Before you start talking about the levels of the English language, you need to immediately agree that they cannot be driven into a strictly defined framework. No one can tell you that if you learn 15 more words, your level will no longer be beginner, but intermediate. And in general, no one judges the level of language proficiency only by the volume of vocabulary. Therefore, if you were told that you successfully passed the exam at the Intermediate level, then you can boast with full confidence to your friends that you have the Upper-Intermediate level, that is, its initial part.

To a person inexperienced in teaching methods, it may seem that there is absolute confusion in the classification of language proficiency levels. So, for example, if you take the famous grammar book "English Grammar In Use" by Murphy (blue bound version), on the cover of which it is written "for intermediate students" (for intermediate students), you will notice that this textbook covers material which is quite enough to pass the FCE exam, for which the courses prepare Advanced level students. This begs a logical question: aren’t there several classifications of English language levels? Let's look at their classification and lift the veil a little over the mysticism that hovers over determining the level of the English language.

There is an organization accredited by the European Commission for Education ALTE(The Association of Language Testers in Europe), which has developed a general scale of levels of proficiency in foreign languages. This scale divides all students into six levels: A1 (Breakthrough level), A2 (Level 1), B1 (Level 2), B2 (Level 3), C1 (Level 4) and C2 (Level 5), covering the range from basic to almost perfect level of language proficiency.

The Cambridge exams are tied to this scale. British publishers of dictionaries for learners of English, reference books and collections of exercises on grammar, vocabulary, etc. also rely on this scale. In general, it is used for almost all types of teaching aids, except for one large group: basic English courses.

In simple terms, basic English training courses are the well-known Top Notch, True Colors, Headway, Cutting Edge, Streamline English, True to Life, Reward, etc. These textbook series use their own English language level scale. It consists of six levels: Beginner or Basic, Elementary, Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate, Upper-Intermediate And Advanced. Almost all English courses that use a communicative approach are guided by this scale.

Is it possible to find out the correspondence between this scale and the one proposed? ALTE? Yes, the approximate ratio is presented in the table below.

Comparison table of English levels

As can be seen from the table, the Advanced level, which is offered by almost all language courses, corresponds to only the average level on the scale ALTE.
Let’s say right away that you shouldn’t be upset, dear English language learners, since all organizations and educational institutions that work with people for whom English is not their native language are familiar with the scale below and are aware of these differences in levels. And if you are going to study at a university in an English-speaking country or get a prestigious job directly related to the use of language knowledge, then they won’t ask you much about your language level - they will need results TOEFL, IELTS etc.

All these exams have their own gradation and correspond to the last levels on the scale ALTE. In the case of preparation for TOEFL or IELTS, we usually talk about passing the exam to a certain score. Preparation courses for Cambridge exams - FCE, CAE, CPE - last at least an academic year each, and it is understood that each of these levels takes you to a qualitatively new level of language proficiency. Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) is a document confirming that you speak English almost as fluently as your native one.

The last level that can be achieved is Post-Proficiency. It describes people who know English almost perfectly, at the level of an educated native speaker. At this level, when communicating in English, difficulties may arise only on a cultural level: for example, the meaning of a joke may slip away if it plays on a quote from a TV show, film or book. A Post-Proficiency student rarely makes mistakes when using English, but he practices a lot so as not to lose his skills. There is no further gradation of levels; you will simply be called a “native English speaker”.

Below is a description of English language proficiency levels as recommended by the British Council:

• Beginner
• Elementary
• Pre Intermediate
• Intermediate
• Upper Intermediate
• Advanced

Beginner level

Conversation

• say your name and personal details
• answer basic questions (what’s your name, how old are you, etc.)
• count to one hundred

Understanding

• Know the alphabet and be able to spell words
• Understand basic sentences and questions

Level Elementary

Conversation

• Learn and provide brief information about yourself and others
• Find out and provide brief information of a non-personal nature
• Express your thoughts so that you are understood and ask for clarification of this or that situation so that it becomes clear to you what is being said
• Express simple ideas and feelings
• Speak with a pronunciation that everyone can understand
• Use the language to communicate and solve problems in any English-speaking country

Understanding

• Capture the main meaning of listening in class
• Understand the main key points of listening
• Read short texts and grasp main ideas.

