Clarification details
Updated December 2019. This is document addresses issues that arose from moderation.
Demonstrating independent competence (Guidance Information 5)
Learners may use a bilingual and/or a monolingual English dictionary, but not electronic devices, to help them read and understand the simple written texts. Monolingual dictionaries should be those designed for English language learners at level 1.
Abridged written texts (Guidance Information 8(ii))
Abridged versions of written texts could include graded readers used in an extensive reading programme. These are graded by vocabulary level. Readers with a vocabulary level of around 800 - 1100 headwords would be appropriate for this level 1 standard. See the Graded Reader Equivalence Chart on the Extensive Reading Foundation website for guidance.
The Extensive Reading Foundation (external link)
Vocabulary Levels (Guidance Information 8(iii))
Guidance Information 8 (iii) indicates that the vocabulary of the text must be guided by the first 1000 words of the New General Service List (NGSL). This means that most of the words will be within the first 1000 high frequency words. However, it is expected that texts will also include topic-specific vocabulary and fiction will include many proper nouns.
New General Service List Project (external link)
Assessors may find the NGSL Vocabulary Profiler or English Profile Text Inspectortools useful for analysing the vocabulary level of texts to confirm suitability.
NGSL Vocabulary Profiler (external link)
English Profile Text Inspector (external link)
Text types (Outcome 1 Range statement)
Details of the four written texts read need to be documented. Copies of articles, sample pages from texts or graded reader levels or webpage links should be kept to verify the suitability of texts for this level 1 standard. Visual or oral texts cannot be used for assessment against this standard.
Engagement with the text (Performance criterion 1.2)
A learner’s personal response must show engagement with the text. This involves more than demonstrating understanding through summarisation. There must be evidence that the learner has made connections between the text and their own lives and experiences, or between the text and their prior knowledge or ideas.