Whole Language vs Phonics in Reading Instruction
Research Says Phonics-Based Instruction Produces Better Readers
Aug 19, 2009
Over the past 50 years, educators have used three methods to teach reading to young students: whole language, phonics and a "balanced" approach. Research has shown however, that phonics is the best way to teach children to read.
The Whole Language Approach to Reading
Whole Language theorists believe that children learn to read through exposure to good literature and the purpose behind reading. They believe that children will learn to read as naturally as they learn to talk through exposure to the written word. Classrooms that employ whole language techniques focus on teaching students to learn words by sight, not by breaking them into each phonemic component.
Learning to Read Using the Balanced Approach
When an educator says that he uses a "blended approach" in reading instruction, it implies that the teacher is using both Whole Language and Phonics to teach reading. Although this sounds like a desirable and politically correct way to describe reading methodology, parents need to be wary that students are getting adequate instruction that flows in a logical progress, from the simple to more complex. According to Susan L. Hall and Louisa C. Moats in their book, Parenting a Struggling Reader, "many educators who say their curriculum is balanced are no closer to teaching what research recommends than if they taught the whole language approach." [1] (Pg. 31)
Defining Systematic Phonics Instruction
Systematic phonics instruction occurs when children receive explicit, systematic instruction in a set of pre-specified associations between letters and sounds. Children are taught how to use these associations to read, typically in texts containing controlled vocabulary.
Phonics-Based Instruction is Superior
In 1997, the National Reading Panel (NRP) was established by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Secretary of Education to determine the effectiveness of various approaches to teaching reading. After two years of extensive research, the panel determined that a comprehensive and systematic phonics approach was the most effective means by which to teach children to read. Hall and Moats summarized the NRP's finding on pages 39 and 40 of their book, Parenting a Struggling reader as follows:
- Explicit instruction in phonemic awareness (PA) improves a child's reading and spelling skills.
- Instruction in systematic phonics produces significant benefits for students in Kindergarten to sixth grade and for all children having difficulty in learning to read.
- In order to develop fluency in reading, it is more beneficial to have children read aloud with guidance and feedback, sometimes called guided oral reading, than to read silently without feedback.
- It is important to teach children a variety of strategies to guide and improve reading comprehension.
The panel did not find that Whole Language approach to reading instruction to be as effective in producing strong readers as a comprehensive, systematic and explicit phonics-based approach. Balanced approaches also did not yield strong positive results in the area of reading instruction.
Reading is crucial to student performance and success so it is essential that teachers and parents understand what reading methodology works best for students and commit all resources to implementing phonics-based curriculum, allowing less effective techniques, such as Whole Language and the Balanced approach, to disappear from the home and classroom environment.
For more information on developing a home reading program, see: Going Beyond Just Reading to Your Child and Toddler Teaching Strategies.
References:
1. Hall, Susan L. and Moats, Louisa C., Ed. D. Parenting a Struggling Reader. NY: Broadway Books. 2002.
2. The National Reading Panel. National Reading Panel (NRP) Frequently Asked Questions
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