[NLA] Advocacy--Phonemic awareness v. whole language

[Art LaChance]

Andrea,
I read over the article and it appears to me that Dr Krashen is approaching the
issue from an "either/or" point of view in regards to phonics or whole language
and I'm not sure that we here have discussed it in those terms.  What I
remember is that we've agreed somewhat that the most successful methodology is
to use the two methods in tandem and in combination.
I find that adults and children who are having difficulty reading in context do
far better in terms of making progress by reading out loud in private to a
coach who can course correct them as they go until they get the gist of
'reading' whole thoughts.  I strongly encourage them to continue reading out
loud to themselves until the habit pattern is set. Sensory awareness is
multiplied significantly when the student can hear themselves do the function.
I do not understand the wisdom of the good Dr's suggestion that they read
silently during the "learning" processes.  This offers no opportunity for
change and it would seem to set inefficient reading behaviors (one word at a
time) deeper into the gray matter and therefore more difficult to change later.

Art



AWilder106 at aol.com wrote:

> Colleagues,
>
> There is an article at www.eslminiconf.net/may/njtesolnjbe.html about a
> recent ESL conference, in which  opinions about the phonemic awareness
> movement and whole language were discussed by Dr. Krashen and others.  This
> is a duel of research findings and a critique of advocacy based on the
> findings.  While the conference was about ESL, it involves research and
> studies we have talked about here and provides a complimentary view of
> political issues we have hashed over.
>
> Andrea
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