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whole language

American  

noun

  1. a method of teaching reading in which reading is combined with listening, speaking, and writing practice, and literature is used to decode words in context.


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Example Sentences

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Phonics instruction gets kids in the door, then whole language comprehension needs to take over.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

“As the story progresses, and he decides to go electric, the colors become more vibrant, and we are a little bit faster-paced with the whole language of our storytelling,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2025

The teaching of reading has largely been framed as a battle between phonics and whole language.

From Scientific American • Sep. 26, 2023

The whole language of the trial was simplified to help Louis De Zoysa understand.

From BBC • Jun. 23, 2023

No, she did, she really did, groaning and grunting and rumbling—she had a whole language of her own!

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

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