Editorial Policy

ESL News Stories publishes leveled reading lessons for English learners. Our goal is educational: clear, useful English practice built around real-world topics.

How we choose topics

We pick topics that are broadly useful for learners and teachers: culture, science, health, society, technology, and everyday life.
We avoid unnecessary sensationalism and try to keep the focus on learning value.

Sources and accuracy

When an article is based on reporting elsewhere, we link to sources on the page.
We aim to be accurate, but the site is provided for educational use and is not a news organization. If you see an error, please contact us so we can review it.

How we write and level articles

Articles are rewritten in simpler English so learners can focus on reading fluency and vocabulary.
We use a 1–6 level system and map it to CEFR as closely as possible (A1–C2).
Leveling is based on overall difficulty (grammar, sentence length, vocabulary, cohesion), not just word count.

Activities and learning support

Vocabulary words are frequently stretch words (new to students at that level). They are selected to support understanding of the story and to highlight useful language.
Activities are designed for classroom use or self-study (discussion, listening, comprehension, sequencing, etc.).

Audio

Audio is provided to support listening practice and pronunciation.
Since 2025, audio content is AI generated.

Large language model (LLM) use

We often use AI tools as part of the writing workflow (for example, when drafting and rewriting). The production of this site is only possible because of time saved with LLM assistance.

We review and edit content before publishing.
We keep source links when an article is based on external reporting.

Updates

We correct errors when found.
We may update articles to improve clarity, fix mistakes, adjust level/CEFR, or improve activities.
When an article is meaningfully changed, we may show an updated/reviewed date on the page.