phonics vs whole language teaching
To my mind, Foundation Phase educators have the most illustrious job in all of education: welcoming young minds to the astounding world of reading. Facilitating learners to understand, enjoy, appreciate, remember, and apply what they read, is the single, most important gift an educator can ever give a learner. Reading is ultimately the gateway to a boundless world of information, sharing of ideas, exuberance, amazement and problem-solving. Thus, becoming literate ought to be a joyful process, as the critical learnings of reading and writing engage each individual at a deep, personal level and learning occurs throughout life.
The success of early learning strategies in these crucial years, and the joy or pain of that learning, determines the quality of literate activity throughout life. Consequently, my senses are awakened that teaching children to read is a challenging responsibility and to fulfil this responsibility requires knowledge of effective instructional practices and an enthusiasm to employ them.
As many children earnestly struggle with this highly significant skill, it becomes necessary for educators to determine what steps they need to implement to improve beginning reading instruction for all. Thus the question comes to mind: How can we teach all children to read accurately, rapidly and with comprehension by the end of the Foundation Phase?
For these reasons, this paper will seek to discuss the extent of my agreement with systematic phonics instruction as hypothesised by Adams (1990). To inform my view, the different components of early reading instruction and their relative importance will be examined; the historical perspectives of literacy will be investigated, as well as the different teaching methodologies of reading. The strengths and weaknesses of the methodologies will be explored and conclusions will be drawn from these analyses.
There is a substantial body of research and professional reports indicating that reading and writing skills
The success of early learning strategies in these crucial years, and the joy or pain of that learning, determines the quality of literate activity throughout life. Consequently, my senses are awakened that teaching children to read is a challenging responsibility and to fulfil this responsibility requires knowledge of effective instructional practices and an enthusiasm to employ them.
As many children earnestly struggle with this highly significant skill, it becomes necessary for educators to determine what steps they need to implement to improve beginning reading instruction for all. Thus the question comes to mind: How can we teach all children to read accurately, rapidly and with comprehension by the end of the Foundation Phase?
For these reasons, this paper will seek to discuss the extent of my agreement with systematic phonics instruction as hypothesised by Adams (1990). To inform my view, the different components of early reading instruction and their relative importance will be examined; the historical perspectives of literacy will be investigated, as well as the different teaching methodologies of reading. The strengths and weaknesses of the methodologies will be explored and conclusions will be drawn from these analyses.
There is a substantial body of research and professional reports indicating that reading and writing skills
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