language proficiency levels

All our Norwegian language courses have been prepared and are conducted on the basis of the European System for the Description of Languages. This system was developed by the Council of Europe as the main part of the project entitled “Foreign language learning by European citizens”. Its main goal is to provide methods of learning, teaching, and language proficiency assessment that apply to all European languages, including Norwegian.
The six levels of proficiency listed below are becoming the generally accepted standard for assessing individual language proficiency. The CEFR system describes what a language learner should master in reading, listening, speaking, and writing at each of these levels.

Poziomy podstawowe

A1 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 him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows, and things he/she has.
  • Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

 

A2 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 his/her background, immediate environment, and matters in areas of immediate need.

Poziomy samodzielności

B1 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 traveling 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.

 

B2 Vantage or upper intermediate

  • Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her 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.

Poziomy biegłości

C1

A person who can speak the language at this level:

  • Can understand a wide range of difficult, longer texts, also recognizing implicit meanings.
  • Can express himself/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions.
  • Can use language effectively and freely in social, educational, and professional relations.
  • Can formulate clear, well-structured, detailed statements on complex problems, efficiently and correctly using the rules of organization of speech, hyphens, and text fusion indexes.

C2

A person who can speak the language at this level:

  • Can understand with ease virtually anything heard or read.
  • Can summarize information from other sources, written or spoken in a consistent way, reproducing theses and explanations contained therein.
  • Can express his thoughts very fluently, spontaneously, and precisely, subtly differentiating shades of meaning even in more complex statements.