WHOLE LANGUAGE BACKGROUND  The Whole Language was created in the 1980s by a group of U.S. Educators.  The Whole Language was found by BERGERON (1990).  The Whole Language movement argues that language should be taught as a “whole”.  The Whole Language aims to help young children to read and write naturally with a focus on real communication, and to do these skills for pleasure. THEORY OF LANGUAGE AND OF LEARNING Whole Language views language as a vehicle for human communication.  Whole Language also views language psycholinguistically as a vehicle; - for internal interaction - for egocentric speech - for thinking   Constructivist learners should create meaning, learn by doing and work collaboratively in mixed groups on common projects. THE MAJOR PRINCIPLES of WHOLE LANGUAGE The use of authentic literature rather than artificial, specially prepared texts and exercises designed to practice individual reading skills.  A focus on real and natural events relate to the students’ experience.  The reading of real texts of high interest, particularly literature.  Reading for the sake of comprehension and for a real purpose.  Writing for a real audience and not simply to practice writing skills.  Writing as a process through which learners explore and discover meaning.  The use of student-produced texts.  Integration of reading, writing, and other skills.  Student-centered learning.  Reading and writing in partnership with other learner.  Encouragement of risk taking and the acceptance of errors.  THE ROLES of TEACHERS  The teachers ; - are facilitators and active participants - should not follow a preplanned lesson plan - should support collaborative learning - should negotiate a plan of work with the learners. THE ROLES of LEARNERS  The learners are ; - collaborators - evaluators - self directed - selectors of learning materials and activities. THE ROLES of MATERIALS Using real-world materials ( e.g. a piece of literature ).  Students ought to bring newspapers, signs, handbills, storybooks, and printed materials to class.  Students should produce their own materials.  CLASSROOM FEATURES  Bergeron found only four classroom features; - the use of literature - the use of process writing - encouragement of cooperative learning among students - concern for students’ attitude ACTIVITIES in WHOLE LANGUAGE - Individual and small group reading and writing - Ungraded dialogue journals - Writing portfolios - Writing conferences - Student-made books - Story writing PROS and CONS of WHOLE LANGUAGE PROS - Focusing on experiences and activities - Using authentic materials - Facilitating the development of all aspects of a second language CONS - Proposals are seen as antidirect teaching, anti-skills and anti-materials - Authentic texts might be insufficient to support second language learning THANK YOU FOR LISTENING  Didem YAPICI Sinan YESILOGLU