1. SPEAKING

High Proficiency:

Learner can communicate effectively in most daily practical and social situations, and in familiar routine work situations.

Can participate in conversations with confidence.

Can speak on familiar topics at both concrete and abstract levels (10 to 15 minutes).

Can provide descriptions, opinions and explanations; can synthesize abstract complex ideas, can hypothesize.

In social interaction, learner demonstrates increased ability to respond appropriately to the formality level of the situation.

Can use a variety of sentence structures, including embedded and report structures, and an expanded inventory of concrete, idiomatic and conceptual language.

Grammar and pronunciation errors rarely impede communication.

Discourse is reasonably fluent.

Uses phone on less familiar and some non-routine matters.

 Moderate Proficiency:

Learner can communicate with some confidence in casual social conversations in some less routine situations on familiar topics of personal relevance.

Can communicate facts and ideas in some detail: can describe, report and provide simple narration.

Can use a variety of structures with some omission/reduction of elements (e.g., articles, past tense, morphemes). Grammar and pronunciation errors are frequent and may sometimes impede communication.

Can demonstrate a range of everyday vocabulary, some common phrases and idioms.

Can demonstrate discourse that is reasonably fluent, with frequent normal hesitations.

Can use the phone to communicate on familiar matters, but phone exchanges with strangers are stressful.

Basic Proficiency:

Learner can take part in short routine conversations about needs and familiar topics of personal relevance with supportive listeners.

Can communicate basic needs and personal experience.  Can ask and respond to simple familiar questions.

Can describe a situation, tell a simple story, describe the process of obtaining essential goods (e.g., purchasing, renting) or services (e.g., medical). Uses a variety of short sentences.

Demonstrates control of basic grammar (basic structures and tenses).

Uses correct past tense with many common verbs.  Demonstrates adequate vocabulary for routine everyday communication.

Clear evidence of connected discourse (and, but, first, next, then, because).

Pronunciation difficulties may impede communication.   Needs only a little assistance.

Can use the phone only for very short, simple, predictable exchanges, communication without visual support is very difficult for him or her.

2. LISTENING

High Proficiency:

Learner can comprehend main points, details, speaker's purpose, attitudes, levels of formality and styles in oral discourse in moderately demanding contexts.

Can follow most formal and informal conversations, and some technical work-related discourse in own field at a normal rate of speech.

Can follow discourse about abstract and complex ideas on a familiar topic.

Can comprehend an expanded range of concrete, abstract and conceptual language.

Can determine mood, attitudes and feelings.

Can understand sufficient vocabulary, idioms and colloquial expressions to follow detailed stories of general popular interest.

Can follow clear and coherent extended instructional texts and directions.

Can follow clear and coherent phone messages on unfamiliar and non-routine matters.

Often has difficulty following rapid, colloquial/idiomatic or regionally accented speech between native speakers.

Moderate Proficiency:

Learner can follow the main idea and identify key words and important details in oral discourse in moderately demanding contexts of language use (e.g., face to face formal and informal conversations, audio tapes and radio broadcasts) on relevant topics and at a slower to normal rate of speed.

Can understand a range of common vocabulary and a limited number of idioms.

Can follow conceptualized discourse related to common experiences and general knowledge.

Can understand conceptualized short sets of instructions and directions.

May still frequently request repetition.

Can follow simple short predictable phone calls.

Basic Proficiency:

Learner can follow, although with considerable effort, simple formal and informal conversations and other listening texts/ discourse on topics of immediate personal relevance at a slower to normal rate of speech.

Can recognize many topics by familiar words and phrases.

Can follow simple short direct questions related to personal experience and general knowledge.

Can understand many common everyday instructions and directions related to the immediate context.

Can follow simple short predictable phone messages.

Often requests repetition.

Needs a little assistance (such as speech modification or explanation).

3. READING

High Proficiency:

Learner can follow main ideas, key words and important details in an authentic two to three-page text on a familiar topic, but within an only partially predictable context.

