Previous research studies indicate that Whole Language instruction has a positive effect on students' reading performance; but not much is known about the effects of Whole Language practices on the attitudes of students toward recreational and academic reading. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Whole Language practices on the reading attitudes of first grade pupils in an urban school. It was hypothesized that there would be no significant difference in pre/post instruction reading attitudes of inner city first graders as measured by a standardized attitude inventory. Sixty-five first grade students in one school in the Atlanta Public School System (APS) participated in this study. The study was pre-experimental and employed a one-group pre-test/post-test design. Students were administered the Elementacy Reading Attitude Survey before the treatment - Whole Language instruction - began and immediately after treatment. The paired t test was used to test the hypothesis at the 0.05 level of confidence. The null hypothesis was rejected: a significant difference was found in children's reading attitude as measured by the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey. A close reexamination of findings indicated that there was actually a decline in test results suggesting less student enthusiasm for recreational and academic reading; however, students maintained a positive attitude overall. These findings were interpreted to mean that while Whole Language practices do not significantly improve students' attitudes toward recreational or academic reading, they did not have a marked negative effect. Findings from this study have led to the following recommendations: (1) that the AP.S. develop a reading attitude inventory that reflects the reading experiences of its student population; (2) that further research be encouraged to help define students' reading preferences; and (3)that classroom teachers be made aware of the latest in Whole Language /Reading Attitude research.

Syften med studien är att undersöka vilka läs- och skrivinlärningsmetoder verksamma lärare använder sig av samt vilken syn lärarna har på läs- och skrivinlärning. Våra frågeställningar berör även de faktorer som påverkar läs- och skrivinlärningsprocessen. Studien är en kvalitativ intervjustudie där fyra verksamma lärare har deltagit. Intervjuerna är gjorda i tre olika kommuner i södra Sverige. Resultatet visar att lärarna använder sig till största del av Phonics metoden men med inslag av andra metoder. Lärarna tryckte på vikten av att kunna alternera mellan olika metoder för att kunna tillgodose alla elevers behov. Resultatet visar även att samtliga lärare betonade att läs- och skrivinläringen är en viktig grund för elevers kommande skolgång.

During these last decades there´s been a debate concerning children’s reading and writing skills. The opinion has been that children does not reach the goals in the curriculum. This study is focusing on the positive and negative sides in Phonics and Whole Language. It is also a presentation of the Witting Method and if this method can be a contributed factor when it comes to reaching curriculum goals.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the teachers’ described experiences of advantages as well as disadvantages of Arne Trageton’s write to read-method (“ASL”) in contrast to the code-oriented traditional way of teaching. The aim of this study is furthermore to depict the teachers’ opinions on whether they experience that the ASL-method is unfavourable for students in general. This study will also investigate the teachers’ standpoint regarding choice of reading and writing method. The following questions form the basis of this study: Which advantages or disadvantages do the teachers experience with the ASL-method relative to using the code-oriented traditional way of teaching? Do the teachers experience that the ASL-method is unfavourable for some students? Do the teachers only use the ASL-method or do they combine many different reading and writing methods in their teaching? How do the teachers explain their decision in that matter? This study is based on a qualitative method and interviews were performed to acquire knowledge of the teachers’ experiences. The major theoretical approaches of this study are Arne Trageton’s, the founder of the ASL-method, theories concerning the ASL-method and the socio-cultural perspective on learning. The result of the study demonstrates that the ASL-method is described as advantageous because the students’ interests, creativity, motivation and self-confidence increased when using the ASL-method, in contrast to using the traditional way of teaching. The ASL-method was also described as easier to individualize in comparison with the traditional letter-based teaching. The disadvantage with the ASL-method, in contrast to using the traditional teaching, was mainly the fact that the computers and tablets sometimes did not work properly. Overall the ASL-method was described as a good method because all students could participate in the teaching despite their capacity. Speech technology and word editing programs on the tablets were described as descent support for students with slower motor development, difficulties in reading or writing and second language students. Even though the ASL-method was considered a superior method, the method was not described to be sufficient by itself.

