Review: Routledge Modern German Reader

[Speakeasy]

Addendum 1 (Post Discussion)
I initiated this "book review" a little hastily, based mostly on my dissatisfaction over the reluctance of the publisher to release the Answer Key to anyone other than instructors. In response to Soclydeza's question as to whether or not I considered this book worth purchasing, I delved more deeply into the contents and posted what-I-hope-is a more informative review as "Not Suitable for Independent Learners", below.

Addendum 2 (Post Discussion)
The following comment has been appended to my Amazon Customer Review of this textbook, "The exercise key is freely available from Routledge, please contact andrea.hartill@tandf.co.uk". I have revised the title of this discussion thread from the original "Negative Review" to simply "Review".

Negative Review (As Originally Posted)
As I tend to rely on the more conventional, highly regarded language-learning materials for independent study, it is a rather rare event for me to report on a bad experience in this language forum. Well, sh*t happens, even to the most cautious amongst us; hence this negative review. About a year ago, I came across what-I-considered-to-be a very interesting offer to pre-order an as-yet-be-published textbook on the Taylor & Francis (Routledge) website. The textbook in question was “The Routledge Modern German Reader” and, having already purchased and been quite satisfied with the Routledge Polish and Dutch readers, my level of interest was quite high. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, the textbook was made available and I immediately ordered it and received it about a week later…

Contents and Intended Use
As described on the Routledge website, “The Routledge Modern German Reader” consists of twenty-eight readings, graded according to difficulty, varied exercises based on the texts, a German-English glossary, and a “complete answer key” available on the publisher’s website. The textbook is designed for intermediate and advanced learners and, according to the Routledge website and the back cover of the book, it is “suitable for both classroom and independent study.”

Overall Concept and Quality
My reading skills in German are in the B2-C1 range. I quickly perused the graded readings and accompanying exercises and, as I anticipated, the textbook represents -- or should represent -- an interesting addition to the library of a serious independent learner of German.

Yes, We Have No Bananas … or, not for YOU, we don’t!
The Routledge website and the back cover of the textbook clearly state “suitable for both classroom use and independent study” and that the features include “a complete answer key available at http://www.routledge.com/products/9781138898035”. Given that the vast majority of the printed materials in the textbook is composed of exercises based on the graded texts, in my opinion, any reasonable person would conclude that, for the textbook to be “suitable for … independent study”, the answers to the exercises would be available to independent learners. NOT SO! Following an Email exchange with the publisher, I have been advised that “the instructor resources for the book are only sent to instructors who are using the book at a university or college” and that if I need to return it (at my expense) I should contact the Routledge Customer Service Department by telephone which, for me, would be an international telephone call at my further expense.

My Recommendation: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!
In my view, this collection of graded readings is interesting. However, given that the textbook was conceived as a course in reading intermediate and advanced texts and that the exercises are an integral part of the concept, the refusal on the part of the publisher to share the answer keys with anyone other than “instructors who are using the book at a university or college” renders the book of little value to the independent learner, who can very easily access readings, graded or otherwise, elsewhere. That I should learn of the publisher’s policy subsequent to purchasing the book, despite the very clear statements concerning its suitability for independent study, which includes access to the essential answer key, is particularly irksome. I am presently conducting an Email campaign with Routledge to have my purchase refunded and my recommendation to independent learners is “do not buy this book”.

[Montmorency]

This is a pretty poor show on Routledge's part. Why didn't they simply put the answer key in the book (as they have done with at least some others in the series, e.g. the Welsh Reader, and it looks like with some of the others)? As this has just been published, it looks like it might be a change of policy, but not a change for the better.

[peterbeischmidt]

I don't know what kinds of exercises this book has, but if you want to know whether your answers are grammatically, idomatically ... etc. sound, then you can can get some feedback by sending them to me. I'm a native speaker, as you know.

[smallwhite]

That's ridiculous! The way they write it:

Features include:
* twenty-eight readings, ...
* ... and a complete answer key available at ...

If they won't give you the answer key, they might as well not give you the twenty-eight readings!

[Speakeasy]

Specific Reply to Peterbeischmidt
Thank you for your generous offer. However, as the exercises are designed to test student's grasp of the selected readings, for you to play a role as translator, you would require a complete copy of the textbook, which is somewhat impractical in the circumstances. In any event, my reading skills in German (B2-C1) are sufficient to meet the task. My intention is to convince the publisher to release the Answer Key to Independent Learners as they have stated, or implied, on their website and on the back cover of the textbook.

