Level 1 · Reading

This unit is for you if your Reading subscore is below about 95, or if you have never taken the Duolingo English Test (DET) and English reading still feels slow: you know many words when you hear them but hesitate when you see them alone, you are not sure how to finish a word when only half of it is on the screen, and the clock runs out before you reach the last question about a passage. At Foundation level you do not need to read faster. You need to know exactly what each Reading question asks for, use the small clues that decide most answers, and stop losing marks you could easily keep.

Lesson 1 · The Reading questions at a glance

The DET is one continuous test of about an hour, taken at home on a computer. There is no separate "Reading section" with its own clock: Reading questions appear among the other question types, and each one has its own timer. Four question types give you your Reading subscore:

Formats, times and numbers are from Duolingo's DET Question Guide 2026. The exact number of each question type changes from test to test.

How each one is marked tells you how to work:

Lesson 2 · Read and Select

What it tests: the size of your English vocabulary, and whether you recognise how English words are spelt. You see one word at a time and click Yes if it is a real English word or No if it is not. You have 5 seconds for each word, and you meet 15–18 words. There is nothing to read around the word: no sentence, no picture. You simply know it, or you work it out from its parts.

The fake words are made to look real. Most of them are built in one of four ways:

Method

1. Say the word silently in your head. Hearing it often tells you at once whether you know it.
2. Ask: have I seen it in reading? If you know it, or you have seen it before, click Yes.
3. If you are not sure, look at its parts. Is there a real root (kind, agree, place)? Do the prefix and suffix normally go with that kind of word (kind + ness, dis + agree, mis + place)?
4. Decide within about 3 seconds. If you have never seen it and cannot build it from real parts, click No.
5. Forget it and move on. The next word is already coming.

Lesson 3 · Fill in the Blanks

What it tests: whether you can use the meaning and grammar of a sentence to rebuild one word. You see one sentence. One word in it is unfinished: you see the first part of the word, and you type the rest. You have 20 seconds. The answer is right or wrong, and the spelling must be correct. The missing word is always a noun, verb, adjective or adverb, never a small word such as the or of.

In this book, each _ is one missing letter. Four clues decide almost every answer:

Method (20 seconds)

1. Read the whole sentence, not just the words before the gap. The clue is often after it.
2. Decide the kind of word the gap needs, and its form (-s, -ed, -ing, -ly).
3. Think of word partners and contrasts (make a…, take a…, but…, not… but…).
4. Type the missing letters. If the screen shows a space for each letter, check the length too.
5. Read the full word once for spelling and ending, then continue. Never leave it empty.

Worked example

Sentence: The village was quiet during the day, but at night the streets were very no___.

Answer: noisy. After very we need an adjective. But tells us the night is the opposite of the day, and the opposite of quiet is noisy. A student who types noise has the right idea but the wrong kind of word (a noun), and the answer is marked wrong.

Lesson 4 · Read and Complete

What it tests: whether you can use grammar, vocabulary and meaning together to rebuild a whole paragraph. You see a short paragraph (from a story, a news report or a textbook). Several words in it are unfinished: the second half of each word is missing, and you type it. You have 3 minutes for the paragraph, and you meet this task 3–6 times. Each word is marked separately, and the spelling must be correct.

Duolingo's guide gives four rules that help you:

Here is a short paragraph as it might look (each _ is one missing letter):

Answers: many, lend, and, well, Some, offer. Notice how often a word is decided by grammar: a__ between two nouns is and; we__ in as … as books completes the phrase as well as; of___ after also needs a plural verb to match Some (libraries): offer, not offers.

Method (3 minutes)

1. Read the title and the first and last sentences (about 15 seconds).
2. Read the whole paragraph once without typing, to understand the idea.
3. Fill the easy words first: small grammar words such as and, the, from, their, because.
4. For each harder word, use the clues: the letters you see, the kind of word, word partners and meaning.
5. Check every ending and spelling (-s, -ed, -ing, -ly). A nearly right word is marked wrong.
6. Leave about 20 seconds to type your best guess in any empty word.

Lesson 5 · Interactive Reading: how a set works

What it tests: whether you can follow a longer text from start to finish: its words, how its sentences connect, its details and its main idea. You get 2–3 sets in a test. Each set is one passage with six questions, shown one at a time, and you have 7 or 8 minutes for all six together. Across your sets there is at least one story (narrative) and one information text (expository).

The six questions always come in this order, and the passage grows as you go:

Order, timing and marking are from the DET Question Guide 2026. Everyone gets at least one 8-minute set.

There is one clock for the whole set, so plan your minutes:

These are FLC planning aims, not Duolingo rules.

