Novice Low: This level is characterized by an ability to understand and produce isolated words or high-frequency phrases, often with significant errors. It's the beginning level of language acquisition.

Novice Mid: At this level, individuals can express basic personal information and needs, primarily through memorized phrases and a limited amount of learned words and structures.

Novice High: At this level, an individual can communicate short messages on highly predictable, familiar every day topics that affect them directly. They can piece together vocabulary to create strings of sentences but rely heavily on memorized and learned phrases.

Intermediate Low: Individuals at this level can manage simple, predictable communication necessary for survival in the target language, such as personal information, basic needs, and common everyday contexts. They can ask and answer questions but may struggle to understand or be understood by native-speakers unaccustomed to non-native speakers.

Intermediate Mid: This is a level where individuals can handle basic communicative tasks in straightforward social situations. They can ask and answer questions with some detail about themselves and their immediate environment (travel, lodging, food, shopping). Their language is characterized by strings of sentences that use high-frequency and simpler grammatical structures.

The CEFR includes six standard reference levels — A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2.

A1: The most basic level demonstrates an ability to communicate and exchange simple information. The language learner can utilize and understand familiar common expressions and basic phrases to satisfy their needs. For example, they can introduce themselves and others and have conversations about personal details, such as things they have, people they know and where they live. At this level, the language learner can understand the conversation when the other person speaks slowly and wants to help them.

A2: This stage describes a capability to handle simple information and express oneself in familiar contexts. The language learner can frequently comprehend used expressions and sentences related to personal information, such as employment, family, local geography, and shopping.

B1: The independent level illustrates a limited ability to express oneself in familiar situations and generally deal with unfamiliar ones. The language learner can understand the primary points of information regarding leisure, work, and school. They can also provide brief explanations for their plans and opinions and express their ambitions, future events, hopes, and dreams. They'll most likely feel comfortable communicating in an area where the target language is commonly spoken.

B2: This stage demonstrates a capacity to fulfill most goals and express oneself in various topics. The language learner can comprehend a complex text's primary ideas on abstract and concrete issues, such as technical discussions in their career field. They can interact with native speakers with fluidity and spontaneity to prevent strain for either speaker.

C1: This proficiency level describes an ability to communicate appropriately, sensitively, and capably while addressing unfamiliar topics. The language learner can recognize a wide range of longer, more demanding texts and understand their implicit meaning. They can typically express themselves without much need to pause and search for the correct expression. They can use this language for professional, social, and academic purposes, demonstrating a controlled use of organizational patterns and cohesive devices.

C2: This mastery level illustrates the capacity to deal with academic or cognitively demanding material and use language effectively at a level of performance that's usually more advanced than that of an average native speaker. The language learner can easily understand almost everything they hear or read. They can summarize information from various sources and create new arguments and stories coherently in many advanced situations.

Level 0: No Proficiency

Level 0+: Memorized Proficiency

Proficiency limited to memorized, isolated words and phrases.

Level 1/1+: Elementary Proficiency

Can fulfill most basic needs, conduct themselves in a polite manner, and understand basic speech.

Level 2/2+: Limited Working Proficiency

Can confidently handle basic social situations, like introductions and casual conversation, and can get the gist of most conversations on non-technical subjects.

Level 3/3+: Professional Proficiency

Able to participate in most conversations on social, personal, or professional topics. May still speak with an accent, but only makes occasional errors that seldom interfere with meaning.

Levels 4 and 5: Full Professional Proficiency and Native Proficiency

Can handle any situation or context as well as informal interpreting of the target language with rare and minor errors. A Level 4 speaker can use the language fluently and accurately as normally pertinent to professional needs.