Language proficiency is categorized into six levels.
A1 involves basic expressions and needs, while A2 includes personal topics.
B1 covers work, school, and leisure, and B2 encompasses complex text understanding and native speaker communication.
At C1, individuals handle challenging texts fluently, and C2 represents effortless mastery in complex discussions.
A1 - Basic Proficiency
At the A1 level, individuals can understand and use familiar, everyday expressions and simple sentences that relate to concrete needs. They can introduce themselves and others, ask basic questions about personal information, and respond to similar queries. Communication at this level is possible in straightforward situations when the other person speaks slowly and clearly and is willing to help.
A2 - Elementary Proficiency
Moving up to A2, individuals can comprehend sentences and commonly used expressions related to their immediate circumstances.
They can also make themselves understood in simple, routine situations that involve a basic and direct exchange of information on familiar topics. Describing one's background, education, surroundings, and other immediate needs is achievable at this stage.
B1 - Intermediate Proficiency
B1 represents intermediate proficiency, where individuals can understand the main points when clear, standard language is used, often focusing on familiar topics associated with work, school, or leisure activities. They can handle most situations typically encountered while traveling in a language-speaking region and express themselves simply and coherently regarding familiar subjects and areas of personal interest. They can also report on experiences, describe dreams, hopes, and goals, as well as make short statements to justify or explain their own views and plans.
B2 - Upper Intermediate Proficiency
Progressing to B2, individuals can understand the main contents of complex texts, both concrete and abstract. They also grasp specialized discussions in their primary area of specialization.
Communication becomes more spontaneous and fluent, allowing for natural conversations with native speakers with minimal effort. Expressing oneself on a wide range of topics in a clear and detailed manner, including discussing current issues and weighing pros and cons, is achievable at this level.
C1 - Advanced Proficiency
At the advanced C1 level, individuals can understand a wide range of challenging, longer texts and grasp implicit meanings. They express themselves spontaneously and fluently without frequent word searches. Language use becomes highly effective and flexible in social, professional, academic, and training contexts. They can make clear, structured, and detailed statements on complex topics and apply various means of text association appropriately in the process.
C2 - Mastery Proficiency
Finally, at the highest level, C2 represents mastery proficiency. Individuals can effortlessly understand practically everything they read or hear, summarizing information from various written and spoken sources while logically recounting the reasons and explanations. They can express themselves spontaneously with high fluency and precision, making finer nuances of meaning clear in more complex topics, and excel in nuanced, intricate discussions.