What Are Language Proficiency Levels
Language proficiency levels measure an individual’s knowledge of a language, such as how well a person can speak, understand, read and write in a specific language. Language proficiency levels are from the Common European Framework Reference for languages, which defines proficiency levels in relation to the linguistic abilities of learners. It outlines six levels of language proficiency, which include A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2, and the structure of the levels moves up with increasing difficulty from level A1 to level C2. It goes from a beginner user to a native-speaking user, such as:
What Does It Mean To Know A Language
On the surface, learning a language seems like a pretty straightforward process. You might read through some language guides, spend some time on YouTube, and even use the best language-learning program out there. But when you take a closer look, the idea of what learning is and what it means to learn something becomes much less clear.
For instance, if you study French in school and pass the tests, do you know the language? Maybe. But what happens if you try to use it and struggle or even fail to speak? Did you learn the language? Even after studying it for all those years? What if you can read, but not write? What if you can speak, but you have a hard time understanding? What if you have an accent?
And most importantly, you may wonder, When will I ever finish!?
And this grows more complicated once we move outside of your definition of learning and evolve towards what it means to know. What do you know or think you know? And what do native speakers think about your language skills? On the one hand, we often know far less than wed hope. On the other hand, we often know far more than we think we do.
What You Need To Know About C2 Level English
C2 proficiency is the highest English level there is, and therefore earns the title of mastery. It implies that the English user is on a similar level to a native speaker , with full confidence and control of the language. C2 level English users are comfortable writing or speaking about any type of subject, with nuanced expression and coherent delivery. You can also read and comprehend speech without any barrier. C2 means that youll find very few restrictions to conducting your daily life in English, and you are extremely comfortable using it in an academic or professional setting.
When you reach C2, you should have a working vocabulary of about 16000 words. It takes approximately 1,0001,200 hours with the language to pass the C2 Cambridge examination.
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When Do The Different Cefr Levels Matter
The CEFR is often used by employers and in academic settings.
You may need a CEFR certificate for:
- School admissions
- University course requirements
A CEFR certificate is very handy for your CV or résumé, and they often donât expire.
That said, many language learners use CEFR levels for self-assessment so that they can more clearly define what they need to work on, and work out what they would like to achieve in their target language.
Aiming for higher CEFR levels are also a great way to make the transition from an intermediate learner to an advanced learner, and Fluent in 3 Months founder Benny Lewis has used exams in the past to force himself to improve and refine his language skills.
If youâre looking for an extra push or for a way to break through a plateau, a language exam could be an effective way to do it. Motivation in language learning always matters.
Ilr Level 0+ Memorized Proficiency
Memorized proficiency, which means you can speak out scripts that you have learned, is rated 0+ on the scale. Someone with an ILR Level 0+ can:
- use rehearsed utterances to meet basic needs
- can understand memorized phrases in areas of basic needs
- not yet read full sentences and paragraphs, but may be able to read numbers, isolated words and phrases, personal and place names, street signs, office and shop designations
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Don’t Overstate Your Skills
This is a bad idea for many reasons. When you tell your employer that you have skills that exceed your actual skills, you’re giving a false representation of your abilities. At some point, you’ll have to demonstrate how well you know the language, which can be embarrassing if you’re not as good as you once proclaimed. Also, you don’t want to make the impression that you’ve been lying. When in doubt, it’s a good idea to underestimate your language skills rather than overestimate them.
State Your Mother Tongue Clearly
Make sure that you are also clear about which language is your native language. If you highlight foreign languages only and you are applying at home, it might seem questionable whether you are a native speaker. If you are abroad and you are a native English speaker, make sure that you state it clearly. Your employer may have other roles and tasks for you if you are the only native English speaker in the company.
Please note that none of the companies mentioned in this article are affiliated with Indeed.
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Tips To Reach C1 Level
A great way to make the jump to C1 is to learn new skills, using the English language as a tool to learn this information! For example, you could take a course and upskill for your career or personal goals, while also doubling down on your English skills at the same time. That way, youll not only learn a new skill, youll also learn tons of vocabulary specific to that topic. Youll be able to work with the phrases you use there and turn them into your active vocabulary. To become an active learner, write down 5 of the phrases you hear or read in the course in a notepad or flashcard app. Then, practice using each of those expressions or phrases in 5 different ways.
