This paper discusses peer teaching as one method of coping with larger classrooms, as a means for cultural and linguistic improvement in bilingual classes, and as a means for improving the use of a language experience approach to teaching reading. The paper stresses that (1) peer teaching requires careful organization and planning based on…

A study explored the effects of an expanded Language Experience Approach (LEA) on listening comprehension skills of kindergarteners. During a 2-year period, two exerpiments were conducted with different groups of kindergarteners. The second experiment replicated the first experiment and was conducted to determine if an expanded LEA would produce…

Reading instruction is on the verge of a shift to a new paradigm that will be based on a new understanding of cognitive processes and will include five important tenets: (1) the best way to promote the emergence of reading behavior is to use interesting story books; (2) the primary cause of reading problems is too much instruction, too much…

An attempt to build on oral language programs--such as the language experience approach--by adding a written language component and a phonics component, to make transition to reading more meaningful and reading skill development more systematic, was undertaken in the study described here. The program, called DIREKT, was conducted by two…

Language experience can integrate the curriculum through planned and spontaneous activities, regardless of the student's age or level of skill. The components of an integrated day through language experience are the language activities--listening, speaking, writing, and reading. Opportunities for engaging in language range from formal to informal…

Since, by the time they enter school, children have developed a major portion of their spoken language system by being immersed in language, it seems probable that they could also apply these rules to the orthographic system if they were immersed in reading. Thus, learning to read by reading would allow the general formation of rules that could…

To encourage teachers to use the language-experience approach (LEA) in teaching reading-language skills, a workshop was conducted in which teachers participated in a language-experience lesson. Participants were asked to discuss a controversial topic of current interest; during group discussion, ideas and vocabulary were evoked from the group.…

This report summarizes the results of three studies concerning the Reading Recovery or Descubriendo la Lectura program with first-grade California students. Studies were conducted using state-wide data obtained during 1993-94 programs to determine if the program was an effective intervention for children with difficulty in learning to read. The…

A whole language approach is emphasized in the reading clinic at the University of Missouri (St. Louis) because disabled readers need to practice their skills simultaneously in speaking, listening, and reading. At the clinic, teachers are encouraged to learn and use several approaches to teaching reading. However, the language experience approach…

Examples of innovations in college and adult reading reading programs in five states are described. At Maricopa Technical College (Arizona) adult students have access to a special reading program emphasizing the language experience approach, capitalizing on students' life experiences and oral language facility. Otero Junior College (Colorado)…