Phonics vs. whole language? Essay -- Essays Papers

Phonics vs. solely spoken communication?Like other issues of education, educators and theorists debate and analyze methods of culture education. They arbitrator methods and curricula not only by their efficacy but also by their appropriateness and ease. Throughout the history of education these methods and curricula have changed, shifted, and transformed. Currently, though, thither atomic number 18 two front-runners in the debatephonics and whole language. Popular belief is that these curricula argon diametric entirelyy opposed. Researchers of effective practice session instruction assert the opposite, saying that an artificial, simple dichotomy has no reality in the discussion of phonics and whole language (Dahl & Sch arer, 2000, 43). The purpose of this research paper is to compare these two seemingly variant curricula in the realm of reading instruction, to determine their individual levels of appropriateness, and to decide which, if either, is at last more appropriate i n the school setting.Phonics Defined What is phonics? The word phonics comes from the classic word for sound and is defined by the Websters II fresh Collegiate Dictionary as the use of elementary ph angiotensin converting enzymetics in the doctrine of reading. The Britannica Student Encyclopedia says, phonics is translating parts of written words into the sounds they represent. From these two definitions of phonics, one can deduce that it is a method of segmentation, visual and auditory recognition, and decoding. Phonics is the fomite by which learners begin to understand the individual sounds, or phonemes, of a word. The soundsthere are about 45 in the English languageare the basic building blocks of language, and mastery of them ensures success in future reading attempts (Hempenstall, 1997, 16). Educators use phonics at several levels of reading instruction, including early childhood, remediation, and adult literacy. In an article about Dorothy Stricklands book Teaching Phonics T oday A Primer for Educators, Linda Starr (1999) quotes Strickland Historically, those who have denounced poor reading achievement in the unify States have turned to phonics as a solution (qtd. in Starr, 1999, 2). Phonics is, indeed, a solution, for its basic principle of breaking words into parts allows the reader to progress each new word with confidence, assuming that he has learned all of the written sounds successfully. Phonics is used in both(prenominal) in... ...s in diverse classroom settings (Dahl & Scharer, 2000, 52). Based upon the data set forth in this paper, a trunk of balanced instruction seems to be the most beneficial route for reading instruction. Students should learn about the relationships between letters and sounds with both conventional instruction and on the spot direction. They should be encouraged to express themselves through writing and educators should give feedback and constructive criticism about their mistakes as good as their creativity. Dian e Weaver Dunne (2000) tells us there is no magic fume that can teach all children how to read ( 1). As such, educators should individualize instruction to reach all learners, and reading and writing should take place in every area of the curriculum. The problem in this debate lies not in the direct opposition of whole language to phonics but in the misconceptions of both camps. 1 The whole language camp seems to be split on this issue Some Whole Language theorists still believe that any emphasis on phonics is unfruitful, or even harmful The rules of phonics are to decomposableand too unreliableto be useful(Smith qtd. in Hempenstall, 58).