Free graded readings for language learners
Original short texts for learners, written by Xolingo and released into the public domain. Read them here for free, or open them in the Xolingo app to tap any word for a translation and keep it for practice.
What these readings are
Every text on these pages was written by Xolingo for people learning a language. None of them is an excerpt from an encyclopedia or a news site, and none has been simplified from somebody else’s work. Each one is released under CC0, which means you can copy, print, share and reuse it without asking.
Each reading is a complete piece of a few paragraphs: a scene, a small story, or a short explanation. They are long enough to follow an idea from start to finish and short enough to finish in one sitting. After each one there are comprehension questions, key words with English meanings, and a short note on one point of the language that the text shows in use.
How the levels work
Readings are grouped by CEFR level, starting with A1 and A2. Xolingo grades its own texts by controlling vocabulary, sentence length and the situations they describe, using the CEFR descriptors from the Council of Europe as a guide. The grading is an editorial judgement. It is not a test, and reading a level here does not certify your proficiency.
If a text feels too hard, move down a level or read only the first paragraph. If it feels too easy, move up. Moving around is normal.