- Hello and welcome back to English with Lucy.
I have a slightly different video today,
but it is incredibly important.
It's about how to evaluate your own level of English,
and what it means when someone says I'm A2, I'm B1,
I've got B2, C1 level of English.
So many people use these terms
without understanding what they mean, so let's fix that.
I will also show you what you can do
to get to the next level.
So we need to talk about the CEFR,
the Common European Framework of Reference.
It's divided into six levels,
A1, A2,
B1, B2,
C1, C2.
This measures your ability in a language.
Now, the A levels are considered beginner levels.
The B levels are the intermediate levels.
And the C levels are the advanced levels.
The majority of my students
are working towards the B1 and B2 levels.
I sometimes find with the C1 and C2 levels,
that's less about language skill,
and more about academic ability.
When I learned Spanish, I worked towards my B levels.
And then after that, I felt pretty fluent.
I didn't feel the need to take any more exams after that.
Let's look in a bit more detail.
Let's start with the A1.
If you are listening to me now and understanding what I say,
you are probably higher than an A1.
With an A1 level, you can use basic expressions.
You can introduce yourself, you can ask some questions.
You can interact with people if they speak slowly to you,
if they are prepared to modify their language
to make sure you understand them,
because they know you're a beginner.
The A2 level is described as elementary.
Lots of students get stuck at A2,
and find it hard to move on to B1.
With A2, you can understand frequently used expressions
about common topics about everyday life.
Hobbies, work, your local area.
You can also talk about yourself,
but in fairly simple terms.
Now let's talk about the interesting part, the B levels.
As I said, the majority of students that I work with
are working towards their B1 and their B2.
Sometimes there's a sense of pride.
People don't want to say they're working towards a B1,
because they think they should be further ahead than that.
But if you don't know the basics, you're going to struggle
with the more advanced grammar and vocabulary.
With B1, you are a true intermediate.
You can deal with most travel situations.
You can understand points related to hobbies,
work, school, your local area, daily life.
You can write about your personal interests.
You can describe experiences, ambitions, opinions, dreams.
It's the equivalent of a Cambridge PET or P-E-T exam.
That's the B1 exam in Cambridge.
It's the IELTS level four to five.
A B1 level of English is a really good level of English.
If you are looking to achieve a B1 level of English,
I have something for you.
Click on the link in the description box.
Now moving on to the B2.
This is considered upper intermediate.
And don't be fooled.
To get a B2 in English is an incredible achievement.
You can understand ideas in more technical texts.
You can communicate fairly easily with native speakers
without too much effort, without too much strain.
People can understand you without too much effort or strain.
You can respond to questions and conversations
without having to stop and consider too much.
It just comes naturally and spontaneously.
This is the equivalent
of a Cambridge First or FCE Certificate.
It's an IELTS level five to six.
Now let's move on to the advanced levels, C1 and C2.
This is IELTS level seven
or the Cambridge CAE, Advanced exam.
With this level, you can read long texts, long articles.
You can understand conversations about complex subjects.
You don't really have to think
about vocabulary or grammar too much.
You have a good enough ability to write academic texts.
And that is why so many companies and universities
want this C1 level.
If you're learning English for pleasure,
it might not necessarily be the best goal for you.
As I said, I got to B2 in Spanish,
and then I became fluent without studying for exams.
I wasn't doing it for academic reasons,
so I didn't take my academic studies
any further at that point.
Finally, we have C2.
This is an exam
that many native speakers wouldn't be able to pass.
It is a near native level.
Not many people do C2 exams.
It is really, really advanced.
It's an IELTS level eight to nine.
It's called the Proficiency exam in Cambridge.
You can communicate totally fluently.
You can use nuance.
You make hardly any mistakes.
Right, I hope this helped you with your self-evaluation.
I told you, if you are working towards a B1
or intermediate level of English,
I've got something for you, so click on that link.
You can also comment below,
and let me know your level of English.
Don't forget to connect with me on all of my social media.
I've got my Instagram and my website.
I will see you soon for another lesson, bye.
(gentle upbeat music)