How important is an English level?

We talk a lot about levels in language learning. B1, C2, band 6 in IELTS and I even ask for EFSET test results. Why do we do this and how important is it?

The reason I ask for your “level” if you know it, is because I am designing a learning plan for you. When we meet, we work together for one hour, and this gives me a very clear impression of your fluency and vocabulary. It is much more difficult to get a feel for your grammar in one hour. I have a rough idea, but I am not 100% certain. Taking a test and sending me the results means that I can make your learning plan much more accurate for you. It is not the end of the world! I will change the learning plan as we go along and I find out more about your skill level. Taking a test just means that I will get a head start (be further along in my plan) on your learning needs.

I recommend taking the EFSET 50 test online for free to find out what your English level is. It is very helpful to know what areas you are great at and what areas you could improve in.

How important is it? It depends really. In my opinion languages are tools. I believe confidence is actually more important for communicating than excellent grammar. Many people have wonderful grammar but are afraid to speak, which means they have all the tools, but are too scared to take them out of the toolbox and use them. To begin with your aim should always be to understand others, and to be understood by others. After this your aim should be to perfect your English. When you get to this stage around B2 and C1, your goals are to be able to really express your individuality. It becomes more difficult to see your progress now as you are not learning whole new sentences, you are learning some new words and some complex grammar. Testing yourself for free is a great way to see the improvements that you have made. You may not FEEL you are making progress when you are a high level, but testing can give you the confidence boost you need.

I am not a big believer in a level being the most important thing. There are B1 learners who do very well socially, and C1 learners who struggle to speak at all. Let’s not forget though that there are very real reasons to have a specific level. International schools, employers, and even the governments ask for certain English levels for degree courses, new jobs or a promotion, and even citizenship. This is when knowing your level is the most important. I take these applications very seriously, and testing yourself is essential to knowing how close you are to passing that IELTS exam and getting on to the degree course you want.

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