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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