Letter

• Compose sentences correctly
• Write a postcard, e-mail, small request or notification
• Write a short description about yourself
• Start a phone conversation wisely

Pre Intermediate level

Conversation

• Speak with clear pronunciation
• Provide personal and abstract information
• Clearly explain that you don’t understand something
• Understand the explanation of certain issues in situations of misunderstanding
• Express your thoughts and feelings clearly
• Operate with basic communication situations

Understanding

• Understand the main idea of ​​the text
• Clearly distinguish between stress, sounds and intonation
• Read simple texts and understand main ideas

Letter

• Describe a situation, place or person
• Formulate your attitude towards objects, problems and people
• Write a postcard, formal/informal letter, e-mail, request, apology or petition
• Write about yourself
• Construct a sentence clearly and grammatically by coordinating words with each other

Upon completion of this level, students can prepare to take the international Cambridge exam PET(Preliminary English Test).

Intermediate level

Conversation

• Find out other people's opinions, attitudes and emotions and express your own
• Express misunderstanding of the situation and ask for clarification
• Express your ideas in a simple way
• Speak with clear and understandable pronunciation for others
• Express emotions and feelings using stress and intonation
• Correctly combine words in a sentence in spoken and written English

Understanding

• Understand the main ideas in listening exercises in class
• Understand main points and general meaning from context and recognize content
• Recognize and distinguish the pronunciation of a person speaking English
• Improve the ability to understand and distinguish between informal and formal written and spoken language in a variety of situations

Letter

• Fill out various papers: declarations, questionnaires, etc.
• Write letters, postcards
• Write informational formal and informal letters
• Write down the sequence of events, write stories
• Describe people, places and situations
• Supplement the presentation of a particular situation with personal comments
• Express thoughts and attitudes simply and grammatically correctly

Upper Intermediate level

Conversation

• Record and provide information under various circumstances
• Use formal and informal language in different situations
• Discuss with two or more people and be able to carry on a conversation
• Catch your own shortcomings and mistakes in pronunciation
• Speak with a small number of grammatical and lexical errors and be able to correct them during a conversation (with explanation)

Understanding

• Understand the main ideas of the text the first time
• Understand by ear the relationships and emotions expressed in the text
• Pick up different regional accents
• Perceive and conduct a telephone conversation
• Read newspapers and magazines and understand basic key points
• Distinguish between styles: conversational, formal, street, etc.
• Draw conclusions from what you read

Letter

• Writing formal and informal letters
• Write basic instructions and instructions
• Write a short review of a movie or story
• Operate with simple and complex syntactic structures
• Use different styles in writing letters and stories
• Express thoughts clearly and grammatically correctly so that the listener can easily understand what is said

Upon completion of this level, students can prepare and take international Cambridge exams IELTS(International English Language Testing System), FCE(First Certificate in English) and American exam TOEFL(Test of English as a Foreign Language).

Advanced level

Conversation

• Use formal and informal styles to suit the place and time
• Speak with a limited number of grammatical and lexical errors
• Speak fluently on various topics
• Know and be able to put into practice idiomatic expressions and established phrases or phrases
• Operate with the phonological features of the language, be able to highlight with intonation or place logical stress in accordance with the laws of the language at the place in the sentence to which you want to draw the interlocutor’s attention.

Understanding

• Understand key points the first time and recognize the speaker’s attitude and opinion on the issue
• Evaluate intonation and draw conclusions about the speaker’s feelings and emotions

Letter

• Write official and informal letters, e-mail and convey your own feelings and emotions in accordance with the canons of etiquette
• Write a narrative
• Write discursive essays, e.g. by logical conclusions
• Compile reports, write articles and reviews of books, films, events

Upon completion of this level, students can take the Cambridge exam CAE(Certificate in Advanced English), and also prepare for the exam CPE(Certificate of Proficiency in English).

Foreign languages

Achieve a confident Upper-Intermediate level of English proficiency.

I've been keeping my diary here for 40 days now. Upon completion of the first stage I reachedIntermediate level.
English has become my habit, so I just keep learning the language! I hope that my goal will also be useful to you!

