Phonics Versus Whole Language in Teaching EFL to Young Learners: A Micro-Ethnographic Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

2 Department of English, Faculty of Literature, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) to young learners is gaining increasing significance given many parents’ interest in EFL learning by their pre-school children. In this micro-ethnographic study, in light of a long-held debate in literacy education, we examine the nature of the little-explored current practices of EFL teaching to young learners from the two instructional perspectives of Phonics (PH) and Whole Language (WL). Data collection was carried out through micro-ethnographic observation of an EFL teacher training course for teachers of young learners as well as four classes at a private language institute in Tehran over a period of three months. Data bodies, including audio-recordings, fieldnotes, reflective memos, teaching materials, and young learners’ writings were analyzed based on a grounded theory perspective. The findings illustrate detailed accounts of teaching and learning involvements in this context and indicate that the instructional practices labeled as PH-based teaching are in fact an uneven mix of PH and WL. On this basis, we argue that a conscious and coherent combination of perspectives from the two approaches can provide opportunities for more balanced teaching and more meaningful EFL learning experiences. On this basis, we argue that a conscious and coherent combination of perspectives from the two approaches can provide opportunities for more balanced teaching and more meaningful EFL learning experiences.

Keywords

Interdisciplinary Studies in English Language Teaching
Volume 01, Issue 2
July 2023
Pages 55-75

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