SERVICES

Breakthrough or 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.

Waystage or 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.

Threshold or 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 travelling 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.

Vantage or Upper Intermediate

· Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in their field of specialization.

· Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.

· Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

Effective Operational Proficiency or Advanced

· Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer clauses, and recognize implicit meaning.

· Can express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions.

· Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.

· Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organizational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

Mastery or Proficiency

· Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read.

· Can summarize information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation.

· Can express themselves spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations.