Describes a four-step language experience approach activity that is an effective aid in teaching Standard English language forms to dialect speakers while maintaining the integrity of the pupil's dialect. (FL)

Presents a case for not using a reading scheme in a reading program. Proposes instead a language experience approach in which children first read written transcriptions of their own oral language and then use a variety of published books. (JL)

Describes a study of the development of reading and writing skills in hearing impaired children indicating that both hearing and hearing impaired students can best be instructed in reading when the reading has meaning for them and with stories they choose themselves and with dictations taken from their own experience. (HTH)

Describes the techniques, including the use of a peer tutor and the language experience approach, that helped a 16-year-old nonreader learn to read. (MKM)

Shows how having students write journals about their learning experiences was an effective teaching technique in the primary grades. (RL)

Describes "whole language" as a new term for literacy instruction which emphasizes application of reading and writing in meaningful contexts. Argues that the theoretical base for whole language is closely related to key ideas of language experience and psycholinguistics, but that whole language represents a new paradigm. (RS)

In a response to the previous article by Carla Heymsfield, it is argued that whole language, as a coherent philosophy of language instruction, does not need to be "patched" with skills instruction, and that direct instruction cannot be reconciled with natural learning. (TE)

Describes a spur-of-the-moment curriculum development activity involving primary-school students researching the "real" Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo behind the names of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Notes that the products of the research were shared during a classroom pizza party. (RS)

Describes using the language experience approach as a diagnostic tool with adults who want to learn to read. Offers a checklist. (SR)

Reviews the challenges that college-level English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs present to instructors and students. Offers suggestions for authentic language experiences in classroom settings. Analyzes the literature on language and literacy, whole language, and learning styles. Offers examples of thematic units tailored to elicit authentic…

Compares selected language features of urban, first grade children in five different reading programs: Lippincott, Language Experience, Houghton-Mifflin, Open Court, and Ginn 720. Finds significant differences among the programs on number of predictions and average length of T-unit, but no program emerged as significantly superior in two or more…

Maintains that, in teaching and in teaching writing, methods matter if they are organic methods that grow out of real-life experiences. Notes that in another sense, all that matters is getting both teacher and student to wake up to their own lives and to what they know, absolutely, within themselves. (SR)

Since the rise of the whole language movement, Sylvia Ashton-Warner's key vocabulary, individualized reading, and experience charts have been notable for their omission from the many books available on whole language. Whole language strength is notable in at least four major areas: (1) its learner-centeredness; (2) its scorn of commercial…

This Digest focuses on using the language experience approach for teaching adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners. The language experience approach (LEA) ia a whole language approach that promotes reading and writing through the use of personal experiences and oral language. It can be used in tutorial or classroom settings with…