Sharing is caring ;)
CHAPTER 4:
CONTROLLED IMMERSION -
3,001-5,000 Words
Native speech begins to be comprehensible at 5,000 words, but most graded readers stop around the 3,000 word mark.
Comprehensible literature for adults is also difficult to find until we reach this minimum milestone of 5,000 words.
So how do we bridge this gap?
In this chapter you’ll learn 3 well-tested strategies to take you to the 5K threshold and far beyond.
STRATEGY 1:
Narrow Reading
Narrow reading is a strategy in which a learner reads multiple books by the same author or texts within the same genre, series, etc.
With narrow reading you benefit from the contextual knowledge and vocabulary gained from texts you have already read within that niche.
​
'The first few pages effect' describes the relative difficulty of reading the first pages of a new book or author before it becomes a much smoother experience. Learners that are encouraged to read a wider variety of texts often never get past this first more difficult stage.
​
Texts outside a niche also become easier to read as you benefit from upgrades in comprehension of more general language.
Narrow reading is a bit of a secret weapon for motivation. There are countless cases of reluctant readers becoming passionate about reading after their first positive experience with a series of books.
​
In the chart below you will find a selection of popular series which have been used successfully for narrow reading.
As you can see, the number of words for the series at the top of the list are close to the end point of graded readers (3,000), so these books could provide a relatively smooth transition into authentic, non-simplified texts.
In the case of fiction set in specialised areas of real life, like John Grisham’s legal thrillers, they are a great way to learn vocabulary specific to that field, even for native speakers.
Many graphic novels and comic book series could also be used with this strategy. Webtoons is a webpage and app that offers free and paid comics: https://www.webtoons.com/en/
If you’d like to read about a learner’s experience using this strategy you can find Karen from Korea’s account here: success with the Sweet Valley series.
STRATEGY 2:
Read Like A Native Child
Many schools in the U.S. use a system to measure a child’s reading level called the ‘lexile level’. In this way books that are written for children and young adults can be categorised according to their difficulty.
​
The scale starts at 0 and goes up to 2,000 for the most difficult literature written for adults.
As non-native learners we can borrow this system to replicate a native child’s reading development. As adults we have a few advantages that allow us to make faster progress than children, such as greater life experience and already well-developed reading skills.
Here is a list of the series mentioned in strategy 1 ranked from easiest to most difficult according to their lexile level.
Book Series | Lexile Level Range |
|---|---|
Goosebumps | 260-650 |
John Grisham's Legal Thrillers | 380-930 |
Sweet Valley Twins | 390-690 |
The Boxcar Children Mysteries | 430-990 |
Agatha Christie's Poirot Mysteries | 590-800 |
Tom Swift | 610-920 |
Twilight | 720 |
A Child Called 'It' | 720-900 |
Sweet Valley High | 750-800 (based on 2 samples) |
Zane Grey's Westerns | 790-1000 |
Hunger Games | 800-820 |
Harry Potter | 880-1050 |
Sweet Valley Kids | No data |
Arthur Gask's Detective Gilbert Larose | No data |
The 2 ways to measure the difficulty of a book we’ve discussed so far are:
-
Headword number
-
Lexile level
The lexile level system is not without its flaws and has been criticised by some experts on education. For 2nd language learners in particular headword number is usually the most reliable indicator of difficulty. Finding a book’s lexile level however is a useful substitute and is often easier to achieve.
Finding Lexile Levels
On hub.lexile.com you can check the lexile level of a particular book or you can use the search function to find books based on:
​
-
Lexile meaure and range
-
Grade (school year)
-
Topic
-
Fiction/Non-Fiction
-
English Language Learning (ELL)
-
In a series
-
Award-winning
Pre-Prepared Book Lists
If that sounds like too much effort the UK-based School Reading List has already done a lot of the hard work for us.
​
The School Reading List is a fantastic resource with a large variety of levels and content that children and adults alike will find interesting. The novels are organised into school and pre-school years from 0 to 18. As an active resource for school teachers in the UK it is also constantly updated to reflect changing tastes and new releases.
If you’ve just finished the graded reader stage I would recommend starting with the suggestions for older children at KS3-5 (Key Stage 3-5) for children from the ages of 11 to 18 (school years 7-13).
Good To Know
School children between the ages of 9-13 read an average of one million words each year and acquire around 3000 words as a result - according to conservative estimates. (Nagy & Scott, 2000).
​
Reading at a comfortable speed of 150 words per minute you could match that feat in only 18 minutes a day!