May read popular newspaper and magazine articles and popular easy fiction as well as academic and business materials.

Can extract relevant points, but often requires clarification of idioms and of various cultural references.

Can locate and integrate several specific pieces of information in visually complex texts (e.g., tables, directories) or across paragraphs or sections of text.

Text can be on abstract, conceptual or technical topics, containing facts, attitudes and opinions. Inference may be required to identify the writer's bias and the purpose/function of text.

Learner reads in English for information, to learn the language, to develop reading skills.

Uses a unilingual dictionary when reading for precision vocabulary building.

Moderate Proficiency:

Learner can follow main ideas, key words and important details in a one-page (three to five paragraphs) plain language authentic prose and non-prose (formatted) text in moderately demanding contexts of language use.

Can locate three to five pieces of specific, detailed information in prose passages, charts and schedules for analysis, comparison and contrast.

Can read printed or legible handwritten notes, memos, letters, schedules and itineraries.

Can get new information about familiar topics from reading mostly factual texts with clear organization, and within familiar background knowledge and experience.

Language of the text is mostly concrete and factual, with some abstract, conceptual and technical vocabulary items, and may require low-level inference to comprehend it (e.g., learner may guess some new words by recognition of prefixes and suffixes).

Uses a concise unilingual ESL/EFL learner dictionary regularly.

Basic Proficiency:

Learner is able to read a simple two- to three-paragraph passage within a mostly familiar, predictable context of daily life and experience: simple narrative, biographical or descriptive prose, set of simple instructions, plain language news items, classified ads, sales promotion coupons and flyers.

Can locate, compare and contrast one or more specific pieces of information in larger texts.

Is able to use low-level inference and to tolerate some ambiguity (e.g., when guessing the meaning of the unknown words in the text).

Uses a bilingual dictionary almost constantly.

Reads in English for information, to learn the language and to develop reading skills.

Can read silently for meaning, with little visible or audible vocalization efforts, but reads slowly.

4. WRITING

High Proficiency:

Learner demonstrates fluent ability in performing moderately complex writing tasks.

Can link sentences and paragraphs (three or four) to form coherent texts to express ideas on familiar abstract topics, with some support for main ideas, and with an appropriate sense of audience.

Can write routine business letters (e.g., letters of inquiry, cover letters for applications) and personal and formal social messages.

Can write down a set of simple instructions, based on clear oral communication or simple written procedural text of greater length.

Can fill out complex formatted documents.

Can extract key information and relevant detail from a page-long text and write an outline or a one-paragraph summary.

Demonstrates good control over common sentence patterns, coordination and subordination, and spelling and mechanics. Has occasional difficulty with complex structures (e.g., those reflecting cause and reason, purpose, comment), naturalness of phrases and expressions, organization and style.

Moderate Proficiency:

Learner demonstrates developing ability in performing moderately complex writing tasks.

Can effectively convey familiar information in familiar standard formats.

Can write one- or two-paragraph letters and compositions.

Can fill out detailed job application forms with short comments on previous experience, abilities and strengths, and form reports.

Can reproduce information received orally or visually, and can take simple notes from short oral presentations or from reference materials.

Can convey information from a table, graph or chart in a coherent paragraph.

Can write down everyday phone messages.

Demonstrates good control over simple structures, but has difficulty with some complex structures and produces some awkward sounding phrases (word combinations).

Basic Proficiency:

Learner can effectively convey in writing simple ideas and information about personal experience within predictable contexts of everyday needs.

Can write simple descriptions and narration of events, stories, future plans about self and family, or other highly familiar topics.

Can write short messages; postcards, notes, directions, and letters.

Can fill out simple application forms.

Can copy information from dictionaries, encyclopedias, and manuals.

Can take a slow simple dictation with frequent repetitions.

Shows ability to use successfully one-clause sentences or coordinated clauses with basic tenses.

*NO ABILITY: means you do not meet the above descriptions for basic proficiency for SPEAKING, LISTENING, READING and WRITING.