Programed College Vocabulary (6th Edition) - Softcover

Feinstein, George W.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0130282685 ISBN 13: 9780130282682

Publisher: Pearson College Div, 2001

Synopsis

Using an enjoyable and highly successful approach that is a welcome alternative to the dull, grim approach of most other word books, this time-honored, programed vocabulary development work-text prepares readers for college coursework by focusing specifically on literary and academic terms (e.g., from fiction, poetry, psychology, social sciences, etc.). Short Words; Words Often Confused I; Words Often Confused II; Diction; Words in Context; Latin Derivatives I; Latin Derivatives II; Latin Derivatives III; Greek Derivatives I; Greek Derivatives II; Computer Words; Spelling Demons; Descriptive Words I; Descriptive Words II; Action Words; Figures of Speech; Name Derivatives; Characterization Words; Fiction; Poetry; Psychology; Social Science; Foreign Expressions.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Now in its sixth edition, George Feinstein's PROGRAMED COLLEGE VOCABULARY has prepared thousands and thousands of students for their their college careers. Stressing the basic terminology of fiction, poetry, psychology, social science, and computer words, this self-paced text is grounded in the belief that students can learn anything that is broken down into easy steps.

This programed approach empowers students to master college vocabulary at their own spped as though a tutor is at their elbow confirming their answers. As always, quizzes and review tests are plentiful.This self-grading sites features a variety of questions, including multiple choice, fill-in, and matching, allowing students to guage their mastery of the material. Their results can be e-mailed directly to the instructor.

A new social Science chapter has been added to broaden the scope of the college vocabulary in the text.

A new Spelling Demons chapter alerts students to common spelling errors in the vocabulary they learn.

Chapters of Diction and Words in Context have been updated, revised, and returned to the text from previous editions.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Preface To the Instructor

A copy of Roget's Thesaurus falls on a student's head, and he is stunned, dazed, galvanized, shocked, humiliated, startled, staggered. The wider his vocabulary, the more precisely he will pick a word to describe how he felt. Vocabulary is a sine qua non to theme writers.

The average freshman English course is not without its gaps. Students grind out themes and scramble through fiction and poetry, and in the frenzy a small continent of literary terminology is often overlooked. Thus, freshmen manage somehow to misinterpret test questions about "irony" or "metaphor" or "social criticism": "There isn't any social criticism in Uncle Tom's Cabin—it's just a novel against slavery." Also they coin clinkers like "Steinbeck won a pullet surprise" and "take it for granite." But the English instructor should not leave vocabulary training to chance or take it for granted.

Programmed College Vocabulary has been designed to supplement freshman English. This manual differs from most vocabulary textbooks in that (1) it focuses on literary and academic terms, and (2) it is autoinstructional. It stresses words that are particularly useful to English students, and—in easy, repetitive steps—elicits from each student responses with immediate verification, a process that psychologists call reinforcement. Additional responses are called for in the teacher-administered tests that accompany this manual, so that even the reinforcement gets reinforced. Students enjoy this painless programmed technique, and it has been used very successfully at three hundred colleges in the past thirty years.

New chapters in this sixth edition include "Social Science," "Computer Words," "Diction," "Words in Context," and "Spelling Demons." Tests, quizzes, and miscellaneous materials have been revised; for example, "Short Words" is a blend of two chapters in the previous edition. A new Instructor's Manual provides the teacher with review materials and chapter tests.

Class procedures are flexible. The teacher can leave vocabulary instruction entirely to the programmed text itself and simply give chapter tests to the class at convenient intervals. The Instructor's Manual includes additional study suggestions as well as tests, and the teacher may wish to devote further class time to enrichment of fascinating terms such as "anachronism," "nepotism," or "heroic couplet." Thus, the freshman English course can take on brave new dimensions. Acknowledgments

I am especially grateful to a galaxy of textbook reviewers, especially Karen S. Alderfer, Miami-Dade Community College; Jessica I. Carroll, Miami-Dade Community College, Wolfson Campus; Patricia R. Grega, University of Alaska, Anchorage; Maggi Miller, Austin Community College; and computer maven Peter Connolly. My warmest thanks for invaluable suggestions go also to English professors Ellen Bourland, Vivian R. Brown, Barbara Dicey, Patricia B. Gates, Delmar D. Gott, Mary Alice Hawkins, Charlene Hawks, James F. Jester, Patricia A. McDermott, Elizabeth Wahlquist, and the English staff of Pasadena City College. For constant help, I thank Prentice Hall geniuses Craig Campanella and Joan Polk. Last, I thank my wife Edith for quietly setting goodies like bagels and lox on my work table. George W. Feinstein
Pasadena, California

Edition details

• Publisher: Pearson College Div
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0130282685
• ISBN 13: 9780130282682
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 337