What can learners at this level do?
Here is a general description. For a more detailed description, you can refer to the Common European Framework of Reference for languages: Learning, teaching & assessment
Listening:
- Understand lectures on familiar topics
- Understand a lot/most of what is being said by native speakers (in standard English)
- Understand a lot/most of what is being said even in a noisy environment(in standard English)
- Can identify mood and tone
- Can follow most of what is said in lectures, talks or presentations
- Understand complex arguments on familiar topics
- Understand most of what they hear on news programmes
- Understand the majority of films (in standard dialects)
Reading:
- Read articles and reports on contemporary topics
- Can understand particular viewpoints or attitudes
- Can understand contemporary literary prose
- Guess the meaning of unknown words from their context
- Scan long and complicated texts to find relevant details
- Understand news, articles and reports connected to topics they are interested in or connected to their job.
- Understand reviews and summarise the main points
- Understand the plot in a narrative
Speaking:
- Can interact quite fluently and spontaneously
- Able to interact with native speakers
- Can participate in discussions on familiar topics and put forward point of view
- Can explain a viewpoint
- Can describe in detail a wide range of subjects connected to topics they are familiar with or interested in
- Keep a conversation going
- Agree and disagree politely
- Make, refuse and accept offers politely
- Express levels of surprise
- Participate in discussions and give responses/ react to ideas
- Interrupt people politely
- Apologise politely and respond to apologies
- Deal with problems on the phone
- Make suggestions and respond appropriately
Writing:
- Can write on a wide range of subjects related to their interests
- Can write an essay giving reasons and supporting ideas
- Can write detailed letters
- Write detailed texts on subjects of interest
- Express views on current affairs in writing
- Write a review
- Take notes in lectures on familiar topics
- Write about events in a detailed and easy-to-read way
Grammar Examples
| Grammar | Example Learner Outcome |
| · Uses of auxiliaries | Can ask and answer detailed questions about the past and present |
| · Review of language systems | |
| · Present and past habits, repeated actions and states | Can talk about the frequency of present and past habits and states |
| · Be used to, get used to | Can talk about adapting to unfamiliar/new/ difficult situations |
| · Second conditional and alternatives to ‘if’ | Can talk in detail about imaginary situations in the present and future |
| · Third conditional | Can talk in detail about imaginary situations in the past |
| · Narrative verb forms, past perfect continuous | Can describe past events in detail |
| · Defining, non-defining and reduced relative clauses | Can use relative clauses to describe people, things, places etc |
| · Ways of comparing | Can compare two or more people or things in different ways |
| · Future verb forms, future continuous | Can talk in detail about different aspects of the future |
| · Uses of verb+ing | Can recognise different uses of verb-ing |
| · Modal verbs- levels of certainty about the future | Can express levels of certainty about future events |
| · Simple and continuous aspects; State & activity verbs | |
| · Present perfect simple and Present perfect continuous | Can express in detail how things in the past connect to the present |
| · Wishes- I hope & It’s time | Can express wishes and hopes about the present and future |
| · Wishes- should have | Can express wishes and regrets about the past |
| · The passive | |
| · As, like, such as, so, such | Can say things that are similar |
| · Have/get something done, get someone to do something, do something yourself | Can talk about things other people do for me and things I do myself |
| · Quantifiers | Can talk about the quantity of things |
| · Describing future events, Future perfect | Can talk about things that will be in progress in the future and completed in the future |
| · Reported speech | Can report what people have said or asked |
| · Modal verbs- deduction in the present and past | Can make deductions about the past and the present |
| · Modal verbs- past forms and related verbs | Can make deductions about the past |
Example Structures
Polite interruptions
Sorry to bother you, but have you got a minute?
Is this a good time?
Can I have a word?
I was wondering if I could see you for a moment.
Sorry, this isn’t a good time.
I’m afraid I’m a bit tied up at the moment.
I’m rather pushed for time right now.
I’m really rather busy right now.
Problems on the phone
There’s a bit of a delay on the line.
Sorry, you’re breaking up a bit.
I didn’t catch all of that.
Sorry, it’s a bad line.
I keep losing you.
Can you speak up a bit?
Sorry, we got cut off.
I think my phone’s about to die.
Apologising
I’m really sorry, I’m afraid……
I’m sorry about……
I didn’t realise…
I had no idea….
I didn’t mean to….
Don’t worry about it.
Never mind.
It doesn’t matter.
No need to apologise.
Suggestions and responses
Are you doing anything on Saturday?
What are you up to this weekend?
I thought we could give…….a try.
I wouldn’t mind……
Do you fancy…..?
Sorry, I don’t feel up to….
Some other time, perhaps.
I’m easy. Whatever you like.
I’m not bothered either way.
Adding emphasis
The thing I love about…..is….
One thing I hate about ….is….
The thing that amazes me about ….is….
What worries me about …..is….