About Our Graded Reader Stories
At Tadoku Lighthouse, we are dedicated to providing high-quality graded reader stories designed to support and inspire language learners (or young readers) at every stage of their journey. Our stories are crafted with care by highly skilled and highly educated TESOL professionals, ensuring that all texts are linguistically appropriate and engaging. Additionally, we leverage advanced technologies, including Generative Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models, to enhance and refine our content. While some stories are written with the assistance of AI, every story undergoes thorough editing and revision by our experts to guarantee clarity, accuracy, and readability. No stories are written entirely by artificial intelligence, and many stories are written mostly by human hands and human creativity. Finally, our team keeps abreast of the latest research in education for second language reading and extensive reading to ensure that all our materials are designed to maximize the learning of English as a second or foreign language. We add new stories every week, so please check our website often and consider subscribing or following us for notifications.
Carefully Graded for Your Learning Progress
Our stories are available in four distinct levels to match a wide range of language proficiency:
- Level 1: Designed for students who have already mastered A1 vocabulary, the language and corresponding grammatical structures of these stories are the most basic. These shorter stories are appropriate for students who have just begun to read in English as a second language.
- Level 2: Designed for students who have mastered all A1 and most A2 vocabulary, the language and corresponding grammatical structures of these stories are appropriate for pre-intermediate learners of English.
- Level 3: Suitable for students who are familiar with most A1 to B1 vocabulary, the sentence structures, expressions, and words of these stories provide comfortable reading for B1 intermediate students of English.
- Level 4: Created for students who have mastered most A1 to B2 vocabulary, these stories introduce more complex sentence patterns and richer language elements to suit the reading practice of students at a more advanced intermediate level.
(We carry out text analysis to ensure that our graded reader levels are suitable for students in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for languages. These text analysis tools reference lexis and corpus studies that have determined which English words suit the level A1 to C2 in the CEFR framework)
Which level is right for you?
Students should read some of our stories to find the level that is appropriate for them. A good level for extensive reading practice uses language and grammar that students understand easily. The student should not need to use a dictionary in order to understand the story, and the student should read rather quickly without needing to stop. Students should choose the highest level that allows for comfortable and enjoyable reading. An occasional unknown word or grammatical structure is not a problem, as long as the story is understandable and enjoyable.
Please use the quizzes at the bottom of each story to help you decide if the reading level is suitable for you. These quizzes will test your understanding of the story, and if you cannot answer all 7 questions correctly, the story is likely written at a level that is too difficult for you.
Vocabulary Support for Effective Learning
To maximize learning, a short vocabulary list precedes each story, and students should study some of these words before starting the reading. These vocabulary lists contain the few words in the story that are one level above the story’s graded level, helping learners expand their knowledge while keeping the core reading experience accessible. For example, the vocabulary list for a Level 1 story will highlight several B1-level words appearing in the text, and the list for a Level 2 story will highlight many B2 words in the story. While learners can enjoy the stories without studying these words beforehand, reviewing them can improve comprehension of the story and retention of new vocabulary knowledge.
Interactive Features for Engagement
To allow students to check their understanding, every story includes seven comprehension questions at the bottom. Students can check their answers freely, as the correct answers are hidden and can be revealed at any time. At Tadoku Lighthouse, we believe that Extensive Reading is best practiced without the pressure to pass quizzes or tests. These questions serve as further reading practice and can be used to make sure that a reading level is appropriate for the reader (see above).
Additionally, all stories include illustrations and other enriching media generated by AI, adding further engagement and useful glosses for the reading experience. At the very bottom of each story, students and instructors will find a relevant “Learning Activity“. Students and instructors can use or modify these activities to add additional language study and reading/writing practice for the classroom. The content of these activities is often enhanced with generative AI tools.
Protecting Our Content
All stories and media on Tadoku Lighthouse are protected by copyright. Reproduction or redistribution of any content without permission from the author or Tadoku Lighthouse is strictly prohibited.
We invite you to explore our graded reader stories and immerse yourself in an enriching, structured, and engaging reading experience. Whether you are just beginning or advancing toward fluency, our materials are here to support you every step of the way.