Experience with the Language IELTS Reading Answers

Aug 23, 2023

Experience with the Language IELTS Reading Answers is a general reading subject that explores Experience with the Language. Experience with the Language IELTS reading answers, have a total of thirteen questions. The specified topic generates a single type of question: True/False/Not Given. Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly in order to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. IELTS reading practice papers, which feature topics such as Experience with the Language IELTS Reading Answers. Candidates can use IELTS reading answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Experience with the language

A
Learning to speak is automatic for almost all children, but learning to read requires elaborate instruction and conscious effort. Well aware of the difficulties, educators have given a great deal of thought to how they can best help children learn to read. No single method has triumphed. Indeed, heated arguments about the most appropriate form of reading instruction continue to polarize the teaching community.

B
Three general approaches have been tried. In one, called whole-word instruction, children learn by rote how to recognise at a glance vocabulary of 50 to 100 words. Then they gradually acquire other words, often through seeing them used over and over again in the context of a story.

Speakers of most languages learn the relationship between letters and the sounds associated with them (phonemes). That is, children are taught how to use their knowledge of the alphabet to sound out words. This procedure constitutes a second approach to teaching reading - phonics.

Many schools have adopted a different approach: the whole-language method. The strategy here relies on the child's experience with the language. For example, students are offered engaging books and are encouraged to guess the words that they do not know by considering the context of the sentence or by looking for clues in the storyline and illustrations, rather than trying to sound them out.

Many teachers adopted the whole-language approach because of its intuitive appeal. Making reading fun promises to keep children motivated, and learning to read depends more on what the student does than on what the teacher does. The presumed benefits of whole-language instruction - and the contrast to the perceived dullness of phonics - led to its growing acceptance across American during the 1990s and a movement away from phonics.

C
However, many linguists and psychologists objected strongly to the abandonment of phonics in American schools. Why was this so? In short, because research had clearly demonstrated that understanding how letters related to the component sounds in words is critically important in reading. This conclusion rests, in part, on knowledge of how experienced readers make sense of words on a page. Advocates of whole-language instruction have argued forcefully that people often derive meanings directly from print without ever determining the sound of the word.

Some psychologists today accept this view, but most believe that reading is typically a process of rapidly sounding out words mentally. Compelling evidence for this comes from experiments which show that subjects often confuse homophones (words that sound the same, such as Jrose and 'rows5). This supports the idea that readers convert strings of letters to sounds.

D
In order to evaluate different approaches to teaching reading, a number of experiments have been carried out, firstly with college students, then with school pupils. Investigators trained English-speaking college students to read using unfamiliar symbols such as Arabic letters (the phonics approach), while another group learned entire words associated with certain strings of Arabic letters (whole-word). Then both groups were required to read new set of words constructed from the original characters. In general, readers who were taught the rules of phonics could read many more new words than those trained with a whole-word procedure.

Classroom studies comparing phonics with either whole-word or whole-language instruction are also quite illuminating. One particularly persuasive study compared two programmes used in 20 first-grade classrooms. Half the students were offered traditional reading instruction, which included the use of phonics drills and applications. The other half were taught using an individualized method that drew from their experiences with languages; these children produce their own booklets of stories and developed sets of words to be recognised (common components of the whole-language approach). This study found that the first group scored higher at year's end on tests of reading and comprehension.

E
If researchers are so convinced about the need for phonics instruction, why does the debate continue? Because the controversy is enmeshed in the philosophical differences between traditional and progressive (or new) approaches, differences that have divided educators for years. The progressive challenge the results of laboratory tests and classroom studies on the basis of a broad philosophical skepticism about the values of such research. They champion student-centred learned and teacher empowerment. Sadly, they fail to realize that these very admirable educational values are equally consistent with the teaching of phonics.

F
If schools of education insisted that would-be reading teachers learned something about the vast research in linguistics and psychology that bears on reading, their graduates would be more eager to use phonics and would be prepared to do so effectively. They could allow their pupils to apply the principles of phonics while reading for pleasure.

Using whole-language activities to supplement phonics instruction certainly helps to make reading fun and meaningful for children, so no one would want to see such tools discarded. Indeed, recent work has indicated that the combination of literature-based instruction and phonics is more powerful than either method used alone.

Teachers need to strike a balance. But in doing so, we urge them to remember that reading must be grounded in a firm understanding of the connections between letters and sounds. Educators who deny this reality are neglecting decades of research. They are also neglecting the needs of their students.

Section 2

Questions 27-31
Reading Passage 3 has six sections, A-F.
Choose the correct heading for sections B-F from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-ix, in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings
Disagreement about the reading process

The roots of the debate
A combined approach
Methods of teaching reading
A controversial approach
Inconclusive research
Research with learners
Allowing teachers more control
A debate amongst educators

Example
Section A - ix

27 Section B

Answer: iv
Supporting statement:“...Three general approaches have been tried. In one, called whole-word instruction, children learn by rote how to recognise at a glance vocabulary of 50 to 100 words.…”
Keywords: children, glance
Keyword location: para B, line 1-2
Explanation: The passage mentions that the whole-language method gained popularity in the 1990s due to its intuitive appeal and the belief that making reading enjoyable and relevant to children's experiences would keep them motivated.

28 Section C

Answer: i
Supporting statement:“....However, many linguists and psychologists objected strongly to the abandonment of phonics in American schools…”
Keywords: linguists, abandonment
Keyword location: para C, line 1-2
Explanation: The passage highlights the disagreement and controversy surrounding the teaching of reading methods, specifically the abandonment of phonics in American schools in favor of the whole-language approach.

