And just as no linguist is able
to formulate a complete and adequate set of grammatical rules that could.
be used to program a computer (or a child) to use spoken language,
so no theorist has yet. achieved anything like an adequate insight into the knowledge that people acquire and. use when they become fluent readers
But even if we did have a clearer understanding of the reading process, it would be. doubtful whether anyone should try to give this understanding directly to children. After all, millions of children have learned to read in the past without any profound insight on.
the part of their instructors into what the children were learning to do. There is absolutely no evidence that teaching grammar helps a child to learn to speak, and none that drills in.
phonics or other non-reading activities help the development of reading.
It is not difficult to argue that mastery of phonics develops only to the extent that reading proficiency is. acquired, just as grammar is a meaningful and useful subject (if at all) only to those who. already know how to use language. Typically, what are called "rules of reading" are hints or slogans for reading. instruction. Learning to read is not a matter of mastering rules. Children learn to read by reading