It is useful to stress the similarity of the linguistic system that underlies oral and written language, but the whole language approach fails to take into account the real and significant differences that exist between oral and written language and the different purposes for which they are used. Children need explicit guidance and support in…

An exploratory study of the feasibility of the Language Experience Approach (LEA) for teaching reading to semi-literate students of English as a second language (ESL) is presented. The instructional approach uses knowledge and interests from the students' own experience as the basis for teaching reading comprehension. The method was used with two…

Transcriptions of a teacher using the "look and say" method of teaching reading to her beginners grade are analyzed. Methodological problems are identified and related to the children's view of the reading process and to their views of themselves as learners. The language experience approach is also discussed. (Author/KC)

A case study examined the whole-part application of the language experience approach to reading as used for students whose reading development is severely delayed. The subject, a third-grade female student reading on the first-grade level as determined by the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised (Woodcock, 1987), participated in a reading…

This paper argues that literature-centered reading programs, based on the perspective that reading is the process of bringing meaning to print, are in the best interest of the language minority students in the nation's elementary schools. After a review of basal reading systems and language-centered reading programs, the paper describes the…