WHOLE LANGUAGE METHOD
Background
Whole language: 1980, US educators concerned with the teaching of language arts: reading and writing in the native language (teaching of literacy)Whole Language movement: opposes to teaching reading and writing; language should be taught as a “whole”. It is a theory of language instruction that helped young children to read and taught middle and secondary levels ESL. It respects each student as a member of a culture and as a creator of knowledge. It emphasizes learning to read and write with focus on real communication and reading and writing for pleasure.
It shares a philosophical and instructional perspective with Communicative Language Teaching, since it emphasizes the importance of meaning and meaning making in teaching and learning. It relates to natural approaches to language learning since it is designed to help children and adults learn a second language in the same way that children learn their first language.
We see Whole Language as an approach based on key principles about language (as a whole) and learning (writing, reading, listening, speaking integrated in learning).
Approach: theory of language and of learning
Whole language views language organization from an interactional perspective. This perspective is a social one that views language as a vehicle for human communication in which there is an interactional relationship between readers and writers. Language use is always in a social context. A whole language perspective requires an authentic “real” situation. Language is always seen as something that is used for meaningful purposes and to carry out authentic-functions.The learning theory underlying Whole Language is in the humanistic and constructivist schools. Whole Language is said to be authentic, personalized, self-directed, collaborative and pluralist.
Constructivist learning theory holds that knowledge is socially constructed, rather that received or discovered. Constructivist learners “create meaning”, “learn by doing”. Teachers collaborate with them to create knowledge and understanding in their mutual social context.
Design: Objectives, syllabus, learning activities, roles of learners, teachers, and materials
* The use of authentic literature* A focus in real and natural events
* The reading of real texts of high interest
* Reading for the sake of comprehension
* Writing for a real audience
* Writing as a process
* The use of student-produced texts
* Integration of reading, writing, and other skills
* Reading and writing in partnership with other learners
* Encouragement of risk taking and exploration and the acceptance of error as signs of learning rather than failure
The teacher is seen as a facilitator. The teacher teaches students and not the subject matter and looks for the occurrence of teachable moments rather than following a preplanned lesson plan or script.
The learner is self-directed; his own learning experiences are used as resources for learning. Students are also selectors of learning materials. Whole Language use real-world materials rather than commercial texts: newspapers, signs, handbills, storybooks. Students also produce their own materials.
Procedure
4 classroom features:* The use of literature
* The use of process writing
* Encouragement of cooperative learning among students
* Concern for students’ attitude
Activities often used in Whole Language
* Individual and small group reading and writing* Ungraded dialogue journals
* Writing portfolios
* Writing conferences
* Student-made books
* Story writing
Most of these activities are also common in Communicative Language Teaching, Content-Based teaching, Task-Based Language Teaching.
The only feature that does not appear in communicative approaches is the focus on literacy.
What differs in Whole Language is not the incidental use of such activities based on the topic of the lesson but their use as part of an overall philosophy of teaching and learning that gives a new meaning and purpose to such activities.
Conclusions
Whole Language is an approach to learning that sees language as a whole entity. The Teacher is free to implement the approach according to the needs of particular classes.Advantages: it focuses on experiences and activities that are relevant to learners’ lives and needs, it uses authentic materials.
Whole Language proposals are seen as anti-direct teaching, anti-skills, and anti-materials.
Some say that Whole Language promotes fluency at the expense of accuracy.
Fuente: Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching de Richards y Rogers
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