BBC Learning English

At BBC Learning English (www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish), you can read and listen to news stories for English learners from the British Broadcasting Corporation.

• Under the News Report feature, you can read short news stories and answer questions.
• You can also play or download an audio recording of the story.
• The website has other activities and videos to help you learn English skills.

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VOA Learning English

At VOA Learning English (learningenglish.voanews.com), you can read and listen to news stories for English learners from the Voice of America.

• Level One stories are for beginning English learners. These stories are short, and you can find nearly all of the words in the VOA Learning English Word Book or explained at the end of the story.
• The VOA Learning English Word Book lists the 1500-word Special English vocabulary.
• While you read the news stories, you can also listen to an audio recording of someone reading the story clearly and slowly.
• The website has other activities and videos to help you learn English skills.

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Simple English Wikipedia

The Simple English Wikipedia (simple.wikipedia.org) is an online encyclopedia written at an easier reading level for second-language English learners.

• This encyclopedia contains more than 120 thousand articles about many topics.
• These articles are written and edited by many people on the internet.
• The articles use shorter sentences and simpler vocabulary (such as the 850 words of Basic English), so they are easier to read for people learning English.

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What can you read?

After learning the 360 high-frequency words from the Learn These Words First lessons, you will know more than half of the words you see on any typical page of English text. Then you can start finding articles you can read with a small vocabulary, such as:

• Books written at an easy reading level for children or second-language learners (for example: Penguin Readers or Pearson English Active Readers).
• Websites for English learners, written using simpler English vocabulary and shorter sentences (for example: the Simple English Wikipedia).

Tip: When you read sentences containing some unfamiliar words, you can type the words (or copy and paste whole sentences) into the Word Finding Tool. It can show you where to find a simple explanation for each word.

What books and websites have you found that are easy to read with a small English vocabulary?

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Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary

The Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary (learnersdictionary.com) is a monolingual dictionary for intermediate to advanced learners of English.

• Headwords are defined using simple language for learners. (3000 "Core Vocabulary" words are identified here.)
• You can listen to recorded pronunciations of headwords.

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Collins Cobuild English for Learners Dictionary

The Collins Cobuild English for Learners Dictionary (at www.collinsdictionary.com) is a monolingual dictionary for intermediate to advanced learners of English.

• Headwords are all defined using a 3000-word defining vocabulary.
• You can listen to recorded pronunciations of headwords.
• You can see translations of the headword or look it up in several bilingual dictionaries.

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Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com) is a monolingual dictionary for intermediate to advanced learners of English.

• Headwords are all defined using a 3000-word defining vocabulary. (You can see the "Oxford 3000" defining vocabulary listed here.)
• You can hear British (BrE) and American (NAmE) pronunciations of headwords.
• Double-click any word to look up its meaning.
• Definitions include information about grammar, usage, idioms and phrasal verbs.

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