Programs are written in clear and simple English for people whose native language is not English.  It has a core vocabulary of 1500 words.  Most are simple words that describe objects, actions or emotions.  Special English writers use short, simple sentences that contain only one idea. They use active voice.  They do not use idioms.  Special English broadcasters read at a slower pace, about two-thirds the speed of standard English.  This helps people learning English hear each word clearly.  It also helps people who are fluent English speakers understand complex subjects.

Listening Tip:  RLMS:  use Real Player

American History

The Story of Longitude (audio and text)

Europeans Arrive (text only) 

First European Settlers  (text only) 

Settlers & Indians Clash (text only)

Pocahontas (terxt only)

Continuing Mystery of America's Lost Colony [Jamestown] 

Colonial Expansion: New England, Middle Colonies (text only)

Colonial Expansion : The South  (text only)

Slavery (text only) 

Road to Revolution  (text only) 

American Revolution: Whose Side Are You On? (text only)

French and Indian War (text only)

American/British Relations After the French and Indian War (text only)

Writing the Constitution, Part 1   Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8  Part 9 (all text only)

Lewis and Clark Exploration One of the Most Important Events in American History (audio and text)

Opening the American West: Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery (audio and text)

Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery Map a Nation (audio and text)

Biographies

Ashe, Arthur: Tennis Champion and Civil Rights Activist

Charles, Ray Part 1    Charles, Ray Part 2

Edison, Thomas

Einstein, Albert

Ford, Henry    Part 1  Part 2

Gehrig, Lou

Hughes, Langston   'Poet Voice' of African Americans

Keller, Helen    Part 1   Part 2

Kennedy, John F

King, Martin Luther Jr. Jr., Part 1     Martin Luther King Jr., Part 2

Owens, Jessie

Parks, Rosa : Mother of the American Civil Rights Movement

Presley, Elvis

Robinson, Jackie  The First Black Player in Major League Baseball

Roosevelt, Eleanor  Was the Most Influential Wife of Any American President

Ruth, Babe

Schultz, Charles  Wrote the Popular Comic Strip “Peanuts” for 50 Years

Sikorsky, Igor  Aircraft and Helicopter Designer

Twain, Mark : One of America's Best Known and Best Loved Writers

 

Short Story Adaptations

Ambitious Guest by Nathanial Hawthorne

Bartleby by Herman Melville

Benito Cereno Part1  Part 2  Part 3

Californian's Tale by Mark Twain

Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe

Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain

Devil and Tom Walker by Shep O'Neil

The Diamond Lens  Part 1 and Part 2  by Fitz-James O'Brien    

Feathertop by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Gift of the Maji by O'Henry

God of His Fathers by Jack London

Horseman in the Sky by Ambrose Bierce

John Henry

Keesh by Jack London

Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

Line of Least Resistance by Edith Wharton

Luck by Mark Twain

Municipal Report by O. Henry

Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce

Paul Bunyan

Paul's Case Part 1  Part 2 by Willa Cather

Princess of Mars,   Part 1    Part 2    Part 3    Part 4    by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Rappaccini's Daughter Part 1  and   Part 2   by Nathanial Hawthorne

Return of the Private by Hamlin Garland

Story of an Eyewitness by Jack London

To Build a Fire by Jack London

The White Heron by Sarah Orne Jewett