Reinforcing Literacy Instruction in an ELL context

An analysis of the phonic method used for Literacy teaching in an ELL context, suggest that phonics instruction is essential but not enough in any effective Literacy program. Through phonics instruction children develop decoding skills, however, reading and writing require other important skills. The Whole Language Approach´s principles refer to the use of context when reading, highlighting the importance of developing comprehension skills. A two-school comparison based in the Literacy skills required enables us to demonstrate that isolated phonics instruction is not sufficient. In this way, a proposal of improvements to reinforce Literacy instruction in an ELL context is presented in order to achieve a more effective teaching of reading and writing