ESL Curriculums Positive and Negative

ESL Curriculums

Positive and negative aspects of using a whole language vs. phonics-based curriculum in an ESL classroom

There are few controversies more heated in the field of teaching language to students than the question of whether it is best to use a so-called 'whole language' or 'look/say' approach, versus a phonetics -- based approach (Eric 2005). The whole language method might be called an intuitive or contextual approach to language, one which deemphasizes spelling and grammar. "Whole language educators emphasize that language must be kept whole when it is learned or it is no longer language, but rules, patterns, and lists; that written language is as natural as spoken language and needs to be integrated with it in learning; that language uses are diverse and reflect different styles and voices; and that language is social and learned in interaction with other speakers, readers, and writers" (Peyton & Crandall 1996). To truly be 'at one' with a new language requires a whole language approach, its advocates argue.

For an American student learning written English, the whole language method and approach mimics learning speech as a child. For ESL students, whole language methods mimic how the individual learns his or her first spoken and written language. The social nature of whole language learning is better suited to integrate the ESL student into the new scholastic context. It helps the child fully 'own' the English language, and more fully integrate that language into his or her new English-speaking identity. This is also true, to a lesser extent, for older ESL students. And whole language methods have the advantage of being more 'fun' than phonetically-based methods. They often rely upon creative assignments, and reading interesting stories to interpret new vocabulary words in context. They allow the teacher to use aspects of the 'real world,' through dialogues and interpreting newspapers and advertisements for clues to meaning.

However, phonetics advocates would suggest that while the whole language approach may relax students, it does not really teach fluency, because it lacks an effective systemized approach to language acquisition. ESL students may lack the understanding of English structure and grammar to intuit grammar from everyday examples. If they try to be too creative with language, too soon in their development, inaccurate grammatical patterns may become instilled and difficult to unlearn. Additionally, older ESL students may not feel wholly comfortable learning language as they did as young children, especially if the school curriculum in their nation of origin emphasized approaching language in a more grammatically-based fashion.

Phonetic reading methods are actually older than the whole language approach: "The traditional theory of learning established in the 19th century draws on the notion that children need to break down a complex skill, like reading, into its smallest components (letters) before moving on to tackle larger components (sounds, words, and sentences). Phonetic reading instruction applies this theory; children are taught to dissect unfamiliar words into parts and then join the parts together to form words. By learning these letter-sound relationships the student is provided with a decoding formula that can be applied whenever they encounter an unfamiliar word" (Curtis 2009). Advocates of this approach would say that given that ESL students are more apt to encounter unfamiliar words compared with their native English peers of the same level of academic intelligence, phonetics seems like the best solution. Whole learning advocates state that approaching language in such a slow, methodical fashion inhibits fluency, and speed is critical, especially for ESL learners, to ensure that their education keeps pace with their peers. To those who would state that a systematized approach is more effective, whole learning advocates point out that "children can learn the 5,000 most common words in roughly three years," even without phonetics, while phonetics advocates counter that by learning "3 phonograms, or letter combinations, and 23 rules for spelling and pronunciation….one can correctly pronounce and spell all but 123 of the 13,000 most common English words" (Eric 2005).