Placement Test and Class Levels

There are 10 main proficiency levels. First, participants take a written and oral placement test. Placements are then made according to the test results. The ten levels of language proficiency reflect characteristics of language performance at each developmental stage in the process of English language learning.

ABSOLUTE BEGINNER	You have very little or no knowledge of English.
LOWER ELEMENTARY	You can use some simple memorized sentences and phrases to meet everyday needs and can read very simple texts.  You have limited vocabulary and very little knowledge of grammar.
ELEMENTARY	You can participate in short face to face conversations about familiar topics, but you still sometimes have difficulty making yourself understood.
UPPER ELEMENTARY	You can understand English spoken slowly and directly. You can participate in short social exchanges about everyday situations and understand the main idea, but you usually do not understand enough to keep the conversation going yourself. You would like to expand your vocabulary and improve your usage of English.
LOWER INTERMEDIATE	Your English is good enough to communicate about everyday topics and your field of work. You can almost always make yourself understood, but you would like to speak more naturally.
INTERMEDIATE	You can enter conversations unprepared about familiar topics and understand what language is appropriate for formal and informal situations. You can understand the main idea of most radio and TV programs. You know quite a lot of vocabulary but need practice using it.
UPPER INTERMEDIATE	You feel more confident expressing yourself in both spoken and written English. You would like to learn more idiomatic expressions and complex grammatical structures.
LOWER ADVANCED	You can express yourself clearly and naturally without much obvious searching for expressions. You can use English with ease for social and professional purposes. You would like to continue to use more complex grammar and vocabulary appropriately to convey shades of meaning. You can comfortably read newspaper articles and understand most films, TV and radio shows.
ADVANCED	Your English level is near to that of an educated native speaker, and you only make rare and unsystematic mistakes. You would like to focus on the details of the language to improve your academic or professional writing and speaking.
PROFICIENT	You speak read and write English fluently, but you would like to expand your English to delve into more complex topics in the language such as American literature, poetry, art, music, creative writing, or scientific writing.