AI Text Leveler for ESL Learners
ESL students face a dual challenge: they are learning content while simultaneously acquiring English. A 9th-grade student who arrived from Mexico three months ago is not behind in biology (she has grade-level science knowledge in Spanish. She is behind in academic English. Leveling the biology textbook to her English proficiency tier) reducing idioms, adding inline vocabulary glosses, shortening sentence chains, allows her to engage with grade-level science content while she builds English fluency. Her content learning does not need to pause because her language acquisition is in progress.
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How teachers use it for ESL learners
Classroom scenarios where text leveling changes how students access content.
Science content access for Beginner-tier ESL students
A high school biology teacher has three newcomer ESL students at Beginner proficiency. The textbook is at 970L with complex passive constructions and academic vocabulary. She produces Beginning English learner adaptations of each chapter section, short sentences, active voice, and high-frequency vocabulary with key words explained. Students read real biology content instead of a simplified worksheet with no connection to the curriculum.
Intermediate ESL leveling for social studies
A middle school ESS teacher has 11 students at Intermediate English proficiency, they can hold a conversation in English but struggle with academic register. She uses the Intermediate English learner level to level social studies passages: key words are kept and explained, idiomatic expressions are replaced with direct language, and sentences are kept short. Students can access the content arguments and participate in class discussion.
ESL bridge to grade-level text
Advanced ESL students are often one step below full grade-level reading proficiency. An ELA teacher uses a grade band one step below the class as a bridge: the text retains full academic vocabulary but removes particularly dense syntactic constructions and adds clarifying transitions.
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What this page does here
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Questions teachers ask
What is the difference between ESL leveling and grade-band leveling?
Grade-band leveling is designed for native English speakers reading below their grade level (it simplifies vocabulary and sentence structure to match a developmental reading level. ESL leveling is designed for language learners at a specific English proficiency stage) it addresses the specific barriers that ESL students face: idiomatic expressions that rely on cultural knowledge, complex passive constructions, long embedded clauses, and academic collocations that differ from everyday language. ESL adaptations may retain domain vocabulary that grade-band leveling would simplify, because ESL learners need the technical terms, they just need the surrounding prose made more accessible.
Can the tool produce bilingual or dual-language texts?
The tool produces English-language leveled texts, it does not translate into other languages. However, the draft includes a Key words list for words likely to be unfamiliar to ESL learners. This list can guide teachers in creating bilingual vocabulary inserts or connecting to bilingual digital dictionaries. Full translation is outside the scope of the tool, but a Key words list is built into every draft.
Does ESL leveling work for academic content areas like science and history?
Yes, and this is where the ESL tier is most valuable. Content-area ESL leveling preserves disciplinary vocabulary (photosynthesis, suffrage, equilibrium) while reducing the general academic language barriers that surround it. A student who knows chemistry in their first language can access a chemistry text adapted to their English proficiency tier, the barrier was never the chemistry, it was the English prose. The steps address the language barrier while you check that the content rigour stays.
How does the tool decide which words to define inline versus which to simplify?
Domain-specific terms (Tier 3 vocabulary) are preserved and defined inline: "mitosis (cell division that produces two identical cells)." Academic general vocabulary (Tier 2: words like "significant," "demonstrate," "factor") that may be unfamiliar to ESL learners is either simplified to a high-frequency synonym or defined inline depending on its importance to the text's meaning. High-frequency general vocabulary (Tier 1) usually needs no change. The level selected (Beginning or Intermediate English learner) names the target, and the teacher decides how far to go with Tier 2 vocabulary.
Can the tool be used alongside a sheltered instruction approach?
Yes. Sheltered instruction models like SIOP rely on comprehensible input, making content accessible to language learners through scaffolding. Leveled texts are a direct implementation of the comprehensible input principle. A version made for an English learner level can be used as SIOP-style reading material: it builds from what students already know linguistically while extending content knowledge. The Key words list also supports the vocabulary instruction component of sheltered instruction.
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