Phonics or Whole-Word Reading Approaches?
The long debate of which is which to teach reading
Before we teach a child to read a word, we usually teach him the alphabet first by identifying a letter and producing its sound. Once he is familiar with the alphabet and their sounds, we then teach him words, phrases, and sentences. How should we teach him to read these?
It is the long debate of whole-word and phonics approaches for reading. This argument is what this article hopes to address.
Both whole-word and phonics are teaching reading approaches. Approaches are ways or manners on how we deal with something — in this case, how we teach children to read.
The whole-word approach applies the top-down or whole-to-part manner. Here, for instance, you show the child the word “cow” in a text, especially if it has a picture, and read it aloud. He can then repeat the word for familiarization. Thus, each time he encounters the word “cow,” he can give its concept. He may even add the word “moo” or the name of your pet cow; this indicates his understanding of the whole word. Nevertheless, note that he may not understand the letters and sounds of letters in the word and their relationship.
The phonics approach, on the other hand, is the opposite of the whole-word method. Here, we begin with the details and let the child read the whole word. It is also called the part-to-whole scheme. In applying this, ask the child to identify the letters and sounds of “c,” “o,” and “w” and determine the relationship (blending) of the sounds. Then, let him read the whole word by linking the sounds of its letters.
Now that the two methods are clarified, which is the most effective and which should be applied? I have two answers. But, in this article, I will give only one: know your child.
Know your learner. By identifying our learners, we could decide which works best for them. Some learners understand by identifying the concepts behind the words that they see. The whole-word technique might be the best for them. Some learners, on the other hand, are detail-oriented. They may want to know and understand the details to have a complete concept of the whole. Thus, the phonics technique would suit them best.
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