whole-word method
- noun
- /hoʊl wɜrd ˈmɛθəd/
- Archaic
:
método de palabras completas
- Teachers often use the whole-word method to encourage students to associate written words with their spoken forms.
Examples
-
Lowenfeld, Abel, and Hatlen (1969) examined the evidence related to instruction in braille reading and writing and how children learn braille through the "whole-word" method, then in wide use.
Academic text (2009) -
Braille reading should be taught by the whole-word method used in print, and contracted braille lends itself to that method.
Academic text (2009) -
Flesch argued that schools were not teaching children to read, and he railed against the whole-word method, which he saw as being dominant in schools.
Academic text (2008) -
Many educators believe that the whole-word method helps children to recognize words quickly during reading lessons.
-
The whole-word method emphasizes learning to read entire words rather than focusing on individual letters.
Surface Forms
Morphology
whole-word + method
The meaning 'a method of teaching that uses complete printed words rather than decoding them' is directly derivable from the constituents 'whole' + 'word' and 'method' — i.e. a method focused on whole words. This compositional modifier+noun pattern is transparent and common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the parts would very likely infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Whole-word method comes from the idea of treating a printed word as one whole picture a child learns by sight, like recognising a face. So, instead of 'sounding out' letters, learners are taught to recognise and remember whole words, which is why the name means teaching reading by learning entire words.
