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Abstract

This article is part of the special feature series for Learning Disabilities Research and Practice of interviews with experts on critical issues in learning disabilities. The first part of this article, on whole language instruction in reading, consists of an interview with two whole language experts: Patricia Tefft Cousin and Margaret Richek. The second part of the article is a commentary section, which is intended to provide a balance to the presentation. Because the whole language approach is such a controversial issue in the field of learning disabilities, the editors of the journal and the interviewer considered it important to present the other side of this debate.

In the first section, Janet Lerner interviews two experts from the field of reading on whole language instruction. Patricia Tefft Cousin (PC) is an assistant professor and whole language educator at California State University at San Bernadino. Margaret Richeck (MR) is a specialist in treating reading problems and a Professor of Reading at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. Most of the responses reflect a joint answer by both Cousin and Richeck. For questions 3 and 8, the two responders offered different answers.

The second section is a commentary to provide balance to the discussion of whole language by providing another perspective of this method. Currently, many children with learning disabilities receive their reading instruction in a mainstreamed classroom using whole language methods. The critical question is how do children with learning disabilities fare under this type of reading instruction.

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Critical Issues in Learning Disabilities: Whole Language Learning

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