Description of the Upper-Intermediate level :

• You speak the spoken language in various situations (from everyday to professional); you can communicate with a native speaker without preparation. You can speak clearly and in detail on a wide range of issues, explain your point of view on an important issue, giving arguments for and against. You are reading unadapted literature on English language, know how to retell the content of complex texts.
  

Based on the above, I will build a program for my self-study.

Grammar:

1. Strengthen existing knowledge by solving tests on
2. Every day, practice for at least 40 minutes according to Raymond Murphy | English Grammar in Use 4-edition. With completing tasks from the attached program.
3. Watch some videos about grammar.
+ Good channels on YouTube:

The main thing is not to make this stage endlessly boring.
+ the site is also great for full development in all aspects of language learning EnglishTown.com. I'm serious, very good site.

Auditory Perception Skill:

1. Listen to at least 30 minutes of ESL Podcast - English Cafe + Learning English - 6 Minute English - BBC.
On the way to the university and back.
+ podcasts from China232.com
+ podcasts from the BBC, such as How to say, Talk about English from the BBC, Grammar Challenge with English learners.

2. Separately listen and analyze texts from the Intermediate English Course.
3. Watching various series or videos with and without subtitles (more preferable) is my favorite point.
+ The series Scrubs performed well

4. Work on unfamiliar words.

Reading and retelling skills + word study:

1.Select Readings OXFORD Intermediate. Reading the topic and retelling it.
2. Macmillan Topics is also average. Reading, learning unfamiliar words.
3. Use Anki to learn new words.
+ 4. LinguaLeo.ru is also suitable for learning words. If you look at the words from your dictionary in the form of cards, then at the bottom there are buttons for different online dictionaries, so it’s convenient to look at the context or pronunciation.
+ 5. Great site to read:

Speaking Skill:

+ Effortless English fromA. J. Hoge.
+ Conversations with strangers on + Good site for chatting with people from all over the world, social network:

I think this is all enough for a gradual systematic movement towards achieving an average level of language proficiency. I'm going to post about the results every day or every two days.

My article why LInguaLeo is not a very good site for basic language learning:

I will be glad to any advice!

Thus, the path along this ladder from the level of a graduate of a good special school with English to the level of an applicant to Oxford University takes at least a whole year of study abroad, no matter how offensive it may seem to our graduate. Well, 9 months may be enough for a capable and hardworking graduate. And with intensive training (30 hours a week), perhaps six months.

Some clarifications need to be made here. When we talk about the level of language proficiency of a local resident (native speaker), we mean a decently educated and moderately erudite local resident for whom this language is native. And even then, not every Englishman will be able to pass the Cambridge Proficiency exam. What can we say about the huge number of immigrants from different countries of the world who speak English in a very specific way. Sometimes students who come to study English at high levels speak it much better than those whom they encounter, say, on the streets of London.

But without studying in the country of the language being studied, it is almost impossible to master a living modern language - no textbooks have time to track what happens to the language when a variety of jargons, dialects, argot, and foreign borrowings are mixed. You need to find yourself not only in the linguistic, but also in the cultural context, to know what the newspapers write about, what is discussed on TV, what songs are sung, what jokes are told... Only then will it be possible to pass the English exams with the highest score.

So how long does it take to learn English to enter Oxford University (this educational institution has the highest possible requirements for the level of English proficiency of foreign applicants; many universities have much lower requirements)?

According to Western estimates (approximate, average and published solely as information of a recommendatory nature), from zero to passing the IELTS exam at 7.5 you need to study 1000-1200 hours of classroom lessons with a qualified teacher. Hours of self-study, preparation, assignments, etc. must be added to this figure.

Theoretically, you can complete all levels without traveling abroad - this can take approximately 2.5 - 3 years if you take courses a couple of times a week for 4 hours. “Theoretically” because in practice this is quite difficult to achieve, except perhaps to enroll in the philology department of a prestigious university. In regular language courses, it is rarely possible to move from level to level without interruptions in classes, and at high levels, groups are very rarely formed at all. At the Advanced level, it is no longer possible to do without a trip to study abroad.

If you study abroad, it will take three times less time - one year is usually enough even for a graduate of a regular high school to reach the required level of proficiency in a foreign language.