Consider Removing Languages If Irrelevant To The Job
The most common resumes are one-pagers. If you’re running out of space and if being bilingual is not a crucial requirement for the job position, consider removing the language section altogether. You can always mention it again in the cover letter or during the interview, if necessary.
Read more:How To Include Language Skills on Your Resume
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Understanding English Levels With Cefr
To better understand ones English proficiency levels, we will be using the CEFR. It is a standardized language proficiency benchmark or language reference that is internationally recognized to give us a systematized description of an individuals proficiency level.
It is commonly used and recognized by educational institutions, multinational companies, and government agencies worldwide. And also, the CEFR scale provides reliable descriptions for the four language skills, which are listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
CEFR, or theCommon European Framework of Reference for Languages, is a highly distinguished and trusted standardized language proficiency benchmark. It provides accurate and reliable descriptions of the different English language proficiency levels.
There are six proficiency levels on the CEFR scale, including C2, C1, B2, B1, A2, and A2 proficiency levels, and these are also grouped into three broad levels, the Basic User, Independent User, and Proficient User.
And the highest level for this scale is the C2, which specifies a mastery of the language, and the lowest scale is A1 which is the elementary or basic user level.
| CEFR Level |
|---|
| Basic User |
How To Include Language Fluency On A Resume
If you’re bilingual, you should definitely highlight this fact on your resume. Not only is being bilingual a highly desirable skill to have, but it may also set you apart from other job candidates. Often, it is not enough to say that you’re proficient in speaking a language. It’s important to structure your resume in a way that helps your language skills stand out and identifies them properly. Follow these steps when deciding how to include your bilingual skills on a resume:
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How To Determine Your English Proficiency Level
There are many possible ways to determine your English proficiency level. One is using a language proficiency benchmark or scale, and the other one is taking a language proficiency exam.
And you should also know that proficiency means having mastery of a specific area or ability. Thus, language proficiency involves all of your language abilities and not just a selected skill that you are an expert in.
In other words, you should not only excel in one, but you need to be proficient in all of your English language abilities, including writing, listening, speaking, and reading.
These four primary language skills will be assessed using a language exam to determine proficiency. English language proficiency exams have different test sections that correspond to specific language skills.
There are many standardized language proficiency exams that you can choose from that will measure your English language skills. Some language exams are offered and accessible online, which means that you can easily take them from the comfort of your home. At the same time, others need to be taken at their official testing centers.
The widely used and highly accepted language proficiency exams include TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo English Test, OET, PTE, EF SET, CAE C1, CELPIP, and many more.
Best Tips On How To Write Language Skills In Resume/cv
Are you in the process of updating your resume? Or perhaps it is your first resume, and you are actually still a student in college? If the latter is true, you definitely need help creating your first CV. Most likely, you also need a cheap essay service online to help you with your assignments and free up more time for work. But what is really important in both cases is to know how to highlight your strong skills in your resume.
Including language proficiency is a must when making a resume skills list. Job candidates with language proficiency in their CV have a significant advantage over monolingual candidates in many different professional roles and sectors. Although having high language levels is great, you also have to know how to present your strengths in a truthful and powerful way.
In this article, you will find what does it mean to be proficient in a language from the perspective of a job recruiter and how to make sure that your language skills resume is impeccable. Read on to discover some strong tips about how to write about your language fluency.
Read on to discover some strong tips on how to write about your levels of language proficiency in your resume. But before we begin, I’d like to share the EasyEssay service that will help anyone with paper writing.
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How Can I Prepare For A Language Proficency Test
If you have been attending classes, you will possibly be able to sit proficiency exams through your educational institution. If that is the case, speak with your teacher. You will probably find that your classes are being taught with the intention of readying you for proficiency tests. In this case you should have a well rounded education, and your language proficiency should be balanced across the skills. The way to improve your proficiency is to follow the class curriculum, do the homework exercises, and do extra homework addressing the same skills.
If you are an auto-didactic learner , sometimes it can be difficult to know if you have well balanced skill sets. It helps to measure your skills against a practice test. Many language schools (such as FluentCityand proficiency testing organisations produce practice tests, which will help identify any holes in your learning. Then it is simply a case of working on exercises in those areas until the practice tests are easy for you.