In recent years, state and national governments have introduced major programmes to reform literacy teaching, e.g. textbook programmes in the United States; the Literacy Block in Victoria, Australia (DEET, 1997, 1998); the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) in England (Department for Education and Employment (DfEE), 1998). These programmes are largely based on the growing body of evidence about what may constitute effective literacy teaching. Following the trend, Taiwan‟s government is also recognizing that in order to meet the challenges of globalization and the desire to improve students‟ PIRST in the literacy section year–on-year, Taiwanese should be well-equipped with new knowledge and literacy (Ministry of Education, Taiwan; 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005). One of the ways to make education and training more accessible is by providing better infrastructure, such as building new libraries and providing more books, as well as upgrading the teaching and learning practices through teacher training. There is also an urgent need to improve the declining standards in Chinese literacy (Ministry of Education, Taiwan; 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005). In 2000, the Taiwan Education Commission proposed a Reading Project in an attempt to deal with these challenges, which included the whole language approach (MOE, 2000). This approach was the key guideline for the implementation of the aims of early childhood education for the twenty-first millennium. Therefore, many nurseries and kindergartens claim that they have applied the whole language approach as part of their teaching policy, and have treated it as an important element of their curriculum design. In order to explore the understanding of Taiwanese early year‟s teachers regarding whole language approach and its implementation, a total of 200 questionnaires were delivered to teachers at nurseries and kindergartens. 169 were completed and analyzed. In addition, three Taiwanese nursery teachers participated in an in-depth qualitative study to investigate the implementation of the whole language approach and to explore their understanding of it. During the course of the investigation, their beliefs about literacy teaching and the extent to which those beliefs are reflected in their classroom practices were examined. Their framing of the whole language approach was tracked for more than four months by means of interviews and classroom observations. The wealth of data and information collected revealed that although the whole language approach may be positively mandated on a large scale, individual differences between teachers may make the implementation of any such approach or reform more variable in its impact than researchers and policy makers would expect. The findings indicate that, while teachers sought to include the whole language approach into their literacy teaching, their thinking often shifted and their concept of the whole language approach and literacy learning and teaching fluctuated. The findings also highlight the complexity of these views. The key influences on teachers‟ perceptions of literacy and literacy teaching form a continuum, ranging from a purely discrete skill-based curriculum, which reflects traditional Confucian beliefs, to social interaction, which supports the integration of the whole language approach. This range of beliefs is informed by a variety of different influences, including the experience of teachers; their personal background; their understanding of the needs of parents, as well as those of school requirements; government suggested guidelines, and, finally, cultural demands. Each of these influences represents a unique challenge to the beliefs of teachers. When drawn together, the combination of influences that emerge illustrates the complex ways in which teacher beliefs inform their pedagogical practice. What the data reveals is that the pedagogical practices of teachers were pushed and pulled by these intervening forces, along a continuum between a whole language approach and a more traditional skill-based teaching. Therefore, it is not that they were slow to adopt the utopian whole language approach in practice, nor were they reluctant to change, but that their practice was in reality always constrained by these forces. The findings also indicate that there are immense difficulties in understanding the concept of the whole language approach and a gap between the practitioners‟ espoused theories and practice. The study revealed the complex nature of learning and teaching and the core issue for implementing reform, namely, the need to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Based upon the findings of the study, implications for practice are also considered, namely, the need for government funding and subsidies to help nursery schools to mediate market forces; the restructuring of the bureaucratic and hierarchical management in nurseries; the empowerment of teachers through nurturing their pedagogical competence; support of professional career training; and the ongoing development and reformation of the philosophical underpinnings of teacher training.

Under de senaste åren har antalet nyanlända ökat i Sverige vilket innebär en större flerspråkighet i skolan. I vår tidigare kunskapsöversikt undersöktes de två teoretiska läsmodellerna, Phonics och Whole Language, utifrån ett flerspråkigt perspektiv. I kunskapsöversikten framkom en intressant faktor som belyste vilken läsinlärningsmodell som bör användas i läsundervisningen gällande ett flerspråkigt barn. Faktorn nämnde att det beror på i vilken ålder ett flerspråkigt barn blivit exponerat för sitt andraspråk. För att lärare ska ta reda på när en elev blivit exponerad för sitt andraspråk ska hen undersöka elevens språkliga bakgrund. För att inhämta information om den flerspråkiga elevens språkliga bakgrund behöver eleverna kartläggas. Studien syftar därför till att ta reda på vilka former av kartläggning verksamma F- 3 lärare använder sig av när de kartlägger flerspråkiga elever och om lärare tar hänsyn till flerspråkiga elevers förutsättningar i val av läsmetoder. Undersökningsmetod för den insamlade empirin är enkät som innefattar både kvalitativa och kvantitativa frågor. Undersökningen resulterade i att kartläggningsformerna är mångfaldiga. De kartläggningsmetoder som framkom ur resultatet var ett kartläggningsprogram, egen kartläggning, kartläggning i samspel med resurs, att lärare tog del av resursernas kartläggning samt muntlig kartläggning. Det framgår inte om kartläggningen ligger till grund för den metod som lärare väljer i läsundervisning utan lärarna väljer den metod de själva anser gynna de flerspråkiga eleverna. Det framgår heller inte om lärare tar hänsyn till flerspråkiga elever förutsättningar i val av läsmetod.

