring words/ phrases

without attention to the characters or groups of characters that compose them or by using Whole Language learning &

teaching methodology.