Note, that Special English uses also "easier" words.

Matti P., OH1GPU, Naantali, Finland


"Mike Terry" kirjoitti
...
VOA Special English is a simplified English language used by Voice of
America in daily broadcast. The news is read slowly and using a limited
wordlist of about 1500 words. Charles Kay Ogden recommended radio news be
given in Basic English with the appropriate Basic special radio vocabulary
add-on. VOA Special English, although intended for telling news around the
world, has the additional benefit of allowing English to be learned and
for
pronunciation to be polished.

http://www.basic-english.org/learn/voa.html