To: FreedomPoster
Phonetics is what allows a reader to be able to read and say a word like diethyldimethyltoluene without having encountered it before. Trying to learn the English language with Whole Word when it is 90% phonetic is absurd.
Using a phonics approach is what enables a reader of an alphabetic language to pronounce (maybe) a word he has never encountered before in print. And if he is familiar with the word already, he will almost certainly recognize it once he decodes it phonetically. This is the beauty of an alphabetic language. However, once someone has learned to read an alphabetic language, he does so by shape recognition, initial and final letters, or other idiosyncratic distinctive features, not by a phonetic process. The amount of time required to do this is far too long for the speed at which fluent readers read.
60 posted on
12/17/2011 7:30:04 AM PST by
aruanan
To: aruanan
OK, I’m good with that. The key point is that trying to teach children reading with a one-size-fits-all whole word approach is a really, really bad idea. Phonics instruction is necessary, exceptions to the rule notwithstanding.
61 posted on
12/17/2011 7:59:06 AM PST by
FreedomPoster
(Islam delenda est)
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson