Research Paper on:
Emergent Readers, Phonics vs. Whole Language Approaches

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
a sound and literate grasp of the English language. Achieving these objectives is at the core of vocabulary instruction because the reason that without it, children would find themselves  without the requisite tools to function in an ever-growing society. How to go about reaching these goals is of great debate within the academic community, inasmuch as some believe  whole language is the correct approach, while others contend that phonics is the only viable option. There is, however, a compromise in the offing where both methods are put  to use concurrently. "Emerging from the conflict over whole language and phonics is the increasingly widespread view that each approach has a different but potentially complementary role to play  in the effective teaching of reading. Many educators now look for ways to use phonics as part of whole language instruction, striving to teach meaningful phonics in the context  of literature" (Cromwell PG). Vocabulary instruction - no matter the technique - is ultimately meant to empower students with the ability to  figure out unknown words with interest and competency so that when they come across unfamiliar vocabulary long after instruction is over, they will be equipped to figure it out on  their own. Blachowicz suggests that by having students learn words as individual entities rather than in the context of phrases, the processes of retention and problem solving are not  imbedded; rather, the student is taught to recognize certain words without having any contextual attachment. As such, the principle behind whole language is that children need to be exposed  to words that are a regular part of their reading experience, such as in fairy tales and other youth stories. By plaguing them with words beyond both their comprehension