Ten Steps to Improving College Reading Skills

by John Langan

mint

Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

Reviews

[Kay]

The Langan series of textbooks, which include Ten Steps to Building College Reading Skills, Ten Steps to Improving College Reading Skills, and Ten Steps to Advancing College Reading Skills is a solid approach for developmental students in need of improving their college-level reading skills. I used various levels in this series in ESL reading classes I taught a number of times over the past decade.

The formula is simple: in order to improve, students need targeted work on ten key skills such as learning vocabulary from context or making inferences. Each chapter provides guided readings and copious exercises so that students can learn while reading.

The main criticism I have of this series is it's too neat -- a "training wheels" approach to reading. Many of the exercises are rather formulaic, reducing a complex task to a misleadingly simple multiple-choice format. However, I can also admit that this approach gives developmental students a feeling of accomplishment. Another problem, though, is that students weary of the endless procession of guided exercise, then practice tests, and then mastery tests. Many begin to simply skim for the answer rather than read, which, I suppose, might also be working on a valuable reading skill, but it is not really the point of some of the exercises at all.

[Jeffrey Toves]

This is a really good book, and it is quite comprehensive. This text really got me ready for more challenging texts. I knew about categories, and precontextual readiness, but this text goes into the importance of primary and secondary ideas, as well as definitions, and even making inferences. There is a lot to reading well, and this book lays it all out.

Jeff (Author of Modicum).

[Abdullaj Altameemi]

Good

[Haley Hunter]

Wasn't my favorite but I had to read it for school.