Thus, the well-known formula “time is money” is clearly embodied: you can save money, but you will have to spend a lot more time. You can reach the next level faster, but you will have to pay more. You can learn a language even faster by studying more intensively, in mini-groups or individually, but it will cost even more.

But what doesn’t happen is miracles. No one anywhere can learn a foreign language in a month for any amount of money - no matter what the sellers of all sorts of miracles like “25 frames”, “unique author’s techniques”, “English in 16 lessons” and other nonsense promise. Parents who plan their child’s future career in advance can successfully combine studying in our country with periodic trips to summer language courses abroad - then by the end of our school, in addition to a certificate, the teenager can also receive a certificate of passing an international exam.

If you need advice on how to most effectively and quickly improve your level of foreign language proficiency, please contact us! We help everyone, regardless of region or country of residence.
Please contact in advance: !

From mobile devices you can contact us via

Over the course of many years of practical lessons, you trained your English, during which you delved into working on vocabulary, mastering the basics of oral and written speech. And now you want to check if your English is up to par.

What is the Upper-Intermediate level?

In general, the result of your training should have been an adequate perception of the original, including spontaneous, emotionally charged, dialogic and monologue oral speech of a native English speaker, teacher or interlocutor in recordings or direct communication. Let us list in more detail the skills that indicate the Upper-Intermediate level below:

Proficiency in dialogical communication in situations of official and informal communication on various topics (will be listed below);

Expressive speaking, demonstrative presentation of thoughts using a variety of grammar and vocabulary;

Ability to write oral communication, report, conduct interviews;

Discussion of original texts read and listened to (including journalistic ones);

Conducting a conversation or dialogue of a problematic nature using adequate speech formulas;

Active participation in discussion, conversation, confidently defending one’s point of view;

Evaluating other people's statements in terms of the correctness and content of the linguistic form.

The above skills can be achieved by studying, for example, using the textbook “New English File Upper-Intermediate”.

As for reading, your skills and abilities should be manifested in improving all (familiarization, studying, searching and viewing). And on their basis, you must extract from the material the emotional, ideological, aesthetic and semantic information contained in it on the basis of content and linguistic analysis.

You must also be punctuationally, spellingly and graphically correct in a variety of written works; express your ideas and thoughts in writing of various kinds (essay, letter, resume, abstract, literary review); explain and correct lexical, spelling, stylistic and grammatical errors in the written text presented to you.

When studying well-known publications, for example, "Opportunities Upper-Intermediate", your vocabulary should be at least 3000 units, close to the list below with the situational and thematic characteristics of the topics. The above includes the subject content of acceptable communication, various situations of a social nature, speech metalinguistic means and tasks for adequate speech, presented in the form of a monologue or dialogue.

List of topics studied

An approximate subject-thematic list mastered when studying the most famous methodological complexes, for example, “Headway Upper-Intermediate”.

Sphere of personal and social communication:

1. A person's appearance.

2. The person’s character, mood, manners, behavior. Psychological types of people, human character traits (positive and negative), types of human emotional state, manners, norms of good behavior.

3. Relationships. Love. Family life.

4. Phobias and manias. Faith and superstition. Ways to overcome fears.

5. Crime and punishment. Types of crimes. Reasons for the increase in crime. Prison as a punishment. Juvenile delinquency.

Sphere of everyday and social communication:

1. Our house. Home repairs. Buying a house. Homeless.

2. Health. Diseases. Health care.

Sphere of social-cognitive communication:

1. Animal world. Problems of conservation of endangered animal species. Environment and civilization, sources of environmental pollution. Problems of environmental conservation.

Sphere of professional communication. Field of work:

1. Work. The right choice of profession. Representatives of atypical professions. The personality of the teacher, his human and professional qualities.

Sphere of political and social life:

1. News.

2. Politics. Pros and cons of a political career. Political parties. Personality of a politician.

3. Developing countries and their problems. Need, poverty. Charity organisations.

Sphere of socio-cognitive and socio-cultural communication:

Sphere of socio-cultural communication:

1. Music. Music in our lives: classical, popular, folk, jazz. Youth and pop music.

English Upper-Intermediate, in turn, has its own classification. Let's look at the different stages that fall within this level.

