Nothing motivates learners like success. Enthusiastic readers are those who experienced early-on the satisfaction of independently reading a complete story or ‘book’. English language learners can enjoy the same satisfaction with a reader that does not overwhelm them, but that has been ‘graded’ according to their language level — telling a high-interest story with the vocabulary they know, using the structures they are familiar with, and an economy of words.
What Are Graded Readers?
Graded readers are very short books of various genres that are specially created for learners of foreign languages. They are usually accompanied by narrative illustrations or photos and perhaps an audio component along with teaching and learning support material. They are “easy reading” in nature, and generally used to support the extensive reading approach to teaching English as a second or foreign language along with other languages.
Accessible Design and Content
Graded readers may be simplified versions of existing works adapted from literary classics, films, biographies, travel books, etc., or they can be original stories. Whether fiction or non-fiction, they are generally written at a less demanding language level. They are ‘graded’ in the sense that the sentence structure and vocabulary are controlled in order to make content to language learners. Graded reader series normally have 4-6 different reading levels to suit a range of skill levels and allow progress over time.
Headword Counts by Levels
They are written with specific levels of grammatical complexity in mind and with vocabulary that is limited by frequency headword counts. For example, Level 1 in a series might be restricted to 500 headwords, Level 2 to 600 headwords, and Level 3 to 700 headwords. Other factors taken into consideration when determining levels might include the number and range of characters; the complexity of the plot; the expected background of the target audience; compliance requirements for certain markets (e.g., sex, dating, religion, gender roles and sexuality, etc).
Simplified Language and Complex Themes
Graded readers employ simplified language, but they do not necessarily lack narrative depth or avoid complex themes; often, they cover the same range of “serious” themes as books written for native speaker audiences.
Designed for Non-Native Speakers
The major difference between ELT reading materials and the native speaker reading materials is that those who read their first language already have knowledge of several thousand words before they begin to read. By contrast, second language learners do not have such a store of vocabulary and grammar knowledge to call upon. Thus, many native-speaker graded readers may not be suitable for ELT learners.
Learn about about Hathaway Education’s exciting range of graded readers and ancillaries, and download our Hathaway Graded Readers catalogue here.