Don't get ahead of yourself. There are many details to take into consideration when determining your reading level. However, if you are a strong reader in first language, and your new language uses a similar writing system, a good rule of thumb for choosing reading material is that you should be able to determine the definitions of unknown words from context without the use of a dictionary.
This assumes a couple things:
1. When you first begin learning your new language, reading should not be viewed as a resource for learning, although it may be necessary for survival situations.
2. You should know enough of the words in a text, so that you have a strong context from which you can surmise the definitions of any unknown words.
If you want to become a proficient reader in your new language, you should give some thought to the building blocks of literacy, as well as the concept of transfer literacy (the process of transferring literacy skills from one language to another). I will be addressing these two subjects in the following posts this week.
Do you guys know Tim and Amy Moline? It sounds like they are in French language school somewhere too. I don't know where nor where they plan to end up, but I'm sure it would be fun to be in contact with them. You can find them through my FB if you look at my friends. (At least Amy.) Tim is Mike's brother.
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