Whole word approach
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Descriptions, definitions, and synonyms
The whole-word approach is a method to teach reading by introducing words to children as whole units without analysis of their subword parts. (Beck and Juel 2002) The whole-word method involves teaching children to “sight read�? words, that is, to be able to pronounce a whole word as a single unit.(Mayer 2003) Whole-word instruction involves associating word names with printed words. By repeated exposure to words, especially in meaningful contexts, it is expected that children will learn to read the words without any conscious attention to subword units. Hence, whole-word recognition, or the development of a whole-word vocabulary, is a goal of whole-word instruction. The idea behind this approach was that children could learn to recognize words through repeated exposure without direct attention to subword parts, unlike the phonics approach to reading. The whole-word concept is a whole to part method of teaching children to read, where as phonics is part to whole.
In recent years, the whole-word approach has been changed somewhat to the whole language philosophy. (Mayer 2003) The basic feature of whole language is the view that language is indeed whole and it is best learnt as a whole with meaningful and relevant text. It is to incorporate both reading and writing as a whole.
Synonyms: Look Say Method, Sight Word Method, Whole Language Approach
Applications in classrooms and similar settings
Early reading programs using the whole-word method may concentrate on introducing a few hundred words and then over time, new words are systematically added to the reader’s repertoire. (Mayer 2003)
In the whole-word method, a new word is systematically introduced to the student by letting the student see the word, hear the word, see a picture or sentence referring to the word, and later spell the word or break it into sounds. The dominant textbooks to establish the whole-word method beginning in the mid-nineteenth century were the McGuffey Readers.
Examples from the McGuffey Readers
Another method that may use the whole-word approach in classrooms are Word Walls.
Evidence of effectiveness
Light (1980) did a longitudinal study of kindergartners learning to read with a whole-word approach compared to kindergartners learning to read with a phonic approach. The results indicate that the individualized development of a sight/whole-word vocabulary in kindergarten did have a positive effect on later reading achievement. But phonic skills development was not facilitated by the early reading instruction. This finding supports the view that phonic development is age-related.
Critics and their rationale
The whole-word approach was virtually unchallenged until 1955, when [Rudolph Flesch, in his book Why Johnny Can’t Read, vehemently attacked the approach and demanded a return to phonics. Although the general public and press reacted favorably to Flesch’s book, it was rejected by reviewers in educational journals—chiefly because it took the form of a propagandistic argument that presented conclusions beyond what research evidence allowed. (Beck and Juel 2002)
Personal Testimonies
If students are looking at the whole word, do they ever learn to pick apart a word to help understand its meaning? How else will students know that words that have "gyn" means woman? "poly" means many? "homo" means same? The list goes on and on. -L. Weinstein
I have enjoyed the overhyped philosophical battle between whole language and phonics that has raged since my student teaching days. I learned to read through a combination of the two approaches as have my children and students. Educators do not need to pick one over another. What might work best for one child will not work as well with another.
I agree with the "Evidence and effectiveness" section showing the research done by Light in 1980. I grew up with "Dick and Jane" and was not introduced to phonics until later elementary grades. This made pronunciation of unfamiliar words difficult. Phonics should be taught at an early age and the instruction can include both phonics and whole language. -M. Youngblood
It is unclear to me how so many brilliant minds still waste time arguing over whole language versus phonics instruction. Do we just forget the fact that children learn in a myriad of ways? The more methods we use with them will only increase their chance for success. I use the balanced literacy approach to reading and writing instruction and include components of both whole language and phonics instruction. Children need to have an understanding of how words and sounds work together in literacy. It seems to me that a teacher who does not diversify their instruction, is not possibly meeting the needs of all their children. --Amanda P.
My research pinpoints three factors that effectively render Whole Word null and void. 1) English is vast, almost a million words and names. A child learning Whole Word is aiming for a mere 800 words a year, thus guaranteeing that the child is illiterate through high school. Real literacy probably requires a vocabulary of more than 50,000 words; virtually no human could memorize that many ideographs, which is what Whole Word turns our words into. 2) A second obstacle you never see mentioned is that while Chinese ideographs are written in only one way, all English words routinely appear in multiple forms--lower case, UPPER CASE, Mixed Cases, scripts, handwriting, and exotic typefaces. Imagine how bewildering this profusion would be for a child. 3) English, like Greek and Latin, is an alphabetic language. Sounds are built into every nook and cranny. If you force a child to ignore these sound-clues, and focus only on design-clues, the child will probably experience great frustration and may well develop a reading disability, such as dyslexia. Bruce Deitrick Price
Links of Interest
Related topics: Learning to Read, Phonemic Awareness, Flesch, Rudolph, Word Walls
Dick and Jane Readers samples.
References
Beck, I.L. & Juel, C. (2002) The role of decoding in learning to read. Scholastic Red.
Light, M.C. (1980) A longitudinal study of the effects of a kindergarten reading programme. Digital Dissertations.
Mayer, R. E. (2003). Learning and Instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
