whole language
noun
: a method of teaching reading and writing that emphasizes learning whole words and phrases by encountering them in meaningful contexts rather than by phonics exercises
Examples of whole language in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The whole language approach to reading instruction Like the serotonin imbalance theory only gains
Power when debunked.
—
Ben Lerner, The New York Review of Books, 24 Apr. 2025
And whole language, which champions many of the excellent strategies still in use today, is not all bad.
—Chicago Tribune, 6 Apr. 2025
Phonics, once called phonetics, has fallen out of favor at times, supplanted by the competing whole language method that teaches students to learn entire words rather than sound them out.
—Tim Balk, New York Daily News, 3 Jan. 2024
The teaching of reading has largely been framed as a battle between phonics and whole language.
—Marion Blank, Scientific American, 26 Sep. 2023
Students learn to sound out letters, but sounding out is only used as a last resort under whole language instruction because the underlying theory of the method is that reading is natural for most children, similar to how learning to talk is innate.
—cleveland, 21 Dec. 2022
The whole language approach does not emphasize sounding out letters, but focuses on learning to read words and passages using practice, context and clues such as individual letters and pictures.
—Tyler Katzenberger, Journal Sentinel, 8 June 2023
And over the course of those four decades, public officials and academic experts told her how literacy should be taught, shifting several times from a focus on phonics, to self-discovery and whole word memorization, back to phonics and phonemes and then again to whole language.
—Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 June 2022
Designations as phonics-based versus whole language were made by Ed Reports, a nonprofit that provides independent reviews of instructional materials.
—oregonlive, 6 Jan. 2023
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Ben Lerner, The New York Review of Books, 24 Apr. 2025
And whole language, which champions many of the excellent strategies still in use today, is not all bad.
—Chicago Tribune, 6 Apr. 2025
Phonics, once called phonetics, has fallen out of favor at times, supplanted by the competing whole language method that teaches students to learn entire words rather than sound them out.
—Tim Balk, New York Daily News, 3 Jan. 2024
The teaching of reading has largely been framed as a battle between phonics and whole language.
—Marion Blank, Scientific American, 26 Sep. 2023
Students learn to sound out letters, but sounding out is only used as a last resort under whole language instruction because the underlying theory of the method is that reading is natural for most children, similar to how learning to talk is innate.
—cleveland, 21 Dec. 2022
The whole language approach does not emphasize sounding out letters, but focuses on learning to read words and passages using practice, context and clues such as individual letters and pictures.
—Tyler Katzenberger, Journal Sentinel, 8 June 2023
And over the course of those four decades, public officials and academic experts told her how literacy should be taught, shifting several times from a focus on phonics, to self-discovery and whole word memorization, back to phonics and phonemes and then again to whole language.
—Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 June 2022
Designations as phonics-based versus whole language were made by Ed Reports, a nonprofit that provides independent reviews of instructional materials.
—oregonlive, 6 Jan. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Whole language.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whole%20language. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share