Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can't, and What Can Be Done About It 1st Edition, Kindle Edition

by Mark Seidenberg (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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ISBN-13: 978-0465019328

ISBN-10: 0465019323

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In this "important and alarming" book, see why so many American students are falling behind in their reading skills while others around the world excel (New York Times).
In 2011, when an international survey reported that students in Shanghai dramatically outperformed American students in reading, math, and science, President Obama declared it a "Sputnik moment": a wake-up call about the dismal state of American education. Little has changed, however, since then: over half of our children still read at a basic level and few become highly proficient. Many American children and adults are not functionally literate, with serious consequences. Poor readers are more likely to drop out of the educational system and as adults are unable to fully participate in the workforce, adequately manage their own health care, or advance their children's education.

In Language at the Speed of Sight, internationally renowned cognitive scientist Mark Seidenberg reveals the underexplored science of reading, which spans cognitive science, neurobiology, and linguistics. As Seidenberg shows, the disconnect between science and education is a major factor in America's chronic underachievement. How we teach reading places many children at risk of failure, discriminates against poorer kids, and discourages even those who could have become more successful readers. Children aren't taught basic print skills because educators cling to the disproved theory that good readers guess the words in texts, a strategy that encourages skimming instead of close reading. Interventions for children with reading disabilities are delayed because parents are mistakenly told their kids will catch up if they work harder. Learning to read is more difficult for children who speak a minority dialect in the home, but that is not reflected in classroom practices. By building on science's insights, we can improve how our children read, and take real steps toward solving the inequality that illiteracy breeds.

Both an expert look at our relationship with the written word and a rousing call to action, Language at the Speed of Sight is essential for parents, educators, policy makers, and all others who want to understand why so many fail to read, and how to change that.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"In Language at the Speed of Sight, [Seidenberg] develops a careful argument, backed by decades of research, to show that the only responsible way to teach children to read well is to build up their abilities to connect reading with speech and then to amplify these connections through practice, developing skillful behavioral patterns hand in hand with the neurological networks that undergird them...Every teacher of young children as well as those who train them should read this book."―Wall Street Journal

"Seidenberg...unravels the science of reading with great flair. He is the ideal guide - and it turns out that we need a guide to reading, even though we've been doing it most of our lives."―Washington Post

"Seidenberg reviews the latest science on reading and makes an impassioned plea for putting this knowledge to use."―Scientific American

"Cognitive neuroscientist Seidenberg digs deep into the science of reading to reveal the ways human beings learn how to read and process language.... Seidenberg's analysis is backed up by numerous studies and table of data. His approach is pragmatic, myth-destroying and rooted in science--and his writing makes for powerful reading."―Publishers Weekly

"The neuroscience underlying [Seidenberg's] findings is complex, of course, but [he] does not often fall into thickets of technicality...his discussions are clear and accessible.... A worthy primer on the science of comprehending language."―Kirkus

"No technologically advanced society exists without reading. This is the remarkable story of why and how it all works. From David Letterman's irony to posited Sumerian patent trolls, the writing is lively, informative, and supremely entertaining."―Daniel J. Levitin, best-selling author of This Is Your Brain on Music and The Organized Mind

"Have you picked up the idea that reading is something that kids 'just pick up' and shouldn't be rushed into it, or that learning to read is something different from mastering something separate called 'comprehension,' or that a whole book about reading would be dull? Language at the Speed of Sight will disabuse you of all three notions and more-pick it up and marvel at how hard it will be to put it down."―John McWhorter, author of Word on the Move and Talking Back, Talking Black

"Few works of science ever achieve Italo Calvino's six qualities of our best writing: Lightness, exactitude, visibility, quickness, multiplicity, and consistency. Mark Seidenberg's new book achieves just that. If every educator, parent, and policy maker would read and heed the content of this book, the rates of functional illiteracy, with all their destructive sequelae, would be significantly reduced."―Maryanne Wolf, author of Proust and the Squid

"A world-renowned expert explains the science of reading with clarity and wit--anyone who loves to read will be fascinated, and teachers will absolutely devour this book."―Daniel Willingham, author of Why Don't Students Like School?

