English Teaching

ELT365 · Day 170 — What Makes a Text Difficult?

📚60-Day ELT Masterclass — This post is part of an ongoing series. View full index →

Idea — Text difficulty is not just vocabulary. Length, sentence structure, topic familiarity, text type, and cultural reference all affect how hard a text is.

Example — A short text on an unfamiliar cultural event can be harder than a longer text on a familiar topic.

Try — Choose two texts at the same word count. List three factors beyond vocabulary that make one harder than the other.


Independent project; not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Confers no qualification.