Compare and contrast the whole-language approach and the phonics approach to teaching reading. How do children learn best?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Until recently, researchers were involved in an intense debate over how to teach beginning reading. Those who took a whole-language approach argued that from the beginning, children should be exposed to text in its complete form—stories, poems, letters, posters, and lists—so that they can appreciate the communicative function of written language. Other experts advocated a phonics approach, believing that children should first be coached on phonics—the basic rules for translating written symbols into sounds. Only after mastering these skills should they get complex reading material.
Many studies show that children learn best with a mixture of both approaches. In kindergarten and first and second grades, teaching that includes phonics boosts reading scores, especially for children who lag behind in reading progress. And when teachers combine real reading and writing with teaching of phonics and engage in other excellent teaching practices—encouraging children to tackle reading challenges and integrating reading into all school subjects—first graders show far greater literacy progress. Learning relationships between letters and sounds enables children to decode, or decipher, words they have never seen before. Children who enter school low in phonological awareness make far better reading progress when given training in phonics. Yet too much emphasis on basic skills may cause children to lose sight of the goal of reading: understanding. Children who read aloud fluently without registering meaning know little about effective metacognitive reading strategies—for example, that they must read more carefully if they will be tested than if they are reading for pleasure. Providing instruction aimed at increasing knowledge and use of reading strategies enhances reading performance from third grade on.