Teaching English through Childrens Literature Whole Language Approach

Teaching English through Children’s Literature: Whole Language Approach Sherri Wei 10/29/2007

Introduction Dennis the Menace 淘氣阿丹 Huffy the Little Mail Train I Am Sam 他不笨 他是我爸爸 Stellaluna Wit 心靈病房 The Runway Bunny

Why Picture Books? • They could motivate students to read better than textbooks. • They provide the contexts and authentic language learners need to acquire a second/foreign language. • The combination of colorful pictures and texts could help learners to absorb the rhythm and nuance beauty of the English language. • They could train learner’s imagination and observation. • The literature nature would guide the discussion of issues we all deal with in lives as human beings. • They cover diverse topics so that it’s possible to do content-based cross-subject studies.

Children’s Literature English Teaching Genres : fairy tales, fantasy, Nursery rhymes poetry & Non-fiction Literary Analysis & Cultural studies Multiculturalism Reader Response Theory Whole language approach Piaget’s Theory of cognitive development TESOL Methods : CLT TPR Content-based Task-based learning Language Learning Theories: Second Language Acquisition Constructivist Vygotsky’s ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development)

WH Questions Children’s Literature What • • What is the features of children’s literature? • • What are the genres of children’s literature? Why • What is the purpose of • children’s literature? What are the values we want to pass on • to our children? How • How do we perceived children? • • How do we teach with/through Who • children’s literature? • How do we plan lessons Where integrating children’s literature? When TESOL What does it mean to learn a language? What is the relationship between teaching and learning a language? How do we acquire a new (second / foreign) language? What kind of English are we teaching? What is the role of English outside of the classroom? How do we design curriculum and plan lessons in this particular context?

Whole Language as a Philosophy • 1980 s – 1990 s: What’s whole in whole language? (Goodman, 1986) • The debate in literacy learning: Teaching phonics or not? A whole to part movement. • The definition of whole: Viewing language skills as one single unit, can not be separated into sub-skills. • Belief: “[C]hild-centeredness, adult guidance, social interaction, and meaningful experiences” (Stone, 1993).

5 Constructs of 1. 2. 3. Whole Language Approach Children are expected to learn to read and write as they learned to talk— gradually, naturally, with a minimum of direct instruction, and with encouragement rather than the discouragement of constant corrections. Learning is emphasized more than teaching: the teacher makes detailed observations of the children’s needs, then guides their development accordingly. Children read and write everyday—and they are never asked to read artificially simplified or contrived language, or to write something that does not have a real purpose and audience.

4. 5. 6. Reading, writing and oral language are not considered separate components of the curriculum, or merely ends in themselves; rather, they permeate everything the children are doing in science, social studies, and the creative arts. There is no diversion between first “learning to read” and later ”reading to learn, ” as there is in the codeemphasis, sight words, and basal reading approaches. From the very beginning, children are presented with and encouraged to compose whole texts—real language written for real purposes and a real audience. Weaver, 1988: 44 -45 Cited in Stone, 1993: 362 -363

What you see depends on where you come from.

The Advantages of Whole. Language Processes • Routman (1998) • Use “real books” promotes an emphasis on meaning, connects more closely to human emotion, places children in contact with higher quality illustration, and promotes fluent reading. • Urge teachers to concentrate on the development of readers rather than the development of skills.

Learner Autonomy • • Aims to promote lifelong learning, but is different from self-learning. The capacity to take charge of one’s own learning under limited freedom (Holec 1984, Little 1999). Involves learners in the decision-making process in terms of the content, the process and the final result of leaning. Emphasize the power of motivation, reflection, and self-regulation.

Creativities in teaching & learning • What is Creativity? – Not necessary new invention, but an original recycle of current materials. • Purpose: – To enhance motivation and learning results • Motivation: – The Adventure of Tom Sawyer: Painting the fence. • Learning Results: – Language Learning, Culture Studies & Life Education

Creativities in choosing reading materials • Break the “best-seller” Myth – • EX: What a family looks like Provide diverse issues with diverse interpretations – EX: Dark issues: Death & War

Family

Alternative Family Jamie Lee Curtis

Multi-culturalism & Race

Peter Pan?

Judged by Your Skin by Kevin Sealey • “It is totally surprising and reprehensible to think, however that many cram schools and other organizations in Taiwan still practice and endorse racial segregation when hiring Westerners for English-teaching jobs. ” • “The concept that black people are incapable of teaching English is backward, narrow-minded and especially unfortunate for a society that claims to have one of the most developed economies of Asia -- if not the world -- while at the same time putting a high premium on education. ”

• This narrow-minded thinking is reminiscent of the US in the early 1960 s, where segregation was socially acceptable. Segregation in many cram schools which proudly call themselves "American Schools" is acceptable in Taiwan. It's safe to suggest, therefore, that Taiwan is one of the most racist places on earth, as reflected in their employment ethics. • Sunday, Jul 16, 2006, Page 8 http: //www. taipeitimes. com/News/editorials/a rchives/2006/07/16/2003319078

History • "Children's literature also teaches history, and when children do not see their history in school they began to think it is not worthy of learning. " —Rudolpho Anaya http: //www. nea. org/readacross/resources/50 multibooks. ht ml

History as the past and the present

Norman Rockwell "Commonplaces never become tiresome. It is we who become tired when we cease to be curious and appreciative … [We] find that it is not a new scene which is needed, but a new point of view" © 1960 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN

The Problem We All Live With Illustration for Look, January 14, 1964. Definitive Catalog number S 400. © 1964 Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing Company, Niles, IL From Eye Opener http: //www. nrm. org/eyeopener/eye_problem. html

Can we talk about WAR?

Oprah & Elie Wiesel • Nobel Peace Prize Winner 1988 • Survived the horror of the Holocaust death camps at age 15. • When I needed people to come, they didn’t. That’s why I’m here. November, 2000

What I know for sure I have no doubt that indifference is not an option. I have not doubt that the life of any person, weighs more than all the books in the world on life. I have no doubt that education is good for the soul. Not only for the mind. I have no doubt that questions have their own magic. Their own charm. And their own immortality.

References • Goodman, K. 1986. What's whole in whole language? Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. • Chitrapu, D. 1996. Whole Language Adapting the Approach for Large Classes. Forum 34(2). Retrieved Oct. 27 2007 from <http: //exchanges. state. gov/forum/vols/vol 34/no 2/p 28. htm>. • Stone, J. T. 1993. Whole-Language Reading Processes from a Vygotskian Perspective. Child&Youth Care Forum, 22(5): 361 -373.