Language proficiency levels

Knowledge of language is sufficient to communicate in a very limited way, with the simplest oral and listening tasks and situations.

At the functional level, you have a basic command of the language needed in a limited range of simple, routine, and familiar tasks and situations.

You can handle most uncomplicated communicative tasks and routine social and work situations. You can follow the general meaning of a conversation about familiar subjects.

At the intermediate level, you are able to refashion and combine learned material to meet your immediate communication and learning needs. You can comprehend information on familiar topics in contextualized settings and produce sustained conversation with others on an expanding variety of general topics.

You can, to an extent, initiate, sustain and conclude most routine communicative tasks for personal and work needs.

At the upper intermediate level, you have assimilated the essentials of the language. You can communicate competently and comfortably in many professional and personal contexts, and can find different ways of formulating what you want to express.

You begin to create with the language in more complex and demanding conversations and can deal comfortably with most subjects over the telephone.

At the advanced level, you communicate effectively and appropriately even in demanding oral tasks and situations, like conducting a meeting. You can participate easily in social and professional conversations, and can deal comfortably with most subjects over the telephone.

You communicate effectively with various audiences on a wide range of familiar and new topics to meet most personal, academic or professional demands—including many which presume experience in public speaking and critical listening.

At the professional level, you have full command of the language. You understand and can use virtually all linguistic structures; as well as a range of vocabulary items as broad and deep as that of most educated native speakers. Communication is fluent, appropriate and well organized—you develop ideas in speech clearly and coherently.