Longman Academic Reading Series 4 Second Edition Test
August 2014 – Volume eighteen, Number 2
Longman Bookish Reading Series four: | |||
| Author: | Robert F. Cohen & Judy Fifty. Miller (2014) |  | |
| Publisher: | White Plains, NY: Pearson Education. | ||
| Pages | ISBN | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 287 pages | 978-0-13-276061-4 | $35.00 USD (itemize), $46.67 USD (retail) | |
The Longman Academic Reading Series is Pearson Didactics'south recent offer in English for bookish purposes (EAP) reading textbooks. The foreword conspicuously states that the series' goal is preparation for bookish work, suggesting the books might be intended for secondary ESL/EFL classrooms, university EFL courses, or intensive English programs (IEPs) at English language-medium universities. The penultimate textbook in the series, written past Robert Cohen and Judy Miller, is linked to the Mutual European Framework level B2 (loftier-intermediate). Longman Academic Reading Serial four (LARS 4) presents a variety of academically-oriented topics in its ten chapters and devotes considerable attending to reading strategies, critical thinking, vocabulary, and refreshingly, grammar. The book itself eschews flashiness in favor of uncomplicated, easy-to-follow layouts. In our own professional context working in an IEP at an American academy, a unit has been piloted successfully and the textbook will soon be introduced every bit a primary form book for a high-intermediate reading and vocabulary course.
The structure and sequence of LARS iv is clear and consequent. The principal unit of progression is topic, with each of the ten chapters containing three readings that are relevant to academic disciplines commonly plant in university settings (e.g., media studies, psychology). Chapters begin by explicitly stating learning objectives; these are revisited at the finish of the chapter for self-assessment. Readings are preceded by activities designed to activate background noesis, and in my experience, sparked thoughtful give-and-take among students. Reading strategies, such every bit skimming and predicting, are the focus of during-reading activities. General comprehension questions and a number of vocabulary activities follow each reading. After two or more related readings in a chapter, LARS 4 provides synthesis and disquisitional thinking activities, which can involve speaking (group discussion, role play) or writing (reflection, note-taking). These activities proved successful in the airplane pilot I conducted, and created meaningful opportunities for students to revisit texts for new purposes. Additionally, in each chapter a salient grammatical feature of academic text is selected for explicit explanation followed by analysis and/or manipulation activities. LARS four's scope and sequence chart facilitates easy pick of topics and activities for teachers.
LARS four provides a diverse collection of texts continued to a number of academic disciplines. Each chapter presents topically related readings written by notable historical figures, contemporary intellectuals, scientists, and journalists. For case, Chapter 1 on homelessness features a Margaret Mead excerpt, and Chapter seven, which compares monarchy and republic, features Machiavelli and Thomas Jefferson. High-involvement readings that connect topics to contemporary developments, such equally economist Jeffrey Sach'southward slice on Occupy Wall Street beingness used as an effective modern link to Chapter two's theme of Robber Barons (a group of notorious American industrialists in the belatedly 1800s/early 1900s). We consider the readings a stiff point of the textbook, offering authentic sources of mature academic topics. Readings are sequenced in such a way that synthesizing beyond several texts feels natural and not forced by the provided activities designed to connect the readings within a affiliate.
The deliberate inclusion and handling of grammer is an attractive feature of LARS 4 and an element typically not found in abundance in similar textbooks. Minimally-altered, excerpted texts provide students with very useful models of grammar in use, and LARS 4 capitalizes on this by selecting a number of prominent grammatical features of academic English, such as the passive voice, hedging devices, and parallel structure. The activities provide explicit, function-based explanation and then direct students back to the text to find examples. Activities frequently inquire students to think about the motivations for using the features. This attention to grammar may possibly aid students parse the finer points of a text. In our professional context, a degree of overlap was found with the grammar points unremarkably highlighted in intermediate level academic writing courses, providing a ripe opportunity for reinforcement and hopefully transfer between courses.
In addition to the refreshing inclusion of grammar, LARS iv also offers an extensive treatment of vocabulary. Each chapter draws attention to xxx-35 vocabulary items. Words that are a part of the Academic Word List (AWL) are noted, providing a convenient benchmark for teachers to narrow their focus for instruction and assessment if necessary. LARS 4, however, is not content to merely expose learners to a sizable vocabulary listing. The textbook goes beyond word meanings and devotes a considerable amount of pages to depth of vocabulary knowledge, including synonyms, polysemy, word forms, and discussion parts (affixes and roots). Activities that aim to develop vocabulary learning skills and strategies are also nowadays, such as dictionary activities and guessing from context. While LARS 4's detailed take on vocabulary learning in the context of reading is admirable, it is not without minor shortcomings. For example, synonym gap-fill up activities sometimes present synonyms for target vocabulary that are quite difficult or uncommon. In chapter 4, estrangement is given every bit a synonym for alienation; one would think that a term such as separation or exclusion might let learners at the textbook's intended level make a connection to known vocabulary. Also, activities for guessing vocabulary from context leave something to be desired. Learners are presented with a i or two sentence quote from the text with a bolded vocabulary word. So, learners estimate the meaning, without much explanation for how they should go most doing so. Some iterations of the activity imply a strategy, such as because nearby potential synonyms or antonyms, but students may not pick up on these on their own (and some may fifty-fifty elude teachers!). With a disquisitional eye and careful preparation on a teacher'south part, though, LARS 4 even so possesses potential for broad and deep vocabulary learning.
Overall, LARS 4 represents a well-rounded textbook for an EAP reading class. Its loftier-involvement topics and texts should (and in our pilot, did) capture the attention of academically-oriented students. We believe such students will benefit from the synthesis and critical thinking activities linking texts within a chapter, as synthesis and critique are skills non only usually demanded past loftier-stakes tests but also past many academy courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The welcome inclusion of grammer explanations and activities present an opportunity to reinforce and deepen students' grammer noesis, including the functions of grammatical structures in the specific context of academic texts. Finally, LARS 4'southward wide and deep handling of vocabulary, with small-scale reservations regarding activity blueprint, should help set up academy-leap students for the considerable lexical demands in their futures.
Reviewed by
Daniel Isbell
Northern Arizona University
<daniel.r.isbell 
Jessica Sargent
Northern Arizona Academy
<jessica.sargent
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