THE DIALECTICS OF THE WHOLE LANGUAGE VERSUS TRADITIONAL INSTRUCTION DEBATE

Abstract

This paper examines the on‐going debate between traditional instruction and whole language advocates in reading from the perspective of developmental dialectics. A dialectical interpretation of this conflict views the debate as a constructive confrontation leading to qualitative advances in reading instruction. An overview of differences between the two camps is provided, followed by a brief discussion of historical conflicts in reading instruction philosophies. We next outline the reasons why whole language approaches have increasingly been incorporated into classrooms. The dialectics of the student as a literacy learner, the teacher as both an instructor and a learner, and the dialectics of instruction and research are discussed. We conclude with our speculations on how the current debate is likely to be resolved and suggest that whole language may emerge in a qualitatively different instructional form incorporating current research on strategy acquisition.