Which method focuses on the reader's experiential knowledge to teach literacy?

The Language Experience Approach (LEA) focuses on utilizing the reader’s personal experiences and knowledge to teach literacy skills. This method emphasizes the importance of a learner's own words and narratives as the foundation for developing reading and writing abilities. By integrating students' actual experiences into literacy instruction, the approach fosters a deeper connection between the content and the reader’s life, making the learning process more relevant and engaging.

This method allows learners to contextualize their reading and writing in ways that resonate with them personally, resulting in a more meaningful engagement with the text. For example, students might dictate stories about their daily lives or significant experiences, which can then be transformed into reading materials. This process not only supports literacy development but also encourages self-expression and personal reflection.

In contrast, other methods like the Language Structure, Linguistic Approach, and Letter Recognition primarily focus on grammatical rules, phonetics, and the recognition of letters and sounds without emphasizing the learner's personal context in the same way LEA does. Thus, the Language Experience Approach stands out by prioritizing the reader's experiential knowledge as a cornerstone of literacy instruction.