Here are a couple of other curated lists in the Young Adult category:
​
​
Now that you know the category name, it's easy to make your own list by searching through the Young Adult section of any book retailer.
STRATEGY 3:
Extended Graded Reading & Listening
This strategy includes finding genuine graded material between the 3,000 and 5,000 word thresholds as well as adapting materials yourself with electronic tools to make content more comprehensible.
READING
Printed books written specifically for adults are rare in this range. Fortunately for us, electronic tools make it much easier to make even advanced material more comprehensible.
Rewordify
http://rewordify.com/ - also suitable for 0-3K and 5K+ levels.
Rewordify might just be my favourite free resource of them all.
It contains hundreds of books from classic English literature as well as a huge collection of essays, articles, and other public documents.
Creating a free account allows you to store words to review.
Rewordify also features an integrated dictionary, which can make reading difficult texts a relatively comfortable experience.
Prefer to read on your eReader/eBook?
For a more comfortable reading experience you could copy text from rewordify and paste it into a Word or Google doc. From there you can export it as a PDF and add it to your e-reader library. I'd also recommend increasing the font size in the Google/Word doc before exporting for better visibility.
For other formats, a free desktop tool like calibre allows you to change the file type to most known formats.
Graded Classic Novels
https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/lals/resources/paul-nations-resources/readers
4K, 6K, and 8K versions of classic novels.
Browser/App-Based Dictionaries
A quick and intuitive browser-based or app-based dictionary can make life much easier when reading material higher than your current level.
The key to this being a legitimate tool is speed. If you can click on a word and get an instant definition you can maintain your normal reading speed and enjoyment. Any slower than this and the experience quickly becomes frustrating.
Using a dictionary that works offline ensures you never have to worry about losing access. Some also have an audio recognition feature, so if you are listening to content and don’t know how to spell a word you can repeat the sound and the dictionary will find it. Using your phone's voice search function could achieve the same thing.
Good dictionaries I’ve used personally are:
-
Reverso Context - available as a Google Chrome extension.
-
ReadEra - an Android app which functions offline as an e-reader with an inbuilt dictionary.
Most e-readers like the kindle also provide downloadable dictionaries.
Physical books + Google Lens
One more solution which takes those unread books gathering dust on your shelves and turns them into readable options is Google lens.
With the Google lens app on your phone, simply take a photo of the page you are reading and Google lens gives you an instant translation of the entire page.
Simplified Wikipedia
LISTENING
Podcasts
The podcasts on this list provide interesting content at a level a little below native speech. Their focus is on enjoyment and not on teaching the mechanics of the language, allowing you to acquire English naturally. Podcasts that prioritise conscious learning "about the language" have been omitted.
Podcast Name | Speaker Accent | Comments |
|---|---|---|
All Ears English | USA | Natural speech. Podcasts tagged with "English Fluency" are better for subconscious acquisition. |
BBC: 6 Minute English | UK | Natural speech. Excellent cultural insights. |
BBC: The English We Speak | UK | Short (around 2 minutes). Vocabulary focused. |
Better@English | USA | Natural speech. |
Business English Pod | USA | A mix of relatively natural speech from the host and unnatural sounding scripted dialogues. |
Dramas from BBC Learning English | UK | Professionally performed radio plays. They sound just like BBC radio plays for natives. |
ESLPod: Daily English | USA | Natural speech from the host. Unnatural sounding scripted dialogues. |
Leonardo English: English Learning For Curious Minds | UK | Natural speech. Excellent cultural insights. |
Luke's English Podcast | UK | Natural speech. |
The Past And The Curious | USA | History for kids. |
Tumble | USA | Science for kids. |
Vaughan Radio | Mix of native speakers | Natural speech. Not a podcast but a radio channel in Spain also available online. |
What If World Podcast | USA | Stories for kids. |
Zdenek's English Podcast | Non-native (Czech) and native. | Natural speech. |
YouTube
One way to find comprehensible videos is by searching for those with English subtitles via YouGlish.
YouGlish is designed to help you find authentic pronunciation of words and phrases by scanning YouTube video subtitles.
​
We can repurpose it to help us find videos on topics that interest us.
​
If you're not sure how to say the frequently mispronounced word "biscuits" for example, after checking the correct pronunciation from the first clip you might decide to watch the rest of the video (or one of the other 2221 results).
The first video in this case is from English Heritage, a charity which cares for historic sites in England and publishes some fascinating videos about all aspects of English history. The content seems to be aimed towards younger adults and children which could make it suitable for English learners too - excellent material if history is your cup of tea!
