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. |