NOVICE
The Novice level is characterized by the ability to communicate minimally with learned material.

Novice – Low
Oral presentation consists of isolated words ad perhaps a few high-frequency phrases. Essentially no functional 
communicative ability.

Novice – Mid
Oral production continues to consist of isolated words and learned phrases within very predictable areas of need, 
although quality is increased. Vocabulary is sufficient only for handling simple, elementary needs and expressing basic 
courtesies. Utterances rarely consist of more than two or three words and show frequent long pauses and repetition 
of interlocutor’s words. Speaker may have some difficulty producing even the simplest utterances.  Some Novice – Mid 
speakers will be understood only with great difficulty.

Novice – High
Able to satisfy partially the requirements of basic communicative exchanges by relying heavily on learned utterances 
but occasionally expanding these through simple recombination of their elements. Can ask questions or make statements 
involving learned material. Shows signs of spontaneity although this falls short of real autonomy of expression. Speech 
continues to consist of learned utterances rather than of personalized, situationally adapted ones. Vocabulary centers
on areas such as basic objects, places, and most common kinship terms. Pronunciation may still be strongly influenced by 
the first languages. Errors are frequent and, in spite of repetition, some Novice – High speakers will have difficulty
being understood even by sympathetic interlocutors.

Intermediate
The Intermediate level is characterized by speaker’s ability to: 
Create with the language by combining and recombining learned elements, through primarily in a reactive mode; Initiate,
minimally sustain, and close in a simple way basic communicative tasks; and ask and answer questions.

Intermediate – Low
Able to handle successfully a limited number of interactive, task-oriented and social situations. Can ask and answer 
questions, initiate and respond to simple statements and maintain face-to face conversation, although in a highly 
respected manner and with much linguistic accuracy. Within theses limitations, can perform such tasks as introducing 
self,ordering a meal, asking directions, and making purchases. Vocabulary is adequate to express only the mist elementary 
needs. Strong interference from native language may occur. Misunderstandings requently arise, but with repetition, speaker
can generally be understood by sympathetic interlocutors.

Intermediate – Mid
Able to handle successfully a variety of uncomplicated, basic and communicative tasks and social situations. Can talk
simply about self and family members. Can ask and answer questions and participate in simple conversations on topics 
beyond the most immediate needs; e.g., personal history and leisure time activities. Utterance length increases slightly, 
but speech may continue to be characterized by frequent long pauses, since the smooth incorporation of even basic 
conversational strategies is often hindered as the speaker struggles to create appropriate language forms. 
Pronunciation may continue to be strongly influenced by first language and fluency may still be strained. Although 
misunderstandings still arise, the Intermediate – Mid speaker can generally be understood by sympathetic interlocutors.

Advanced
The Advanced level is characterized by speaker’s ability to:
Converse in a clearly participatory fashion;
Initiate, sustain and bring to closure a wide variety of communicative tasks, including those that require an increased 
ability to convey meaning with diverse language strategies due to a complication or unforeseen turn of events;
Satisfy the requirements of school and work situations; and
Narrate and describe with paragraph-length connected discourse.

Advanced
Able to satisfy the requirements of everyday situations and routine school and work requirements. Can handle with 
confidence but not with facility complicated tasks and social situations, such as elaborating, complaining, and 
apologizing. Can narrate and describe with some details, linking sentences together smoothly. Can communicate facts and 
talk casually about topics of current public and personal interest, using general vocabulary. Shortcomings can often be 
smoother over by communicative strategies, such as pause fillers, stalling devices, and different rates of speech. 
Circumlocution which arises from vocabulary or syntactic limitations very often is quite successful, though some groping 
for words may still be evident. The Advanced level speaker can be understood without difficulty by native interlocutors.

Advanced – High
Able to satisfy the requirements of a broad variety of everyday, school, and work situations. Can discuss concrete topics 
relating to a particular interests and special fields of competence. There is emerging evidence of ability to support 
opinions, explain in detail, and hypotenuse. The Advanced – Plus speaker often shows a well developed ability to 
compensate for an imperfect gasp of some forms with confident use of communicative strategies, such as paraphrasing and
circumlocution. Differentiated vocabulary and intonation are effectively used to communicate fine shades of meaning. The 
Advanced-Plus speaker often shows remarkable fluency and ease of speech but under the demands of Superior-level, complex 
tasks, language may break down or prove inadequate.

Superior
The Superior level is characterized by the speaker’s ability to:
Participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations on practical, social, professional, and abstract topics; 
and Support opinions and hypothesize using native-like discourse strategies.

Superior
Able to speak the language with sufficient accuracy to participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations
on practical, social, professional, and abstract topics. Can discuss special fields of competence and interest with ease. 
Can support opinions and hypothesize, but may not be able to tailor language to audience or discuss in depth highly 
abstract or unfamiliar topics. Usually the Superior level speaker in only partially familiar with regional or other 
dialectal variants. The Superior level speaker structures and some complex high-frequency structures more common to 
formal writing, but no patterns of error are evident.Errors do not disturb the native speaker or interfere with 
communications.