“Whole language isn’t something one does; whole language is something one believes in and something that guides one’s research, one’s learning, and one’s teaching” (I Do Whole Language on Fridays 18).
Whole language or the socio-psycholinguistic approach to teaching reading is not a program for teaching, but instead a set of beliefs. “Whole language is a philosophical stance” (I Do Whole Language on Fridays 18). This theory is a student centered approach from the perspective that learning occurs best when information is presented as a whole rather than divided into smaller components which lead to making meaning. “English teaching is not a fixed system, nor an exact science” (Foster 12). Students are meant to create and construct their own knowledge based on their encounters and experiences.
There are competing ideologies for how a classroom should be run. These are the transmission model of behaviorist instruction, and transactional instruction, which is what whole language represents. The transmission model is what many of us are used to seeing in traditional classrooms where the teacher is essentially reading a script written by a textbook company or someone else outside the classroom. On the other side of the spectrum is whole language. This can be described as a “transactional model of teaching and learning, one in which learners actively engage with their teachers, their classmates, and their environment in order to create their curriculum” (I Do Whole Language on Fridays 18).
This philosophy provides a possible bright future and major change in our educational system that we have become so familiar with. One of the best qualities of whole language is that “it recognizes and embraces difference in student’s abilities and i...
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...ed, but not along a strict schedule that the school created. As all students learn differently, they will all have their own personal goals. An accomplishment for one student might be completely different from their classmates, but if they reach that goal their still improving. A traditional classroom doesn’t allow for this type of success, because there are only right and wrong answers (The Reading/ Writing Workshop 39).
The whole language approach to teaching is an up and coming philosophy, despite it’s been around for years, that many are reluctant to try in their own classrooms. If more teachers read the research and articles behind the benefits of whole language I think that it would become the standard belief of teachers. Students can greatly benefit from a transactional classroom where they can create their own meaning through their schemas and experiences.
Teachers play a very important role in the children’s progress and success. It is very important for teachers to use strategies to meet students’ needs. Dual Language teachers can implement different strategies to help students understand concepts, skills and strategies. Some of these strategies can be used with all students and others are more specific and need to be used with small group or individuals. According to Chad (2008), instructional grouping plays a very important role in the progress of students. In order for students to fully benefit from their education, teachers need to have whole group, small group and individual lessons using the pertinent strategies. Students should also be able to select some of the activities that will
Throughout the span of the past few weeks I have traversed the globe, visiting several countries and regions, only to realize that although new methods develop, language as a way of expressing ones self has remained the most effective. Despite this fact, language still has its pitfalls. Neil Postman, in his essay “Defending Against the Indefensible,'; outlines seven concepts that can be used to aid a student in better understanding the language as a means of communication. He describes how modern teaching methods leave a student vulnerable to the “prejudices of their elders';, further stating that a good teacher must always be skeptical. He urges teachers of all subjects to break free from traditional teachings as well as “linguistical tyranny';
...ualized plan due to time constraints, it is reasonable to treat each student as they do have an individualized education. Teachers should know their students well enough to individualize the classroom activities so all students have strengths in each lesson. Through collaborative efforts, teachers can gain knowledge about the students and new ways to teach according to different learning styles. Working together, each student can receive an individualized education where their full potential is used.
Whole language is considered a "top down" approach where the reader constructs a personal meaning for a text based on using their prior knowledge to interpret the meaning of what they are reading. Teachers are expected to provide a literacy rich environment for their students and to combine speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Whole language teachers emphasize the meaning of texts over the sounds of letters, and phonics instruction becomes just one component of the whole language classroom. Problems associated with whole language include a lack of structure that has been traditionally supplied by the scope and sequence, lessons and activities, and extensive graded literature found in basal readers. Whole language puts a heavy burden on teachers to develop their own curriculum.
The first principle Professor Ellis talks about is, “instruction needs to ensure that learners develop a rich repertoire of formulaic expressions and a rule base competence.” Here is where Professor Ellis talked about the Natives who use larger number of formulaic expression more than SLA. He also went on to explain how rote learned materials were internaliz...
