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What does it mean if you are at intermediate level in

English. Does intermediate refer to …

• how a learner communicates in an everyday situation in English?

• the amount of vocabulary a person has learned to use?

• the grammar items a person at that level understands?

How can we assess a learner’s achievement at an intermediate or upper intermediate level?

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BASIC USER

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INDEPENDENT USER

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PROFICIENT USER

British Council – EAQUALCore Inventory for General English

• Based on needs analysis

• Transparent and understood by all

• Assesses language for a purpose

• Assesses communicative ability • Can be used for self assessment

Why do we use CEFR?

C2 Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.

C1 Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

B2 Can give clear, systematically developed descriptions and presentations on a wide range of subjects related to her/his field of interest, with appropriate highlighting of significant points, and relevant supporting detail.

B1 Can reasonably fluently sustain a straightforward description of one of a variety of subjects within her/his field of interest, presenting it as a linear sequence of points. A2 Can give a simple description or presentation of people, living or working conditions, daily routines likes/dislikes, etc. as a short series of simple phrases and sentences linked into a list. A1 Can produce simple descriptions on mainly personal topics.

CEFR - Speaking

C2 Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation.

C1 Can write clear, smoothly flowing, complex texts in an appropriate and effective style and a logical structure which helps the reader to find significant points.

B2 Can write clear, detailed texts on a variety of subjects related to her/his field of interest and shows an ability to use different registers within written texts.

B1 Can write straightforward connected texts on a range of familiar subjects within her/his field of interest by linking a series of shorter discrete elements into a linear sequence.

A2 Can write a series of simple phrases and sentences linked with simple connectors like ‘and’, ‘but’ and ‘because’.

A1 Can write simple isolated phrases and sentences.

CEFR – Writing

Proficiency Advanced Upper Inter Intermediate Pre-inter Elementary

Beginners

A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2