Getting Started
Ten minutes from your first visit to your first fully-adapted news story. Start by locating yourself on the CEFR ladder, then use LivePreview to feel how the same article rewrites itself around your level.
1. Find your CEFR level (A1–C2)
Every story on Clear Click News is prepared at all six CEFR levels: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2. If you already know your CEFR band, great — pick the one below it for comfort, or the one above it to push yourself. If you don't, try this quick self-check:
- A1 — Foundations. You recognise everyday words, can read short sentences, and prefer stories about familiar topics.
- A2 — Elementary. You handle short factual texts on familiar topics and can follow a simple news lead without help.
- B1 — Independent. You follow the main points of a news article, but longer sentences and idioms slow you down.
- B2 — Upper-intermediate. You read most news articles at pace; abstract or specialised passages still need a second look.
- C1 — Advanced. You read authentic BBC / AP prose comfortably, notice register, and want the challenge kept in.
- C2 — Mastery. You read near-natively — nuance, irony, and complex argument all land on first pass.
You are not locked in. The level toggle sits on every story — flip up when you're curious, flip down when the text stops feeling like practice and starts feeling like a wall. The transitional levels (A2, B2, C2) are especially useful when a full jump feels too big.
2. Use LivePreview effectively
The LivePreview card on the home page is the site's daily on-ramp. It surfaces today's selected story with:
- A 16:9 hero image sourced from Unsplash, with photographer credit — a visual anchor before you even read the headline.
- A short bilingual-friendly summary so you can decide whether the topic interests you before committing.
- The level toggle, so you can preview the article at your band without leaving the homepage.
- A "Read full story" button that opens the reading pane with everything wired up.
3. The reading pane
Once you open a story, four things are always within reach:
- Synced transcript. If audio is available, the transcript scrolls in time with the narration. Tap any sentence to jump the audio there — great for shadowing.
- Tap-to-define vocabulary. Words are annotated by frequency band. Tap once for a gloss; tap the save icon to add it to your personal vocab deck.
- Level toggle (again). Change your mind mid-read — the article re-flows without losing your scroll position.
- Mission Pack link. When a story is Mission-ready, a button appears to launch the Explore → Analyze → Apply flow (covered in the next section).