In the article Reading Intervention Models: Reading Intervention Models: Challenges of Classroom Support and Separated Instruction by Melissa M. Woodward and Carolyn Talbert-Johnson discussed whether or not pull-out was necessary. Research was conducted by distributing a survey to teachers and reading specialist. They agreed that collaboration was necessary between reading specialist and teachers and that there was a considerable amount of positives in having a pull-out reading program some of which have been listed below.
In the twentieth century, the avoidance of the using L1 in classrooms dominated teachers’ minds; as well it was implemented in many policies and guidelines of language teaching (Cook, 2001). Thornbury (2010) listed a set of arguments against using L1 in L2 classrooms mainly for that the translation of L2 into another language will play negative effects on students’ learning process. He pointed out that the use of L1 will result learners to have a cognitive dependence on their mother tongue at the expense of developing independence TL learning. Although the two language systems are not equivalent in many aspects, students may have an awareness of the notion of equivalence of the two languages if translation serves to convey meanings. Some argue that the use of translation to convey the meaning of the TL is more efficient and more memorable. However, Thornbury (2010) sees the opposite. He stated that the simple and direct way of translation will make L2 knowledge less memorable since the process lacks mental efforts in working out meanings.
Teaching students a language that is foreign can really be challenging for students as well as for the teachers. The dynamic rule for implementing instructing in a diverse class to English-learners is to use resourceful life skills such as diligence, hard work and patience. There are also methods that are involved in teaching English as a second language that can be creative for the teacher, yet beneficial to the student. First building a strong foundation that is essential to English learners will promote the language acquisition process. To do this teacher’s should always start with preparation. Advance preparation is essential in order to provide necessary adaptations in content area instruction and to make content information accessible for second language lear...
Long, M, H. & Doughty, C, J. ( Eds.).(2009). The Handbook of Language Teaching. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Lately, the concepts of learner autonomy and independence had become important concepts in the area of teaching. The former has become a ‘vogue word’ within the context of linguistic communication learning. Autonomous learning is a technical jargon in education which means accepting responsibility and demanding charge of one’s own scholarship. There are many different learning schemes and factors that contribute to the achievement of learner independence as well.
Reading is not only a significant part of every lesson in schools, it also plays a huge role outside of the classroom. Accordingly, all schools have a reading policy and there are many benefits of one being used. This involves teachers adopting a whole school approach which can be utilised to support children in becoming independent learners in Literacy and aiding children to make progress in both Key Stages. Kanolik and Turker (2011) suggest that schools should initiate whole school reading, which should involve all members of staff including the head teacher. The initiation of this approach can be underpinned through whole school commitment and dedication of members of staff (Kanolik and Turker, 2011). This can lead to the “development of sustainable reading culture within schools” (National Union for Teachers NUT, 2016). This is of importance as the reading policy
Interaction between teacher and students are a part of learning language process. Teachers usually use the term ‘motivation’ when they describe successful and unsuccessful learners (Dörnyei, 2001). Teachers are seen as the role model who can motivate students. Therefore, teachers must be able to make students aware and enjoy while learning process in the classroom. In fact, motivation is not a simple process to do by the teacher (Dörnyei, 2001). Teacher should use a method that “when exercised, will make all students want to do their homework, come in for after-school help, and score well on their test and report cards (Dörnyei, 2001, p.13).
The modern day class has not needed to transform dramatically to adjust to the linguistic intelligence because the traditional classroom format involves lecture and reading assignments, however adding in discussion between teacher and student has changed the structure of the classroom. Classrooms today have moved far beyond linguistic.
It is the way we come to terms with the world. It is the way we make our understanding of life concrete. It is the way we make contact with other human beings...As a teacher, we should try to keep hold of the ‘whole’ language rather than being tied up in nitty-gritty atomistic side of language. Don’t only hear mistakes; try to hear the people using the language. Education is too important to be lost amid a constant focus on smaller problems...As teachers, our major contribution to life and to education is to help others find their own way towards their own solutions within their own lives. As a teacher, we are also a learner- learning about language, methodology, people, ourselves, life…Learning teaching is about our personal search for our own answers, rather than merely re-enacting other people’s solutions. In looking for ways to move forward as a teacher, you will also find ways to grow as a person
It is necessary to draw a distinction between foreign language and second language learning. According to (Wisniewski, 2007), a language lear...