METHOD * WHOLE LANGUAGE*

Whole Language


Whole  language is a method of teaching reading in which reading in combined with listening, speaking and writing practice.

v  Background
ü  The Whole Language was found by BERGERON (1990).
ü  The Whole Language movement argues that language should be taught as a “whole”
.ü  The Whole Language was created in the 1980’s by a group of U.S. Educators.

v  The Theoretical Basis and Principles of the Whole Languagea.    Theoretical Basis
ü  The teacher should guide the students to study every part of the passage and the relationships among the parts.b.    

  The Basis Principles

ü  Language teaching should begin with dealing with the whole and then transit to the parts gradually.
ü  The students communicate with each other and exchange ideas in the language they learn
.ü  The teacher should direct the students to use the language with positive aims.

v  The Application of the Whole Language Theory to the Teaching of English Reading.
a.    Teaching the Language as a Whole

ü  The teaching emphasis lies on the meaningful whole language activities.

b.    Student-Centeredness
ü  The teacher can ask the students to discuss the text in groups.

c.    Teaching Language in Context
ü  The teacher can ask the students to create and design the situational context and do some writing

.d.    Literature basedness
ü  Teaching the broad-sense of “literature” regarded as inappropriate

.e.    Focus on Talk
ü  Teaching emphasizes the ability of oral expression, the ability of communication, the ability of thinking and the ability of analysis.

f.     Integration with Writing
ü  The teacher encourages the students to write frequently on  the text they learn.

g.    Informal Assessment
ü  They observe the behavior of the students in class.  

v  The Characteristics of Whole Language Classroom
ü  Classroom are not silent
ü  Classroom feature learning centers for reading, writing, art, music, science and social studies.
ü  Books, magazines, newspapers, maps, pamphlets, etc, abound
.ü  Listening stations with tape recorders and audio materials are prominent
.ü  Children’s writing, art and other projects receive center stages
.ü  Lessons are active and varied.

v  The Advantages and Disadvantages Theory of Whole LanguagThe  Advantages
ü  Easier and more possible for the students to understand the whole text.
ü  It blends the practices of listening, speaking, reading and writing into an organic unity
.ü  It adopts informal assessmentThe Disadvantages
ü  The teaching of grammatical rules lack systematization.
ü  The word spelling and pronunciation rules are important links in the reading ability, but the whole language theory pays little attention to them.