✅Evaluation

How do I know when I'm making progress?

It is useful to follow the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) rubric or checklist to understand where you are at in your communication level. What follows is a summary list of language skills mastered at each level. The A3 category is not from CEFR but provides a useful stepping stone in vocabulary building. You can find more details at Wikipedia.

A0: learn the spelling and writing system, basic pronunciation (preschool equivalent)

A1: introduce yourself, introduce others, where you live, people you know, things you have, everyday expressions, basic needs - 0 to 500 words (grades 1 to 3 equivalent)

A2: information, shopping, tasks, geography, employment, background, immediate environment, immediate needs - 501 to 1,000 words (grades 4 to 7 equivalent)

A3: problems, interests, plans, dreams, hopes, ambitions, experiences, matters, events, opinions - 1,001 to 1,500 words (grades 4 to 7 equivalent)

How to get there: build vocabulary and learn sentence structures by practicing dialogues and finding (native-speaking) tutors or conversation partners

B1: simple, brief and routine communication on topics in A1, A2 and A3. Understanding of main points on familiar matters. - 1,501 to 2,000 words (grades 8 to 12 equivalent)

B2: complex text, concrete and abstract topics, technical discussions in your field of interest, regular easy interaction with native speakers, writing clear and detailed text on a wide range of subjects, viewpoint, options, advantages, disadvantages - 2,001 to 4,000 words (late secondary school, college preparatory equivalent)

How to get there: read on topics of interest and discuss your reading with native speakers, take a writing course

C1: demanding clauses, implicit meaning, fluent expression, flexible registers, essay writing - 4,001 to 8,000 words (advanced placement secondary, college, university equivalent)

How to get there: take an immersion writing course for intermediate and then advanced speakers 

C2: nuanced understanding, summarize, reconstruct arguments, reconstruct accounts, spontaneous and precise expression - 8,001 to 16,000 words (native speakers and those with very advanced language skills)

How to get there: take university-level courses