Reading - the grand illusion : how and why people make sense of print

187 Pages·2016·1.189 MB·English

by  Ken Goodman, Peter H. Fries, Steven L. Strauss

“I truly believe that the format, content, and structure of this book is so
dramatically different from the traditional genre of books about reading
research and theory building that it has the potential to bring about a Kuhn-
ian revolution in reading research and theory development on a number of
levels. . . . Instead of tediously presenting research findings and interpreting
what they meanfor reading educators, this book leads its readers on a journey
which subtly persuades them to explore and examine their own and others’
reading behavior in ways that induce deeper understandings of the complexity
of human symbolic behavior in general and the act of reading in particular.
. . . I’m hopeful that this book will mark the beginning of a movement to
rework reading and learning to read using the tools and perspectives from a
wide range of more successful scientific disciplines.”
Brian Cambourne, University of Wollongong,
Australia, From the Foreword
“Exciting and timely for the field. . . . This book guides the reader in exploring
the processes of reading in ways that challenge common sense views and that
have important pedagogical consequences. I love the dialogue. It sounds
genuine and creates a kind of conversation space. The book is clearly focused
on an important topic—it follows nicely the rule of keeping the main idea the
main idea.”
James Hoffman, University of Texas at Austin, USA
“A significant contribution to the field via a powerful theme, ‘The Grand
Illusion,’ explored in a fashion that is multi-perspectival and multidisciplinary.
Using a combination of expertise (language, psychology, physiology), the
book makes a unique contribution pulling together research findings from
various sources, fields of studies, and windows for observing the acts of
reading (retellings, miscue analysis, eye movement, text analysis, and linguistic
corpus). It provides a more coherent and provocative discussion than some
of the government-commissioned/sponsored reports and reviews included in
edited handbook volumes on reading.”
Robert J. Tierney, University of British Columbia,
Canada; University of Sydney, Australia; and
Beijing Normal University, China
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Reading—The Grand Illusion
What is reading? In this groundbreaking book, esteemed researchers Ken
Goodman, Peter H. Fries, and Steven L. Strauss explain not only what reading
really is but also why common sense makes it seem to be something quite
different from that reality. How can this grand illusion be explained? That is
the purpose of this book. As the authors show, unraveling the secrets of the
grand illusion of reading teaches about far more than reading itself, but also
about how remarkable human language is, how the brain uses language to
navigate the world, what it means to be human.
Each author brings a different perspective, but all share a common view
of the reading process. Together they provide a clear and surprising exposi-
tion of the reading process, in which they involve readers of this book in
exploring the ways they themselves read and make sense of written language
while their eyes fixate on fewer than 70 percent of the words in the text. In
addition, the authors engage in a cross-disciplinary discussion about how
readers use the brain, eyes, and language in reading. The different perspectives
provide depth to the authors’ description of reading. The information
presented in this book will be new to many teachers, researchers, teacher
educators, and the public alike. The final chapter draws on the understandings
from the book to challenge the treatment of reading and writing as school
subjects and offers the basis for supporting literacy development as a natural
extension of oral language development.
Ken Goodman is Professor Emeritus, Reading, Language and Culture,
University of Arizona, USA.
Peter H. Fries is Professor Emeritus, Central Michigan University, USA.
Steven L. Strauss Ph.D and M.D. is a Neurologist, Private Practice, USA.
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Reading—The Grand
Illusion
How and Why People Make
Sense of Print
KEN GOODMAN
PETER H. FRIES
STEVEN L. STRAUSS
First published 2016
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 Taylor & Francis
The right of Ken Goodman, Peter H. Fries, and Steven L. Strauss to be
identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance
with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification
and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Goodman, Kenneth S.
Reading—the grand illusion: how and why people make sense of print/
by Ken Goodman, Peter H. Fries, Steven L. Strauss.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Reading. 2. Language and education.
I. Fries, Peter Howard. II. Title.
LB1573.G574 2016
428.4–dc23
2015027171
ISBN 978-1-138-99928-2 (hbk)
ISBN 978-1-138-99929-9 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-315-65842-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Dante and Avenir
by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK
This work is dedicated to all those who have searched for the reality of
literacy so that we may provide the knowledge we gain to teachers and
with them use that knowledge for universal literacy. Specifically it is dedicated
to Edmund Huey who challenged us over a century ago to produce a
comprehensive understanding of literacy.
No subject has been more studied and few aspects of reality have been more
politicized or obfuscated than reading. So we also dedicate this work to the
courage of those who came before us and those who will follow after us in
persevering in the pursuit of knowledge no matter the risks.
Einstein said: “There is no logical way to the discovery of these elemental
laws. There is only the way of intuition, which is helped by a feeling for the
order lying behind the appearance.”
This life’s five windows of the soul
Distorts the Heavens from pole to pole,
And leads you to believe a lie
When you see with, not thro’, the eye.
From The Everlasting Gospel (William Blake 1810)
Brief Contents
Foreword by Brian Cambourne xv
Preface xix
Acknowledgments xxii
1 Illusions: What We See and What We Perceive 1
2 The Grand Illusion in Reading 15
3 Reading with Our Brains 34
4 Making Sense: What We Know about Reading 58
5 Text Features that Help Readers Make Sense 80
6 Words on Words and Wording 103
7 The Visible Level of Written Language: The Graphophonic 127
8 Literacy for the Twenty-First Century and Beyond 138
Index 161