Introduction Retention and understanding have become a familiar words for students who have been recognized with severe disabilities. It has been ongoing since the 1970s and is the education sector’s response to such learning problems. For most students, the experience of repeating a grade or level, even if it means failure to comply with the requirements of only one subject, is a dreadful experience. However, the unnerving experience is not only the burden of the student but of the family as well. Not only does retention imply a student’s academic ineptitude, but it also reflects on his / her family’s lack of academic support and assistance for the child. Retention, therefore, is deemed as a consequence, if not a punishment, for its grave academic and socio-economic consequences. As it is already a recognized challenge to increase the retention level of students with severe disabilities, the more it has become apparent that even the seemingly simple phonic and the whole language learning will be extremely hard for the students with severe disabilities to understand and/or adapt with. Background The objective of the Study The objective of this study is to find the different approaches that can be used in teaching phonics and the whole language to students with varied severe disabilities. An evaluation and comparison of the different literature that concerns this study and other related issues will be used to attain this objective. Significance of the Study This study will be able to identify whether the use of various approaches to teaching phonics and the whole aspect of language is appropriate in helping the students learn better or faster, especially the students with varied severe disabilities. The literature may be a helpful aid for educators in finding out the apposite, reliable, and valid measure in increasing students’ retention on phonics and the whole language as well as other academic outcomes. The study may be a useful tool for further innovation or the creation of new measurement strategies that would be able to accurately predict the academic outcomes of the students, especially those students with severe learning disabilities. Scientific-based Research about the success of Teaching to Students with Severe Disabilities Language Acquisition There have been several theories concerning language acquisition. Furthermore, current theories of second language acquisition are based on years of research in a wide variety of fields that include linguistics, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and neuro-linguistics (Allington, 2002). The continuum of learning is one specific concept endorsed by most theorists where it involves predictable and sequential stages of language development. This concept talks about the language learner’s progress from knowing nothing of the language to a competent one who soon resembles a native speaker. Identified distinct stages of language development or acquisition are the following:   * Stage I: The Silent/Receptive or Preproduction Stage: At this stage, students may not be able to speak though they can respond using different strategies like pointing to an object, picture, or person; performing an act that involves gestures and bodily movements; or simply responding “yes” or “no” answers – this is a period called the “silent period.” Teachers at this point should however not force the students to speak until they are ready to do so. Learners can also have obtained up to 500 “receptive” words, which they can understand, bu