The Microcomputer and the Language Experience Approach

The lang experience approach (LEA) has influenced the theory & practice of reading instruction for many years. The approach assumes that reading comprehension is the result of the reader bringing personal experience to bear in interpreting the author's words. The LEA contends that the teacher can best develop reading skills by treating reading as an intergral part of all the lang arts (reading, listening, writing, & speaking). Presented here are three ways the teacher can utilize a microcomputer to integrate reading with another of the lang arts. The examples include word processor-generated stories, sequence stories, & interactive literature. Word processor-generated stories allow the teacher to transcribe a story dictated by the student for later use as reading material. Sequence stories present the student with a series of pictures & require the student to produce a story & title to explain the pictures. Interactive literature presents the reader with stories that reach decision points & then allow the reader to select which of several proposed possible courses of action they would like to follow. Each microcomputer use is further discussed in terms of theory & method of implementation. 6 References. AA