This research report is a case study, the aim of which is to describe and analyse the methods used by a non-profit organization in teaching Grade Seven (7) learners with reading difficulties in an Alexandra Township school, by using a combination of the whole language and phonics approaches. It involves Phenduka Literacy Project facilitators immersed in a two to three week literacy intervention with an average of 30- 35 Grade 7 learners at Dr Knak Primary School. The aim of the Phenduka programme is to improve learners’ levels of reading so that they can meet the demands of high school education. Data was collected by analysing the teaching material, carrying out semi-structured interviews with Phenduka facilitators, and observing the facilitators at work. The findings revealed that there is no one suitable method for teaching reading; rather, using an integrated approach would bear much fruits. It is envisaged that the findings of this study would enlighten teachers in disadvantaged communities in South Africa who face the same scenario of dealing with poor readers and using limited teaching/learning resources.

BAKGRUND:Jag har skrivit om användandet av olika typer av autentiskt material som lärare i engelskaanvänder sig av i sin undervisning i årskurs nio. Detta användande av autentiskt material harjag sedan kopplat till Whole Language-teorin samt aktuell forskning om autentiskt material.SYFTE:Undersökningens syfte är att undersöka vilka autentiska material som används av aktiva lärareoch hur dessa används. Ett vidare syfte är att på en hemsida samla de tips och råd som jagerhållit för att vidarebefordra till lärare som använder autentiskt material i sinengelskundervisning.METOD:Jag har använt mig av ostrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer för att samla in data.RESULTAT:Lärarna som jag intervjuat, vilka alla var positiva till att använda autentiskt material, visadepå att en stor variation av aktiviteter med olika typer av material som användes. Gemensamtvar att autentiskt material användes för att göra undervisning mer omväxlande och roligt,vilket stämmer bra överens med huvudtankarna i Whole Language-teorin.

Syftet med den här uppsatsen är övergripande att beskriva och diskutera några speciallärares arbetsmetoder inom läs- och skrivutveckling i grundskolan. Urval och utbildningsnivå för de elever som beskrivs har varit från förskoleklass till årskurs fem. Uppsatsen bygger på ett induktivt förhållningssätt. De teoretiska perspektiv som presenteras är Phonics och Whole language, eftersom att dessa perspektiv hjälper läsaren att få en helhetsbild av olika synsätt inom läsning och skrivning. Uppsatsens analysarbete har inspirerats av ett fenomenografiskt förhållningssätt. Ett fenomenografiskt förhållningssätt söker sig till att ta reda på hur det förhåller sig. Denna uppsats handlar om sex speciallärares beskrivning av fenomenet arbetsmetoder inom läs- och skrivutveckling. Arbetsmetoderna innefattar gemensam undervisning i mindre grupp och enskild undervisning som framförallt fokuserar på de alfabetiska principerna och kopplingar till fonem och grafem. Speciallärarna betonade det förebyggande arbetet som viktigt. Några speciallärare ansåg att digitala lärplattor var bra verktyg i arbetet med elevers läs- och skrivutveckling och att läsning och skrivande i grupp skapade god kunskapsutveckling för den enskilde eleven. Slutligen diskuteras det om det är möjligt att skapa en generell verktygslåda för speciallärare? En av slutsatserna är att den professionella verktygslådan kan se olika ut, bland annat beroende av vilken kunskapssyn specialläraren har.

In NSW during the last decade there has been strong interest in promoting theories that espoused a naturalistic and wholistic approach to the teaching of reading and writing. One such theory is the Whole Language Approach to teaching reading and writing. The work of Brian Cambourne is integral to this approach and his theory is that the principles of how young children learn to become successful talkers can be applied to how children best learn to become successful readers and writers. This study was concerned with the teachers' perceptions of their classroom practice and whether these perceptions - relating to the teaching and evaluation/assessment of reading and writing - reflected a whole language approach or a non-whole language approach. The results of this study indicate that although teachers perceive that they predominantly favour classroom practices that are considered as whole language, they still employ some practices that are not considered to be whole language. Also, some perceptions of classroom practice indicate that not all whole language strategies are popular with teachers.