Refers to a method of literacy instruction which is based on the theory that children can learn written language (reading and writing) as effortlessly as they learn spoken language.

Proponents of whole language believe that, if children are immersed in a print-rich environment from an early age, reading and writing skills will develop naturally. This hands-off philosophy is in direct opposition to traditional language instruction programs that teach children to associate sounds with the individual letters that make up words. In such traditional phonics-based programs, children are taught to "decode" unfamiliar words by sounding them out. Some pure-phonics programs (such as the widely advertised commercial product "Hooked on Phonics") go so far as to teach letter-sound associations completely separate from any meaningful context.

In contrast to phonics-based programs, the whole-language method emphasizes whole-word recognition skills. Teachers in whole-language kindergarten classrooms often read aloud to children from...