Text features by level (guide values)
| Level | Length (words) | Avg sentence | Vocabulary | Grammar | Text types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | 50-150 | 6-8 | Very frequent, concrete | Present simple, can, there is | Notes, signs, simple descriptions, short messages |
| A2 | 100-250 | 8-11 | Frequent everyday | Past simple, going to, comparatives | Emails, short stories, ads, simple articles |
| B1 | 200-400 | 11-15 | Everyday + topic words glossed | Present perfect, conditionals 1-2, passive (simple) | Articles, blogs, stories, reviews |
| B2 | 350-650 | 15-20 | Wider, some idiom | Full tense range, reported speech, relative clauses | Opinion articles, reports, literature extracts |
| C1 | 500-900 | 18-25 | Abstract, academic, idiomatic | Complex subordination, nominalisation | Academic, journalism, essays |
| C2 | Any | Any | Any | Any | Unadapted texts of any genre |
Learners need to know about 95-98% of the running words to read comfortably without a dictionary; that is why coverage matters more than "difficult words" one by one.
Two approaches
| Approach | What it does | Keeps | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simplification | Shorter sentences, frequent words, simpler grammar | Readability | Loses cohesion, richness, authenticity |
| Elaboration | Keeps the original language, adds redundancy: paraphrases, definitions in brackets, explicit links | Language input | Text gets longer |
Research favours elaboration where possible: learners understand nearly as well and meet more natural language. Combine both: simplify the hardest sentences, elaborate key words.
Techniques
| Problem | Technique | Before -> after |
|---|---|---|
| Long sentence | Split at linkers; one idea per sentence | "Advocates argue..., although ecologists warn..." -> "Supporters say... But scientists warn..." |
| Rare word, not key | Replace with a frequent word | considerably -> a lot |
| Rare word, key to the topic | Keep and gloss (bracket, footnote, picture) or pre-teach | hive (a box where bees live) |
| Nominalisation | Turn back into verbs | the introduction of registration schemes -> cities introduced rules |
| Passive with no agent | Make active when the agent helps | Hives are inspected -> Officials inspect the hives |
| Idiom / phrasal verb | Literal paraphrase at lower levels | ran into trouble -> had problems |
| Pronoun with distant referent | Repeat the noun | it -> the plan |
| Implicit link | Add the linker | (no link) -> so, because, but |
| Cultural reference | Explain or replace | a Saturday-job at Woolworths -> a weekend job in a shop |
| Dense numbers | Round and reduce | 37.4% -> more than a third |
Keep: the main ideas, the order of events, the text type (an email stays an email), the target language you want learners to notice, and the facts the tasks depend on.
Process
- Measure:
python scripts/text_level.py original.txt --target B1. - Decide what must stay (ideas, target language, facts for tasks).
- Cut what the tasks do not need (side points, examples beyond two).
- Split long sentences; replace or gloss rare words (start with words that appear more than once).
- Re-measure; repeat until the estimate is at the target and long sentences are few.
- Read aloud: it must still sound natural.
- Credit the source: "Adapted from ... (date)".
Graded versions for mixed classes
Write the B1 version first, then derive A2 (shorter, more glosses) and B2 (more original wording). Keep the same paragraph order and facts so all learners can do the same gist task and discuss together.
academic-english-eap-course-planner
Plan English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses: pre-sessional, in-sessional, foundation, IELTS preparation and discipline-specific EAP, with syllabus strands (academic reading, lecture listening and note-taking, essay and report writing, paraphrase, summary and synthesis, referencing and plagiarism, seminars and presentations, academic vocabulary, critical thinking), a 10-week pre-sessional outline, exit assessment, IELTS-CEFR alignment and academic style (formality, hedging, cohesion, reporting verbs). Estimates study hours and weeks to close an IELTS gap from overall or per-skill scores (IELTS rounding, minimum per skill, priority skills, feasibility before a deadline), and checks learner texts for contractions, informal words with academic alternatives, unhedged claims, 'you', And/But/So starts, rhetorical questions and missing citations.
actfl-proficiency-curriculum-mapper
Map world language curricula to the ACTFL framework: proficiency levels (Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Superior, Distinguished with sublevels), functions, contexts, text types and accuracy, proficiency vs performance, the three modes of communication (interpretive, interpersonal, presentational), the 5 Cs World-Readiness Standards, backward-designed thematic units with Integrated Performance Assessments, typical programme targets and FSI time estimates. Looks up approximate ACTFL-CEFR-ILR equivalences with what each level can do, and checks a unit map for missing modes, rehearsed skits mislabelled as interpersonal, translation or word lists as interpretive tasks, and units without an integrated performance assessment.
adult-literacy-esl-lesson-builder
Build lessons for adult ESL learners who are developing literacy (LESLLA learners: pre-literate, non-literate, semi-literate, literate in a non-Roman script): learner profiles and sensitive initial assessment, principles (oral language first, known to new, systematic phonics with adult-relevant text, repetition, classroom skills, respect for experience), a lesson routine (oral warm-up, review, new grapheme, blending, segmenting, decodable text, writing, functional literacy, Language Experience Approach), a phonics sequence for adults, sight words, functional literacy targets (forms, signs, medicine labels) and portfolio assessment. Checks whether a reading text is decodable with the letter-sound patterns and sight words taught so far, catching untaught digraphs, listing non-decodable words with the untaught part, and suggesting the most useful next patterns.
authentic-material-lesson-adapter
Turn authentic material (news articles, podcasts, videos, songs, menus, timetables, adverts, social media posts, forms, infographics) into language lessons by grading the task rather than the text. Selects texts for interest, relevance, exploitability, coverage, cultural load and rights; finds the 4-6 words to pre-teach, words to gloss on the page and words learners can ignore, plus names and cultural references to explain, with reading time by level; and builds a lesson shape (lead-in, pre-teach, gist or scanning, graded detail task, language focus on chunks and register, response) with task ideas per material type and level from A1 to C1. Covers copyright, fair dealing and fair use, Creative Commons and attribution.
can-do-statement-writer
Write and review can-do statements for language courses, units, lessons and learner self-assessment, CEFR or NCSSFL-ACTFL style: action (observable verb) + text or situation + level-specific conditions, learner ('I can') and descriptor ('Can') versions, progressions of one activity from A1 to C1, and coverage of reception, production, interaction and mediation. Includes a verb bank by mode and level and condition and text-type banks. Lints statements for teacher-centred phrasing, knowledge instead of use (learn, know, understand the passive), missing context, two skills in one statement, vague quality words, grammar items as outcomes, overlong statements and missing modes in a set.
cefr-aligned-syllabus-builder
Build language course syllabuses aligned to the CEFR (A1-C2, plus levels, Companion Volume 2020): entry and exit levels, guided learning hours and course length (with an L1-distance adjustment), syllabus type (topic, functional-notional, task-based, skills-based, multi-strand), unit-by-unit can-do outcomes, grammar from a core inventory by level, vocabulary, functions, pronunciation, balance of reception, production, interaction and mediation, recycling and assessment points. Checks a syllabus for units without can-do statements, core grammar for the level not covered, items above the course level, skills missing from most units and units with no vocabulary or functions.