"Language at the Speed of Sight is an incisive tour through the fascinating science of reading. From cuneiform to dyslexia to the future of literacy, Seidenberg is a master guide who--lucky for us--is as gifted a writer as he is a scientist."―Benjamin Bergen, author of What the F --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR LANGUAGE AT THE SPEED OF SIGHT:

?No technologically advanced society exists without reading. This is the remarkable story of why and how it all works. From David Letterman’s irony to posited Sumerian patent trolls, the writing is lively, informative, and supremely entertaining.”
?Daniel J. Levitin, best-selling author of This Is Your Brain on Music and The Organized Mind

?Have you picked up the idea that reading is something that kids ?just pick up’ and shouldn't be rushed into, or that learning to read is something different from ?comprehension,’ or that a whole book about reading would be dull? Language at the Speed of Sight will disabuse you of all three notions and more?pick it up and marvel at how hard it will be to put it down.”
?John McWhorter, author of Word on the Move and Talking Back, Talking Black

?Few works of science ever achieve Italo Calvino’s six qualities of our best writing: Lightness, exactitude, visibility, quickness, multiplicity, and consistency. Mark Seidenberg’s new book achieves just that. If every educator, parent, and policy maker would read and heed the content of this book, the rates of functional illiteracy, with all their destructive sequelae, would be significantly reduced.”
?Maryanne Wolf, author of Proust and the Squid

?A world-renowned expert explains the science of reading with clarity and wit?anyone who loves to read will be fascinated, and teachers will absolutely devour this book.”
?Daniel Willingham, author of Why Don’t Students Like School?

?Language at the Speed of Sight is an incisive tour through the fascinating science of reading. From cuneiform to dyslexia to the future of literacy, Seidenberg is a master guide who?lucky for us?is as gifted a writer as he is a scientist.”
?Benjamin Bergen, author of What the F

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01MY56N82
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books; 1st edition (January 3, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 3, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 12695 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 487 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #375,154 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #151 in Reading Education
- #183 in Education Philosophy & Social Aspects
- #801 in Pedagogy

Customer Reviews:
309 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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Stick to the science and stop bullying educators

Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2020

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Mark Seidenberg is quite good at what he does, which is explaining how the human brain works and how it processes written text to create meaning. He knows a great deal about the anatomy and physiology of the brain; he has conducted a great deal of research, he has learned much, and he has a talent for explaining his ideas well in writing. He is a scientist and a researcher, and his expertise is apparent throughout most of this book—specifically, the first nine chapters. When he attempts to critique education, in the final three chapters of the book, he strays from his milieu, and his argument goes wildly awry.

As early as the first chapter, Seidenberg hints at some sort of agenda—he asserts that there is “a profound disconnection between the science of reading and educational practice” (p. 9), he maligns Vygotsy, argues that educators lack “scientific literacy” (p. 11), and compares the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) to Scientologists (p. 12). Then, after eight additional chapters of some excellent science (although he overdoes it a bit in his chapters on dyslexia), he seems to abandon his commitment to science in favor of a mostly unsubstantiated rant against the teaching profession and—more specifically—teacher education institutions.

In Chapter 11, entitled “The Two Cultures of Science and Education,” Seidenberg makes a number of damning and wide-ranging claims, such as “a major factor contributing to our national underachievement in reading is the culture of education” (p. 248)—as he again maligns the NCTE—and “pedagogy is an academic island, cut off from other disciplines and well defended against incursions” (p. 249). Then, after confessing that he possesses a “nonexpert eye” with regard to teacher training (p. 251) and that he possesses “no direct experience with” teacher education (p. 253), he launches what amounts to a crusade for the return to a blindly positivistic approach to training teachers. He valorizes the transmission of knowledge over the construction of knowledge. And while he successfully debunks the regrettable whole-language movement in favor of phonics instruction (with which I wholeheartedly agree), much of his dissatisfaction with the current model of teacher education—which is admittedly imperfect—seems to rest on an ideological rather than a scientific foundation.

Seidenberg’s attempts, in the final chapter, to offer helpful strategies for reforming teacher education ring hollow, mainly because he has sabotaged his own stated desire to build bridges between the two cultures of science and education. Even in the final pages of the book, he cannot resist the urge to mock current teaching strategies such as 3-cueing systems.

Professor Seidenberg’s science and research are exquisite. I just wish he’d applied the same rigor to analyzing teacher education as he did to reading and the brain.