If you want to test your proficiency in French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese or Japanese, iTalki now has speaking and reading, grammar and vocab tests using an AI technology. They produce results that align with CEFR, ACTFL and TOEFL .
Cefr Levels: What They Are Why They Matter And How To Test Yourself
Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. ?
CEFR levels: what are they? And do they matter?
In the language-learning community, we often hear other learners throw around certain terms when theyâre talking about their level in a language.
âI speak German at a B1 levelâ or âIâm an A2 in Russian.â
But what do B1 and A2 mean?
These descriptors are skill levels in the CEFR system and theyâre used by language learners to measure their ability in a language.
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Where To Place Language Proficiencies On A Cv
If a specified language proficiency is crucial to a role that you want to apply for, mention your proficiency in the summary of your CV. Otherwise, add your language proficiency to the skills section. Create a separate section titled ‘languages’ if you are a polyglot, provided you have at least an independent proficiency in the languages you speak.
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What Are The Levels Of Language Proficiency
In the United States, the most commonly used language proficiency scales are the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and the Interagency Language Roundtable . Canada uses its own proficiency scale, called Canadian Language Benchmarks to determine fluency levels when assessing ESL learners. In Europe, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages is used to provide a basis for recognizing language qualifications by educational institutions and businesses alike.
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What Are The Proficiency Levels Under The Actfl Scale
The ACTFL scale was developed as part of a U.S. government approach to supporting students from non-English speaking backgrounds. It is divided into levels of Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Superior and Distinguished. Novice, Intermediate and Advanced are further divided into low, mid and high levels.
The ACTFL scale is rarely used outside of the U.S.A. Full details of the proficiency levels are available as a pdf file from their website.
About Our Online Tests
To get an idea of your current level you can take our online test, and the instant results will indicate your current ability based on the above mentioned references. Please note that this test approximates your level as it doesnât assess all language abilities, such as speaking and listening. However, at the start of your course, your designated teacher will assess all your language skills and the lessons will focus on developing the language areas where you feel you need most help or you want to focus on.
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Level C1 And C: Advanced Fluency
When we really consider the etymology of the word Hulk, is it at all surprising that he defines himself by the destruction of the objects that surround him? the Hulk at C1
Im combining these levels into one description because theyre shades of fluency. A C1 speaker rarely has to search for a phrase, has full grammatical knowledge, knows idioms, can read technical papers, etc. A C2 speaker has essentially the grammar and vocabulary grasp of a native speaker.
Often at the C levels, learners will dig into a specific topic more, such as legal, scientific or business specific language skills.
Think Christoph Waltzs English in Inglorious Basterds. Not really native, but super close.
The time it takes to progress through the C levels vary based on what your specific goals are and how youre working your way there. The Goethe Institut says it takes about 1000 hours of total class time to reach C2, so maybe another 300 hours after youre done with B2. From scratch, 1000 hours means about 4 years of being in class for an hour every single weekday, plus studying time.
If you did it absolutely full time, in a classroom or with a tutor just about all day, every day, you could probably get to C-level language proficiency from scratch in about a year of constant work.
What Are English Proficiency Levels
If you want to learn the English language thoroughly and use it just like any native English speaker, it is not enough to learn the basics. Learning the language requires you to be proficient in using it effectively and confidently.
Being proficient with the English language requires more effort since you need to master the primary skills in reading, speaking, listening, and writing. And various language proficiency levels range from mastery to elementary or beginner level.
These proficiency levels will help you assess which level of proficiency your language skills belong to. And for you to have an accurate evaluation of your English skills, there are many language proficiency exams available that will help you evaluate your proficiency level and know your limits in using the English language.
However, if you already have an excellent command of using the English language without any struggle, there are many opportunities for proficient users like you.
And to help you understand more about the different English proficiency levels, how to determine your level, what are the various English language exams that you can take, and more. We have come up with a complete guide about English proficiency levels.
English Proficiency Levels
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How Long Does It Take To Complete Each Level
It takes a long time to learn English to a high level. The diagram indicates the total number of hours needed to complete each level. Obviously, this can be different for each language learner. For example, to complete English level B1, you need to study for a total of 400 hours. If you start at A1, this can easily take six months or longer. It is also very unusual for language learners to reach English level C2 with only one year of studying.