Network (the film, 1976)
Some of you might recall the 1976 film "Network" and the angst-filled cry of the rather unstable central character, Howard Beale, "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!!" and, perhaps more importantly, the popular support that he garnered. So then, while I greatly appreciate the positive voting on the above post, please try to bear in mind that I, too, have detractors and that they cannot be all wrong, at least, not all of the time. Still,...

Formal Complaint to Routledge
I have registered a "formal complaint" with Routledge, addressed to the Series Editor and the Marketing Manager for this textbook. I was brief and polite, but very firm. I requested that the publisher either (a) refund my purchase on the understanding that, rather than return the textbook, I would recycle it as waste paper, or (b) release the Answer Key, not only to me, but to the general public via their website. I'm as irked as heck!

[Speakeasy]

The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Oil?
The day following my "formal complaint" to Routledge, their Customer Service department sent me a PDF copy of the Answer Key via Email. I thanked them for their response and asked if they would be providing free access to this document via their website so that other independent learners might also benefit by having answers to the exercises that, in passing, make up for about 55% of the text. Alas, I have not heard back from them.

[Soclydeza]

Thanks for the review, Speakeasy. I was thinking of purchasing this (I still am).

Now that you have the answer key, do you think it is worth the purchase? Does it come with audio files for the readings?

[Speakeasy]

Not Suitable for Independent Learners
Hello, Soclydeza. Your questions are quite valid. I find that most language-learning materials for independent learners are well designed. Generally speaking, the authors and publishers of these materials make sincere attempts at helping the student and Routledge has earned a very solid reputation in this field. However, in this particular case, I believe that the publisher has “missed the boat” with their Modern German Reader. Your question on whether or not this book is worth purchasing has caused me to delve more deeply into this work and ask myself if, even with the Answer Key, would I recommend it and, if not, what the alternatives are.

The textbook is 306 pages in length, inclusive of the preface, introduction, glossary and the index, which account for about 80 pages. The readings, while interesting and varied, account for only about 55 pages, leaving roughly 170 pages for the questions and exercises. Based on this count, one would be tempted to conclude that the exercises represent a very well developed, thought-provoking contribution to the student’s learning. Uh, no. From my perspective, as an independent learner, the central question is, did I understand the text, yes or no? I do not need my thought processes to be stimulated by simplistic, repetitive questions that I can quite easily develop on my own. This is, after all, a textbook for intermediate students. The readings themselves make up only a small portion of the total of the textbook. As the questions and exercises are presented in German, I suppose that the argument can be made that they contribute to the reader’s development. In my view, they are simplistic A1 level formulations of “did you understand the reading”? Now that I have the Answer Key in hand, my reaction is “Bof!” and I find myself wondering what the author and publisher had in mind when they conceived this little project.

I am not aware of a worldwide shortage of German reading materials. For the price of this textbook, one could easily acquire a small collection of graded readers, bilingual readers, and original texts, or simply purchase a substantial number of newspapers and magazines. As to the presence or absence of questions and answers, I am of the opinion that a motivated, intermediate level, independent learner can be expected to simply "slug it out". By the way, there are no audio recordings for this textbook. So then, in my view, even with the Answer Key, this textbook is not worth the purchase.

As an alternative course book, I would recommend the Linguaphone German Advanced-to-Expert “Deutscher Aufbaukurs” for which a “refurbished” copy is presently on sale for 130 $US at Linguaphone U.S.A. This course, which is entirely in German, contains texts and dialogues every bit as rich as those in the Routledge reader. It is comprised of five books (approx. 750 pages) and includes 6 CDs (approx. 7 hours) of audio recordings. I purchased all of my Linguaphone courses as “refurbished” copies and, at these prices, the materials represent very good value.

[Soclydeza]

Thanks, Speakeasy! Hmmm... yeah, I might reconsider purchasing it. Audio is important to me, at least for the strengths that I want to build.

[Speakeasy]

Update: Answer Key
The following comment has been appended to my Amazon Customer Review of this textbook, "The exercise key is freely available from Routledge, please contact andrea.hartill@tandf.co.uk" What a strange way of making the document available to students! The Routledge website does not reflect this information; rather, the user is directed to the Instructor Resources Portal where the Answer Key can be accessed only by registered instructors. Perhaps, rather than relying on my Amazon post for diffusing this information, they should think about updating their website. Obviously, since the printed publication itself is now in circulation, the mention on the back cover of the Answer Key cannot be changed, although I suppose that Routledge could always supply "stickers" to be applied to the back cover by the ultimate booksellers. Regrettably for the author, the roll-out of this long-awaited textbook "hit a bump in the road."