Kumaravadivelu

 

Fostering Language Awareness

Language Awareness:

(a) General language awareness – linguistic & sociolinguistic features

(b) Critical language awareness – social & political factors

The British Movement – Language Awareness (LA) movement

1975 report of the Bullock Committee

Donmall 1985, p. 7: “A person’s sensitivity to and conscious awareness of the nature of language and its role in human life.”

Eric Hawkins (1984, p. 6): “We are trying to light fires of curiosity about the central human characteristic of language which will blaze throughout our pupil’s lives.  While combating linguistic complacency, we are seeking to arm our pupils against fear of the unknown which breeds prejudice and antagonism.”

The American Movement – Whole Language movement

Integrating four language skills + language related content across school curriculum

Various components of language such as sounds, words, phrases and sentences should be taught holistically using authentic materials and meaningful activities that resonate with learners and their daily life.

Holistic = characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole.

Ken Goodman (1986, p.27): “Whole language is whole.  It does not exclude some languages, some dialects, or some registers because their speakers lack status in a particular society.  Every language form constitutes a precious linguistic resource for its users.  This does not mean that whole language teachers are not aware of the social values assigned to different language varieties and how these affect people who use them. But they can put these social values in perspective.”

WHAT DOES THE TERM WHOLE LANGUAGE MEAN? CONSTRUCTING A DEFINITION FROM THE LITERATURE

Whole language has as its foundation many concepts drawn from early philosophers in education. In her report of the historical roots of whole language, Yetta Goodman (1989) stated that "those who call ourselves whole-language proponents today discover our roots in the humanistic and scientific beliefs of those who came before" (p. 125). Goodman cited: Comenius's concern for learner-centered pedagogy, Piaget's support for children's active role in learning, Vygotsky's belief in the relationship between the learning and of the individual student and influences of the social context, and Halliday's support for contextual learning as each contributing to the concept of whole language. In addition, Dewey's contributions to whole language can be traced through his support for reflective teaching, learning centered education, and the integration of the language arts within the curriculum (Y. Goodman, 1989) as well as for his support for learning by doing (Hildreth, 1965).

Yetta Goodman (1989) the whole language is simply language experience with a new label. 

The language-experience approach (LEA) was described four decades ago as one that ‘makes much of this sequence of meaningful relationships through which it guides the learner and strives to develop his personal identification with the experience and with the functional uses of relevant language”.