Basic English

Basic English was introduced in 1930 by Charles K. Ogden. It consists of a simplified vocabulary of 850 words, sometimes with small added sets for special purposes.

Links:

http://www.basiceng.com/

http://www.diac.com/~entente/basicpg.html

Also see:

VOA Special English, with 1523 words

[The Academic Word List http://www.vuw.ac.nz/lals/div1/awl/]

[The General Service List http://jbauman.com/aboutgsl.html]

1000 Most Common Words in English

Dolch Basic Words List

Internet TESL Journal's ESL Vocabulary Lists