To make English learning as effective as possible, Downpat builds its vocabulary content on scientifically validated frequency dictionaries. Every word has a CEFR difficulty level, a frequency rank, and carefully prepared explanations. On this page, we explain what sources are used and how they are combined into a unified system.
Why frequency matters
The English language has over a million words, but everyday communication requires far fewer. Research shows that the 2,000–3,000 most frequent words cover about 90–92% of all texts you encounter in real life. That is why effective learning starts with the most important words, not random lists.
Downpat uses frequency ranking so you learn the most commonly encountered words first. This means every minute of study delivers maximum value.
Oxford 5000 — the primary source
Oxford 5000 is a list of the 5,000 most important English words, curated by Oxford University Press. It is the primary source of Downpat's vocabulary content.
Why Oxford 5000:
- CEFR levels — every word is tagged from A1 (beginner) to C1 (advanced)
- Parts of speech — noun, verb, adjective, etc. — for precise answer option matching
- Definitions and examples — academic explanations with usage examples
- Phonetic transcription — British and American pronunciation (IPA)
Word distribution by level: A1 — 1,076, A2 — 990, B1 — 902, B2 — 1,571, C1 — 1,404 words.
NGSL — frequency ranking
New General Service List (NGSL) is a list of 2,809 most frequent English words, created by researchers Dr. Charles Browne, Dr. Brent Culligan, and Dr. Joseph Phillips. The list is built from an analysis of the 273-million-word Cambridge English Corpus.
NGSL is used in Downpat for frequency ranking: each word from Oxford 5000 is cross-referenced with NGSL to obtain a precise frequency rank. As a result, words ranked 1–50 (be, have, do, say, go) are taught first, while rarer ones come later.
The 2,809 NGSL words cover approximately 92% of all English texts — from news and textbooks to everyday conversations.
NAWL — academic vocabulary
New Academic Word List (NAWL) is a supplementary list of 963 academic words frequently found in scientific texts, textbooks, and university lectures. NAWL complements NGSL and is especially useful for those preparing for B2–C1 levels or planning to study in English.
Examples of academic words: analyze, demonstrate, evaluate, hypothesis, significant, methodology.
How it all comes together
The process of creating Downpat vocabulary content consists of several stages:
- Word selection. Words are sourced from Oxford 5000 and filtered by CEFR level (e.g., A1 — 782 words for beginners).
- Frequency ranking. Each word is cross-referenced with NGSL to obtain a precise frequency rank. Words not found in NGSL receive estimates based on COCA and BNC corpora.
- Translations and examples. Ukrainian translations and usage examples are created manually, not by machine translation. This ensures pedagogical accuracy and natural language.
- Phonetic transcription. Each word includes IPA transcription and Ukrainian transliteration for correct pronunciation.
- Topic organization. Words are organized into topics of ~100 words in descending frequency order — the most important words are learned first.
- Answer options. For multiple-choice tests, distractors are selected from the same part of speech to ensure grammatically plausible options.
CEFR levels
Every word in Downpat has a level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR):
- A1 — basic vocabulary for beginners (782 words: be, have, go, like, house, family...)
- A2 — elementary level (990 words: explain, improve, regular, advantage...)
- B1 — intermediate level (902 words: achievement, consequently, participate...)
- B2 — upper-intermediate (1,571 words: appropriate, genuine, negotiate, substantial...)
- C1 — advanced (1,404 words: ambiguous, compelling, inevitable, profound...)
This gradation allows you to learn words in the right order: from basic to complex.
Sources
- Oxford 5000 — Oxford University Press / Oxford Learner's Dictionaries. 5,000 most important English words with CEFR levels, definitions, and phonetics.
- NGSL v1.2 — Dr. Charles Browne, Dr. Brent Culligan, Dr. Joseph Phillips. 2,809 words based on the Cambridge English Corpus (273M words). Free for educational use.
- NAWL v1.2 — same authors. 963 academic words. Free for educational use.
- COCA (Corpus of Contemporary American English) and BNC (British National Corpus) — for estimating frequency of words not found in NGSL.