Language Experience Approach

PROS

Five Components of Reading

Phonemic awareness

Phonics

Comprehension

Vocabulary

Fluency

• Materials are learner-generated
• Reading, writing, listening, and speaking are all involved
• Difficulty of vocabulary and grammar are determined by the learners own language use
• Learning and teaching are personalized, communicative, and creative
• Personal experience and oral language
• Phonics is incorporated
• Applicable for all ages, even adults and ESL leaners

Justification and Examples

In the Classroom

Real Life Example of the Model

"Understanding the Language Experience Approach (LEA)." Professional Learning Board RSS. Professional Learning Board, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2015. <http://k12teacherstaffdevelopment.com/tlb/understanding-the-language-experience-approach-lea/>.

Feild Trip: collectively gather sequential order of events as a timeline, write as the students recall

Story recall: read a story together and have students recall events as you write them

KWL charts: when starting a new topic, use these charts to help students identify what they know, want to know, and what they learn as the unit progresses

Complete the sentence: have sentences written on chart paper with blanks to fill in, write student's verbal answers and their names next to their answers

Feldman, Jean. "Language Experience Approach Charts." Literacy Connections. Ready, Set, Read!, 05 Oct. 2008. Web. 01 Dec. 2015. <http://www.literacyconnections.com/DrJeanLECharts.php>.

Overview

• Draws upon real life experiences of students
• Precursor to whole language movement
• Originally lacked theoretical base but had enough potential so that several versions were later suggested for working with ELs
• Effective for ELs and students with mild/moderate disabilities
• Whole group & individual lessons
• Allows for opportunity to use native language without strict correction
• Children dictate stories as teacher writes
• Integrates speaking, listening, reading, and writing
• Goals:
• recognize high frequency words
• explore spelling patterns
• extend vocabularies
• study grammatical style and form
• study language structure
• read non-alphabetic symbol systems

Works Cited

Language Experience Overview

CONS

Pierson, M. R., & Glaeser, B. C. (2003, Spring). Revisiting the language experience approach.

Academic Exchange Quarterly, 7(1), 122+.

Retrieved from: http://proxy2.noblenet.org/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?

id=GALE%7CA101943707&v=2.1&u=mlin_n_gordon&it=r&p=AONE&asid=cf0327af389a32322d132c182666de05

Richard-Amato, P. A. (2010). Ways to promote literacy development. In Making it happen: From

interactive to participatory language teaching: Evolving theory and practice, Fourth Edition

(302-337). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.

Taylor, Marsha. "ESL Resources." CAELA: Center for Adult English Language Acquisition. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015. <http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/

LEA.html>.

Feldman, Jean. "Language Experience Approach Charts." Literacy Connections. Ready, Set, Read!, 05 Oct. 2008. Web. 01 Dec. 2015. <http://www.literacyconnections.com/DrJeanLECharts.php>.

"Understanding the Language Experience Approach (LEA)." Professional Learning Board RSS. Professional Learning Board, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2015. <http://k12teacherstaffdevelopment.com/tlb/understanding-the-language-experience-approach-lea/>.

Moats, Louisa. Whole Language High Jinks: How to Tell When "Scientifically-Based Reading Instruction" Isn't. pg. 12

Bomengen, Monica. "What Is the "Whole Language" Approach to Teaching Reading?" - Reading Horizons. 23 Sept. 2010. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.

Johnson, Andy. "Language Experience Approach." YouTube. YouTube, 22 May 2010. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.

Lacuesta, Christy Ann. "Language Experience Approach." Language Experience Approach. 22 Sept. 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.

Taylor, Marcia. "CAELA: ESL Resources: Digests." CAELA: ESL Resources: Digests. 2000. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.

• Development and Practice more than teaching
• Implicit-doesn't reach all students
• Reading disabilities and other cognitive disorders-need explicit teaching
• 10-15% have processing disorder
• Components of a good reading program that could be missing: letter knowledge, phonemic awareness, phonics, irregular word reading, multisyllabic word reading

Language Experience Approach