Language at the Speed of Sight

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

According to a leading cognitive scientist, we've been teaching reading wrong. The latest science reveals how we can do it right.

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.

  • Format: Paperback | 384 pages
  • Dimensions: 142 x 211 x 26mm | 336g
  • Publication date: 29 Mar 2018
  • Publisher: Basic Books
  • Publication City/Country: London, United States
  • Language: English
  • Edition Statement: Reprint
  • Illustrations note: 10 Tables, 47 Halftones, b&w
  • ISBN10: 1541617150
  • ISBN13: 9781541617155
  • Bestsellers rank: 59,611

More Books:

Language at the Speed of Sight
Language: en
Pages: 385
Authors: Mark Seidenberg
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2017-01-03 - Publisher:

We’ve been teaching reading wrong—a leading cognitive scientist tells us how we can finally do it right
Language at the Speed of Sight
Language: en
Pages: 519
Authors: Mark Seidenberg
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2017-01-03 - Publisher: Basic Books

In this "important and alarming" (New York Times) book, see why so many American students are falling behind in their reading skills while others around the wor
Language at the Speed of Sight
Language: en
Pages: 384
Authors: Mark Seidenberg
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2017-01-03 - Publisher: Hachette UK

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 Yor
Out of Sight
Language: en
Pages: 52
Authors: Seymour Simon
Categories: Juvenile Nonfiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 2012-10-01 - Publisher: StarWalk Kids Media

From deep within the human body to distant nebulae in outer space, there are worlds all around us that are smaller, faster, and farther than the unaided eye can
English Isn't Crazy
Language: en
Pages: 139
Authors: Diana Hanbury King
Categories: Language Arts & Disciplines
Type: BOOK - Published: 2000 - Publisher: Pro Ed

Originally published: Baltimore: York Press, c2000.
Louder Than Words
Language: en
Pages: 311
Authors: Benjamin K. Bergen
Categories: Language Arts & Disciplines
Type: BOOK - Published: 2012-10-30 - Publisher:

A cognition expert describes how meaning is conveyed and processed in the mind and answers questions about how we can understand information about things we've
Can Fish Count?
Language: en
Pages: 384
Authors: Brian Butterworth
Categories: Animal intelligence
Type: BOOK - Published: 2022-03-03 - Publisher:

Busier Than Ever!
Language: en
Pages: 300
Authors: Charles Darrah
Categories: Social Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2007-03-22 - Publisher: Stanford University Press

Busyness defines the lives of most Americans. For some, the focus of busyness is family. For others, it is career or social activities. Sometimes busyness resul
Why Johnny Still Can't Read
Language: en
Pages: 240
Authors: Rudolf Flesch
Categories: Education
Type: BOOK - Published: 1983 - Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

From the Back Cover: In this incendiary sequel to his earlier best-seller, Why Johnny Can't Read, Rudolf Flesch contends that our most common method of teaching
Proust and the Squid
Language: en
Pages: 340
Authors: Maryanne Wolf
Categories: Education
Type: BOOK - Published: 2017-08-01 - Publisher: HarperCollins

“Wolf restores our awe of the human brain—its adaptability, its creativity, and its ability to connect with other minds through a procession of silly squigg