29 Section D

Answer: vii
Supporting statement:“.... In order to evaluate different approaches to teaching reading, a number of experiments have been carried out, firstly with college students, then with school pupils.…”
Keywords: experiments, pupils
Keyword location: para D, line 1-2
Explanation: The passage discusses various research experiments conducted to evaluate different approaches to teaching reading. The experiments involved training college students and school pupils using different methods, such as phonics and whole-word instruction.

30 Section E

Answer: ii
Supporting statement:“....If researchers are so convinced about the need for phonics instruction, why does the debate continue?.…”
Keywords: convinced, debate
Keyword location: para E, line 1-2
Explanation: The passage discusses the ongoing debate surrounding the teaching of phonics in reading instruction. It acknowledges that despite researchers advocating for phonics instruction based on evidence from
laboratory tests and classroom studies, the debate continues to persist.

31 Section F

Answer: iii
Supporting statement:“....Using whole-language activities to supplement phonics instruction certainly helps to make reading fun and meaningful for children.…”
Keywords: phonics, fun
Keyword location: para F, line 5-6
Explanation: The title "A Combined Approach" is suitable for the provided passage.

The passage emphasizes the importance of a combined approach to teaching reading that incorporates both phonics instruction and whole-language activities.

Questions 32-36
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

The whole-language approach relates letters to sounds.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting statement:“....That is, children are taught how to use their knowledge of the alphabet to sound out words. This procedure constitutes a second approach to teaching reading - phonics..…”
Keywords: knowledge, phonics
Keyword location: para B, line 5-6
Explanation: The whole-language approach relies on the child's experience with the language and emphasizes understanding words through context, sentence structure, and illustrations rather than explicitly teaching letter-sound relationships.

Many educators believe the whole-language approach to be the most interesting way to teach children to read.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement:“...Making reading fun promises to keep children motivated, and learning to read depends more on what the student does than on what the teacher does..…”
Keywords: fun, depends
Keyword location: para B, line 15-16
Explanation: Yes, according to the passage, many educators have adopted the whole-language approach because of its intuitive appeal and the belief that making reading fun and meaningful for children helps to keep them motivated.

Research supports the theory that we read without linking words to sounds.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting statement:“...grounded in a firm understanding of the connections between letters and sounds. Educators who deny this reality are neglecting decades of research..…”
Keywords: letters, reality
Keyword location: para F, line 10-12
Explanation: The passage mentioned that advocates of the whole-language approach argue that people often derive meanings directly from print without determining the sound of the word.

Research has shown that the whole-word approach is less effective than the whole-language approach.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: The passage did not explicitly state that the whole-word approach is less effective than the whole-language approach. However, it mentioned that the presumed benefits of whole-language instruction,
including making reading fun and depending on what the student does rather than the teacher, led to its growing acceptance during the 1990s.

Research has shown that phonics is more successful than both the whole-word and whole-language approaches.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement:“.... Indeed, recent work has indicated that the combination of literature-based instruction and phonics is more powerful than either method used alone...…”
Keywords: powerful, method
Keyword location: para F, line 7-8
Explanation: The passage provided some evidence supporting the effectiveness of phonics instruction compared to other approaches. It mentioned experiments where readers trained with phonics were able to read more new words compared to those trained with a whole-word procedure.

Questions 37-40
Complete the summary of sections E and F using the list of words, A-G, below.
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.

In the teaching community, 37______question the usefulness of research into methods of teaching reading. These critics believe that 38.............. is incompatible with student-centred learning. In the future, teachers need to be aware of 39.............. so that they understand the importance of phonics. They should not, however, ignore the ideas of 40................... which make reading enjoyable for learners.

the phonics method
the whole-word method
the whole-language method
traditionalists
progressives
linguistics
research studies

Q.37

Answer: E
Supporting statement:“....controversy is enmeshed in the philosophical differences between traditional and progressive (or new) approaches, differences that have divided educators for years...…”
Keywords: enmeshed, philosophical
Keyword location: para E, line 2-3
Explanation: According to the passage, there are philosophical differences between traditional and progressive approaches to teaching reading. Progressives challenge the results of laboratory tests and classroom studies on the basis of a broad philosophical skepticism about the values of such research.

Q.38

Answer: A
Supporting statement:“...They champion student-centred learned and teacher empowerment. Sadly, they fail to realize that these very admirable educational values are equally consistent with the teaching of
phonics…”
Keywords: admirable, phonics
Keyword location: para E, line 6-7
Explanation: While the passage mentions that progressives challenge the results of research on teaching reading methods, it does not explicitly state that they believe phonics is incompatible with student-centered learning.

Q.39

Answer: G
Supporting statement:“... research in linguistics and psychology that bears on reading, their graduates would be more eager to use phonics and would be prepared to do so effectively..…”
Keywords: linguistics, phonics
Keyword location: para F, line 2-3
Explanation: Yes, according to the passage, it is suggested that future teachers should be knowledgeable about research studies in order to understand the importance of phonics in teaching reading.

Q.40

Answer: C
Supporting statement:“....Many teachers adopted the whole-language approach because of its intuitive appeal. Making reading fun promises to keep children motivated.…”
Keywords: adopted, intuitive
Keyword location: para B, line 14-15
Explanation:Indeed, the passage emphasizes the importance of striking a balance in teaching reading. While recognizing the significance of phonics instruction, it also acknowledges the value of the whole-language method in making reading enjoyable and meaningful for learners.

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