18 people found this helpful

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MTK Shreveport

So frustrating!

Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2017

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I volunteer as an after-school reading tutor for 3rd grade students who aren't reading on grade level. I was drawn to this book because of its subtitle "What Can Be Done About It." However, at the end of chapter 7, I find out Mr. Seidenberg doesn't know. More research needs to be done to actually figure out the best practices for teaching reading. Aaarrrrrgh! I feel like a bait and switch victim.

The first chapters are pretty interesting if you want to learn how mankind created writing in the first place. Also, I was relieved to learn that he thinks speed reading schemes are just that - schemes. Now I don't have to worry about the fact that I think I read slowly. Apparently EVERYONE does.

The only solid suggestion that I read in the book about "What Can Be Done About It" is to revamp the Teach for America program to be revamped as a Tutor for America program. College grads would assist teachers and provide more reading instruction for those students who are falling behind. Sounds like a good idea to me.

I was expecting tips on how to be a better reading tutor and was very disappointed that this book did not deliver.
The subtitle was VERY misleading.

89 people found this helpful

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Dr. B

He has done an excellent job translating his scientific work for parents and teachers

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2017

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Seidenberg is well known in the worlds of neuropsychology and special education. He has done an excellent job translating his scientific work for parents and teachers. This is not an easy read however. Parents who are just starting out (or who have reading issues themselves) may find it too technical in the middle chapters when he starts integrating the research findings. As a psychologist who diagnoses dyslexia on a regular basis, I generally suggest Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz when parents first get the diagnosis. But while this one is somewhat more technical, the science is fresher, and Seidenberg does a better job integrating multiple areas of research on the neuroscience of dyslexia. A very enjoyable read!

13 people found this helpful

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C. West

it did not include the best methods for teaching these skills

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2018

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This was a very interesting book to read. Somehow, the author took what I might typically find to be dry topics (brain science, neurology, history of reading) and made it captivating with his sense of humor and varied vocabulary. This book confirmed my experience as a teacher that phonics is the most effective way to teach reading. Unfortunately, it did not include the best methods for teaching these skills. I had hoped to gain insight into ways to make the phonetic code easier to retain in my students' brains, but this was not included. I hope that if this author writes another book, it will present practices that have been as well researched as the cognitive processes involved in learning to read.

19 people found this helpful

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C. Engberg

Language at the Speed of Sight is a game changer #dyslexia

Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2017

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"Language at the Speed of Sight" is a game changer. Dr. Seidenberg uses his research (along with others' too) to pointedly demonstrate why the actual instruction of reading in schools matters, how it's not being done correctly, and how it affects not only dyslexic students, but all students. The first half of the book is challenging. It covers an incredible amount of information on the science of reading. He discusses the mechanics, what modeling shows us, and exactly why the education system has it wrong (by buying into non-science and discredited theories). My son is dyslexic and how reading is (and isn't) taught in schools is very important. We as a society want to move the needle on reading across the country. Seidenberg finds the proverbial needle in the haystack and lays it out there. A must for parents of dyslexics who want to arm themselves against fake science and fantastic claims made to pick your pocket. I've since bought five copies for professional educators.

11 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

peterbbb

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 5, 2017

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Great. I don't normally write reviews for books but this is a super well evidenced book.

J W.

Very good on the developmental psychology of reading.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 10, 2020

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Good on statistical learning.. Many conclusion referencing American educational system. Some of this applicable to UK.

Lynn H.

A well written book based on scientific evidence - excellent

Reviewed in Canada on April 23, 2019

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I am a special education teacher working with students who have difficulty learning to read. This book was filled with scientific evidence and with well thought out arguments to challenge the way reading is being taught. It challenges university teacher programs to do better and it is very insightful in presenting information regarding reading disabilities. A must for any teacher of reading. Excellent book.

Kimberley Handley

Hard to read but worth it

Reviewed in Canada on July 15, 2019

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A must read for any Dyslexic family. I’ve read a lot of books on reading and none compare to this one. Very science based so it’s a harder book to read. I would have given it 5 stars but the print is very small and faint.

Diane

Brilliant!

Reviewed in Canada on December 8, 2019

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Loving this book! With a background in language and teaching early learners, I feel this book shines light on the science of reading and has answered many of my questions on the neuroscience of reading and language acquisition. Brilliant!