Language Experience:
Literacy Across the Disciplines Special Interest Group
This special interest group was designed to explore how reading, writing, discussion, and authentic experiences can be combined in the curriculum to enhance learning at all age levels, in every discipline. If you are interested in joining this group, please fill out the application located under the membership tab at the top of this page.
Language Experience Approach Explained
by Mary W. Strong, Ed.D. Professor Emerita Widener University
The Language Experience Approach (LEA) is based on the following ideas: that the learner is an active user of language, learning is promoted through personal involvement, and communication of meaning is the purpose of language learning. Another important aspect is that the learner’s products are valued and are valid materials to be utilized for literacy learning (Landis, Umolu & Mancha, 2010).
The steps followed in the LEA procedure are as follows:
1. The student composes a story (based upon their own experience or upon a book as a stimulus) and dictates her story to the teacher.
2. The teacher reads the student’s story to check if the written dictation was correct.
3. The student’s draft is completed and the student reads his/her story to the teacher.
4. Any words that the student has difficulty identifying can become part of a word bank for the student.
5. The story could then be printed and reread again by the student or by the other students in the class.
A great asset of LEA is that the student’s reading vocabulary, which is derived from his oral vocabulary, allows for acquisition of sight words, as well as natural semantic and grammatical structures (Ward, 2005). The Language Experience Approach is a total language arts approach that relies heavily upon dictated stories, word banks, and creative writing. Therefore, LEA is also a very comprehensive methodology that can be used to teach literacy.
Language Experience Approach Explained
by Mary W. Strong, Ed.D. Professor Emerita Widener University
The Language Experience Approach (LEA) is based on the following ideas: that the learner is an active user of language, learning is promoted through personal involvement, and communication of meaning is the purpose of language learning. Another important aspect is that the learner’s products are valued and are valid materials to be utilized for literacy learning (Landis, Umolu & Mancha, 2010).
The steps followed in the LEA procedure are as follows:
1. The student composes a story (based upon their own experience or upon a book as a stimulus) and dictates her story to the teacher.
2. The teacher reads the student’s story to check if the written dictation was correct.
3. The student’s draft is completed and the student reads his/her story to the teacher.
4. Any words that the student has difficulty identifying can become part of a word bank for the student.
5. The story could then be printed and reread again by the student or by the other students in the class.
A great asset of LEA is that the student’s reading vocabulary, which is derived from his oral vocabulary, allows for acquisition of sight words, as well as natural semantic and grammatical structures (Ward, 2005). The Language Experience Approach is a total language arts approach that relies heavily upon dictated stories, word banks, and creative writing. Therefore, LEA is also a very comprehensive methodology that can be used to teach literacy.
References
Landis, D., Umolu, J., & Mancha, S. (2010). The power of language experiencefor cross-cultural reading and writing. The Reading Teacher, 63(7), 580-589.
Ward, H. C. (2005). The use of language experience in teaching students with severe learning disabilities. The Reading Matrix, 5(1), 16-20.
Landis, D., Umolu, J., & Mancha, S. (2010). The power of language experiencefor cross-cultural reading and writing. The Reading Teacher, 63(7), 580-589.
Ward, H. C. (2005). The use of language experience in teaching students with severe learning disabilities. The Reading Matrix, 5(1), 16-20.