Editing Whole language (section)

====Adoption of some whole-language concepts====
While rancor continues, much of whole language's emphasis on quality literature, cultural diversity, and reading [[Guided reading|in groups]] and [[read aloud|to students]] is widely supported by the educational community due to its benefits of increased comprehension.<ref>{{cite web |title=Benefits of Reading Aloud |url=http://www.readingrockets.org/article/reading-aloud-build-comprehension |publisher=ReadingRockets.org |access-date=6 July 2018|date=24 April 2013 }}</ref> The importance of motivation, long a central focus of whole-language approaches, has gained more attention in the broader educational community in the last few years. Prominent critic of whole language Louisa Cook Moats has argued, however, that the focus on quality literature, diversity, reading groups, and motivation are not the sole property of whole language.<ref>Moats, L. C. (2000). ''Whole language lives on: The illusion of "Balanced Reading" instruction.''  Washington, DC: Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.</ref>  She and others contend that these components of instruction are supported by educators of diverse educational perspectives. As one report states, "Reading materials must be carefully chosen so as to be at the right reading level. Phonics instruction cannot stand alone".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bccpac.bc.ca/upload/2016/05/reading_breaking_through_barriers.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.bccpac.bc.ca/upload/2016/05/reading_breaking_through_barriers.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live|title=Reading: Breaking Through the Barriers- Copyright ©2009 Catherine Abraham and Joyce Gram}}</ref> Moats contends that the principles essential to whole language, and those that render it ineffective and unfit for reading education are: a) children learn to read from exposure to print, b) hostility to drilling in phonics and other forms of direct instruction, and c) the tendency to endorse the use of context-clues and guesswork to decipher a word rather than phonemic decoding.