Simplified texts and second language learners : Investigating the differences between easy Swedish and authentic literature

This study examined the differences between a fictional book, suitable to use for educational purposes, and a different version of the same book written in “easy Swedish”. The differences were studied based on six chosen linguistic criteria. Based on these results the study also answered the questions of which book was actually easier to read from a second language perspective and what consequences these differences could have for the reading comprehension of second language students. To answer these questions a comparative text analysis was used. The results showed that the easy-to-read book had shorter sentences, a lower share of long and abstract adjectives and fewer conjunctions. The book marked as “easy to read” was not considered easier to read than the original version. The original version was shown to be more favorable to the reading comprehension of second language learners as they often benefit from authentic texts.