Self-assessment
Self-assessing your language proficiency using the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) involves evaluating your skills across different areas of language use, such as listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Here’s how you can do it:
- Familiarize Yourself with CEFR Levels: Understand the six CEFR levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) and their ‘can-do’ descriptors, which detail what learners should be able to do at each stage of proficiency.
- Use the Self-Assessment Grid: The CEFR provides a self-assessment grid that you can use to evaluate your abilities. This grid presents scales of listening, reading, spoken interaction, spoken production, and writing activities. If you don’t want to take a test, this is a great place to start.
- Reflect on Your Language Use: Consider your ability to perform tasks in the target language. For example, can you understand basic phrases, communicate in simple conversations, understand the main ideas of complex texts, or use the language fluently and spontaneously?
- Be Honest and Objective: Try to assess your skills honestly and objectively. Think about your recent language experiences and how well you were able to communicate or understand the language.
- Seek Feedback: If possible, get feedback from teachers or native speakers. They can provide valuable insights into your language proficiency.
- Use Online Tools: There are online self-assessment tools that align with the CEFR levels. These tools typically include questions or tasks that help you evaluate your language skills. Visit our list of language assessment websites.
- Consult Official Translations: Make sure to use the official translations of the self-assessment grid for accuracy. The copyright reference should be quoted as well.
- Profile Your Main Language Skills: Use the self-assessment orientation tool to profile your main language skills and decide at which level you might look at a checklist of more detailed descriptors to self-assess your level of proficiency.
Remember, self-assessment is a starting point for understanding your language abilities. It can help you set learning goals and identify areas for improvement. For a more formal assessment, consider taking a CEFR-aligned language proficiency test.