About speaking. Characteristics of superior skills

Let's start with the highest requirements that a student masters while studying any high-quality textbook at a given level (for example, New English File Upper-Intermediate).

Full and adequate implementation of communicative intentions within a wide range of different situations is required. Fluent, well-organized speech. Lack of a pronounced accent. Appropriate and correct use of vocabulary and grammatical structures.

Excellent level characteristics

The next level, Upper-Intermediate, is the full implementation of communicative intentions. Fluent speech with minor hesitational pauses and compositional deviations. Rich vocabulary. Correct use of various grammatical formulas. Rare and minor slips and errors that do not reduce the effectiveness of the speech. Emphasis on the minor.

Above average performance

Confident implementation of communicative intentions in the above situations. Good fluent speech with very minor hesitational pauses and compositional deviations, which are caused by difficulties in correctly forming the content of speech and/or choosing means of expression. The presence of reservations, errors in the use of grammatical structures and/or in word usage, which generally do not interfere with the achievement of communicative goals. Noticeable accent.

Characteristics of the middle level Upper-Intermediate: what is it

Quite adequate implementation of the communication process in the above situations. Satisfactory verbal fluency. Minor violations of the compositional structure of the text. Presence of hesitational pauses. The presence of noticeable slips and errors in the use of grammatical structures and words. Violation of pronunciation norms, which may make understanding difficult.

Characteristics below average

Inability to fully realize communicative intent. Limited volume of utterance. Quite frequent compositional and logical breaks in the narrative. Insufficient fluency of speech and the presence of a large number of hesitational pauses. Frequently encountered errors and slips in the use of grammatical structures and vocabulary. Violation of pronunciation rules that make understanding difficult.

About the letter. Excellent writing skills

Let's start with the highest Upper-Intermediate skills. What this level includes, its features and characteristics will be discussed below.

Rich idiomatic and phraseological vocabulary corresponding to the norms of modern English. There are no spelling errors. Absolutely appropriate and correct use of grammatical formulas. Exact compliance with the assigned communication tasks. An absolutely reasoned and complete narrative, description of events, objects or presentation of ideas, points of view. Consistent and logical development of plot and idea. Full compliance with the style and genre of the written work. Accurate and appropriate use of various artistic means of expression.

This can only be provided by high-quality educational materials (for example, "English File Upper-Intermediate").

Excellent writing skills

A rich idiomatic dictionary that is quite consistent with the norms of modern language. Less than one spelling, grammatical or per hundred word forms. Some deviations in the use of grammatical structures. Compliance with the assigned communicative task. A reasoned and complete narrative, description of events, objects, or presentation of one’s vision of any subject. Logical development of plot and idea. Compliance with the style and genre of the written work. Means of expression are used correctly.

Good writing skills

Good vocabulary, used appropriately, generally competent English. A good Upper-Intermediate level does not allow more than one spelling, grammatical or lexical error per 100 word forms. Some deviations are observed in the use of grammatical structures. The correspondences are quite accurate. Overall, a convincing and complete narrative, a description of events, objects, and an easy-to-understand presentation of one’s own thoughts and ideas. Some logical deviations and lack of consistency in plot development. Some moments of inconsistency with style and genre.

Average level of written language skills

In general, the vocabulary is satisfactory. However, the vocabulary is limited, and there are errors in choosing the appropriate word. No more than two grammatical, spelling or lexical errors per 100 word forms. Some cases of the use of grammatical structures make it difficult to understand the meaning of what is written. The letter corresponds to the communicative task. There are deviations from the sequence and plot and ideas. Limited selection Genre and style do not meet established standards.

Below-intermediate level of written communication

This Upper-Intermediate level has a limited vocabulary. There are significant errors in the use and choice of words. No more than three spelling, grammatical or lexical errors per 100 word forms. Quite serious violations observed in the use of grammatical structures. The idea presented in the communicative task is reflected, but is not fully realized due to the lack of clarity of presentation and convincing arguments in favor of a particular point of view. There are inconsistencies in the sequence and logic of presentation, genres and styles are mixed.

Having achieved your goal, set yourself new, even more difficult tasks. The Advanced level is the next peak, which can be conquered only by those who are able to overcome themselves and venture into the endless expanses of language.