Lesson 6 · Complete the Sentences and Complete the Passage

Complete the Sentences

You see the first half of the passage with 3–10 words missing. For each blank you choose a word from a short list. The text stays on the screen while you choose. Each blank is marked separately, so every blank is worth trying. The choices for one blank are often the same word in different forms (leave, leaves, left, leaving), or small linking words (because, although, unless), so grammar decides many of them.

1. Read the visible text once to get the story or topic.
2. Do the easiest blanks first, then the harder ones.
3. For each blank, read the whole sentence, including the words after the blank.
4. Try your choice in the sentence and read it again slowly. Does it sound right and make sense?

Complete the Passage

Now the second half of the passage appears, and one sentence is missing between the two halves. You choose the sentence that joins them. The right sentence must fit both the sentence before the gap and the sentence after it. On the test you can see how each choice looks in the gap before you decide.

1. Read the new second half carefully, especially its first sentence.
2. Read the sentence before the gap and the sentence after it.
3. Ask what is missing: a reason? a result? an event in the story? a topic sentence?
4. Remove choices that contradict the text, are about something else, or repeat what is already said.

Worked example

Choices: A) The meal was perfect, and everyone enjoyed it. B) But while he was talking on the phone, the rice burnt. C) His parents often cooked pasta on Sundays. D) He decided to go to a restaurant instead.

Answer: B. The sentence after the gap shows a problem (open windows, a black pan), so the missing sentence must explain how something went wrong. A is the opposite of what follows. C is off the topic: it does not join the two parts. D contradicts the end, where Sam is clearly at home with a pan. Notice the linking word But in B: it signals the change from plan to problem.

Lesson 7 · Highlight the Answer

Now you see the whole passage, with the missing sentence filled in, and a question. You click and drag with the mouse to highlight the part of the text that answers the question. You do not need to highlight a full sentence. The answer is always in the text, word for word. This question gives partial credit: you get the most credit when your highlight is exactly right, and some credit when it is close. There are two of these questions in every set.

Method

1. Find the key words in the question (names, places, numbers, the main verb).
2. Scan the passage for those words or words with the same meaning.
3. Read the sentence around them and find the exact words that answer the question.
4. Highlight only those words. Start at the first word of the answer and stop at its last word.
5. Read your highlight as an answer to the question. If it answers it with nothing missing and nothing extra, continue.

Worked example

Question: Where do the older students go to school?

Lesson 8 · Identify the Idea and Title the Passage

The last two questions ask about the whole text. In Identify the Idea you choose the sentence that says what the whole passage is about. In Title the Passage you choose the best title. Both are marked right or wrong, and both have a few options. The right answer covers the whole passage: its beginning, middle and end.

The wrong options are written to catch readers in four familiar ways:

Method

1. Say the passage in one sentence in your own words before you look at the options: who or what + what happens or what is explained.
2. Read all the options first.
3. Remove the traps: too narrow, too broad, opposite, not stated.
4. For the title, use your main idea answer. The best title is a short name for the same idea. Check the time before you start: this is the last question in the set.

Worked example

For The Island School Run passage in Exercise 13, which is the main idea?

A) The island has two hundred people. B) Children on a small island travel to school by boat, which brings difficulties but also benefits. C) Education is important all over the world. D) Strong winds stop the boat every day.

Answer: B. It covers the boat journey, the problems (winter winds) and the benefits (independence). A is too narrow: one detail. C is too broad: the passage is about one island, not the world. D is not stated and too strong: the winds stop the boat sometimes, in winter, not every day.

Lesson 9 · Two full Interactive Reading sets

Now put the five lessons together. Each exercise below is a full set in the order of the test. On the test, each question has its own screen and the full passage appears from question 3 onwards. Here, answer the questions in order, and use the parts of the passage printed for each step. Time yourself: 8 minutes for the first set, 7 minutes for the second.

Lesson 10 · Timing and your Reading subscore

Every Reading question has its own clock, and the clock does not stop. Here is how FLC asks Foundation students to use each one:

How your scores are built

Your Reading subscore (10–160, in steps of 5) is reported with Listening, Writing and Speaking. The overall score is the average of the four, rounded up to the next 5. For example, Reading 85, Listening 90, Writing 75 and Speaking 80 give an average of 82.5, which rounds up to an overall score of 85. Your Reading score also counts in two combined subscores: Comprehension (Reading and Listening) and Literacy (Reading and Writing).

From the DET Scoring Guide 2026 concordance. These links are approximate, and universities set their own requirements.

Lesson 11 · Habits that cost marks, and your Level 1 plan

These are the habits FLC teachers see most often in Foundation students from Gujarat, Punjab and across India. Each one costs real marks, and each one is easy to fix.

Your four-week Level 1 Reading plan