Readability
The Flesch-Kincaid test is one method of measuring the readability of writing. Difficulty is assessed by analyzing sentence length and the number of syllables per word. Put simply, short sentences containing words with few syllables are considered to be the easiest to read. The Flesch-Kincaid test can also be used to assess the difficulty of texts for EFL students. For students with scores below TOEFL 500, Flesh - Cinched scores in the range 5.0- 8.0 are appropriate. (By way of comparison this paper has a Flesch-Kincaid rating of 11.1). However, far more detailed research needs to be done in the area of assessing student responses to the readability of adapted materials. For example, the Flesch-Kincaid test assumes that passive constructions are more difficult for students to understand than active ones; however my own preliminary investigations have shown that removing passive verbs and replacing them with active ones does not necessarily make the students feel that the text is any easier to read.