Learning English is like oil painting: at the initial stage you do the underpainting, then use rough strokes to define light and shade, and then move on to drawing shapes and details.

The Upper-Intermediate level or the English B2 level is exactly the level at which, on the one hand, you can already complete a full-fledged picture, and on the other hand, agree that there is still room for growth and development, to work on the details in further. Down with allegories! Let's find out!

It is at this level that learning the official style of communication begins, and at the same time a large number of idioms, phraseological units, phrases and stable figures of speech are learned. The grammar here is repetitive and mostly honed in spoken language. Speaking takes up the majority of the course. So get ready to talk. A lot.

What does Upper-Intermediate mean?

Probably for many, the important question is: “Is it possible to live in an English-speaking country with such a level of English?” We answer (drum roll): “Yes, you can!”, since this is the level of the English language at which communication and understanding of English-language information does not cause any special problems, with the exception of figurative phrases and language phrases that you will soon feel and understand, constantly being in an English-speaking environment.

Moreover, it is with the Upper-Intermediate level that you can safely take the test to receive an international certificate of language proficiency. If you are purposefully preparing to enter an educational institution or move and look for work abroad, we recommend that you pay attention to which exam is recognized by a particular country. For example, if the goal is the USA/Canada, then you should take the TOEFL; if Britain / Australia / New Zealand - IELTS.

Knowledge of English at Upper-Intermediate level

First, imagine one of your favorite topics (or ask someone to come up with one for you). Done? Now, in theory, it will not be so difficult for you to talk about this for a short time (about 3 minutes). Easy! However, your speech should be rich in introductory expressions, such as, for example: in my opinion, to my mind, if you don’t mind me asking, it goes without saying, etc. You must be able to construct elaborate and complex sentences with mixed grammatical structures and, of course, complete the absence of errors in grammar at the Elementary and Pre-Intermediate levels. Think you can do that?

At the Upper-Intermediate level you already need to start watching foreign news channels. You most likely won’t understand everything, but don’t despair - this skill will come to you soon (Advanced is just a stone’s throw away), but you’ve got to understand some part of fast English. Keep that in mind!

The Upper-Intermediate level program includes the study of the following topics.

Components of the Upper-Intermediate course

The main areas of the Upper-Intermediate English course are: reading English-language texts and literature, listening to English speech, correspondence in English, and using the acquired knowledge in live speech. Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

• take part in long and varied conversations on various topics;
• write fluently in the language and understand most of the information presented in the text;
• use and fluently navigate a large volume of advanced level grammar;
• watch TV programs, video presentations and discussions, with the exception of technical and theoretical topics.

Duration of study for Upper-Intermediate

As mentioned earlier, you set the pace of learning English yourself. If you pay attention to the average duration, it usually takes about two years. This refers to the time period that a student must go through from Beginner to Upper-Intermediate level. If you are at a higher level, then, accordingly, the period will be shorter. One way or another, approximately six months are allotted for the full and successful completion of the level English course.

If the Upper-Intermediate level is not enough for you, and you want to get to the very top, then the tips below will appeal to you:

• As with English grammar, most English learners understand many more words than they actually use. However, there is no reason to put into the passive memory box those words that you have spent a lot of time studying. Therefore, it is necessary to get out of the comfort zone of using simple and simple phrases, and put this vocabulary into practice.

• An advanced English course where natives use idioms and emotional expressions in their everyday speech. One way to reach a new level is to learn the top frequently used phrases for all occasions. Pay special attention to the nuances of using them in speech (ideally, practice with a native English speaker), otherwise, due to verbal fencing, you can easily fall on your face.

• One of the reasons why English students fail to move on to the next stage is literature that is read only because it is easy. To continue improving your reading skills, choose a newspaper or magazine that you have never read before. Find a new literary genre. By being exposed to a wider range of authors, you are exposed to a more diverse language.

Conclusion

Well, the masterpiece is finished; whether to stop at this stage or work on the details depends entirely on future goals and motivation. We hope that thanks to this article, you have a complete picture of what Upper-Intermediate (B2) is and what lexical and grammatical topics a student should master at this level.

Achieve your goals and don’t stop there, because the potential of the English language is inexhaustible!

Big and friendly EnglishDom family