CEFR: Understanding Language Proficiency Levels A1 to C2

Posted on Jan 1, 2025 in Language

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)

The CEFR organizes language proficiency into six levels, A1 to C2, which can be regrouped into three broad levels: Basic User, Independent User, and Proficient User. These levels can be further subdivided according to the needs of the local context. Perhaps the most important benefit of using the CEFR as a teacher is that it gives you a much clearer picture of what learners at a given level are capable of. Basic learners differ from Independent or Proficient ones, that is, beginners as opposed to intermediate or advanced students. However, it is less easy to pinpoint all the differences between, say, an A2 learner and a B1 learner, and to fully understand what is involved in getting students from one CEFR level to the next.

Level Descriptors

A1 (Beginner)

  • Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type.
  • Can introduce themselves and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where they live, people they know, and things they have.
  • Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

A2 (Elementary)

  • Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g., very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).
  • Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters.
  • Can describe in simple terms aspects of their background, immediate environment, and matters in areas of immediate need.

B1 (Intermediate)

  • Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc.
  • Can deal with most situations likely to arise while traveling in an area where the language is spoken.
  • Can produce simple connected text on topics that are familiar or of personal interest.
  • Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes, and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

Typical Learning Hours

Learners typically take the following guided learning hours to progress between levels. Guided learning hours means time in lessons as well as tasks you set them to do. It takes longer to progress a level as learners move up the scale. Of course, learners will vary in how long they take depending on many factors.

  • A1: 90-100 hours
  • A2: 180-200 hours
  • B1: 350-400 hours

Uses of the CEFR

  • Teacher training programs
  • Developing syllabuses
  • Creating tests/exams
  • Marking exams
  • Evaluating language learning needs
  • Designing courses
  • Developing learning materials
  • Describing language policies
  • Continuous/self-assessment

The European Language Portfolio (ELP)

The ELP is a document in which those who are learning or have learned one or more languages can record and reflect on their language learning and intercultural experiences.

Components

  • A language passport
  • A language biography
  • A dossier

Objectives

  • To help learners give shape and coherence to their experience of learning and using languages other than their first language.
  • To motivate learners by acknowledging their efforts to extend and diversify their language skills at all levels.
  • To provide a record of the linguistic and cultural skills they have acquired (to be consulted, for example, when they are moving to a higher learning level or seeking employment at home or abroad).

Use at Home and School

It can be used at school throughout Primary Education with the help of the language teacher or tutor. In the classroom, it can be worked on in full or in part:

  • At the beginning of the course, as a preliminary evaluation to establish objectives and work goals.
  • When finishing a didactic unit (or several) to help the student to:
    • Differentiate the skills in the activities that have been carried out.
    • Reflect on the different ways of learning.
    • Assess learning.
  • Throughout the course, whenever the teacher considers it appropriate to awaken the awareness of learning in students, the interest (or the need) to learn something specifically.
  • At the end of each semester, or of the year as self-assessment and an assessment tool for progress.

Parts of the ELP

1. The Language Biography

The Language Biography is the document that students should start with. It has awareness-raising activities to make children aware of the languages they know and are learning. This is done by having students think about people they have met, things they have done, and places they have visited. Languages and the skills for each are color-coded. Students also become aware of what and how they learn languages. It also helps students be more aware of what they know and can do in a language.

2. The Dossier

The Dossier is the document that serves as a repository. Children keep their favorite language work or language memories. With the family or in the classroom, it is recommended that, before saving these items, students should comment and write in the booklet My Dossier the reasons why they have chosen these items. These items serve as a memory of languages and cultures. Some examples of significant objects for children related to different languages and cultures are: stamps, coins, photographs, postcards.

3. Cultural Comparisons

In the Dossier, students are helped to associate customs, events, and festivities with their own cultures. They are also asked to compare different cultural aspects, using the Dossier materials (customs, traditions, celebrations, schedules, meals) with what they know best and what they know locally.