Want to know where you stand in your language learning? According to the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), there are six levels of language learning proficiency that everyone who undertakes the process end up going through.
While it won’t exactly improve your speaking and writing abilities, it’s a great way to see how far along you are in the process. Consequently, it may help you adjust your studies, alerting you to the fact that you may need to take extra lessons or change your language training software.
Level 0: No Proficiency
This is the level you start with and is one we can easily get out of. Memorize a few simple phrases from your language learning software, practice them and take them to heart – you should be past it soon.
Level 1: Elementary Proficiency
At this level, you can say pleasantries, ask for directions and order meals, among other simple general-purpose tasks. Many language learners reach this level and stop. Your pronunciations will likely be horrible.
Level 2: Limited Proficiency
Here, you begin to get a working grasp of the new language. You can capably handle yourself in basic social situations as well as a few work-related interactions. Your pronunciations are now understandable if you speak slowly, but your accent still sounds funny.
Level 3: Professional Proficiency
At this stage, you now have a large vocabulary of words down pat. As such, you can sit through a conversation with a native speaker and not have trouble making out what they’re saying. You will likely still speak with an accent, but it will no longer be an issue – you will be understood.
Level 4: Full Proficiency
Full proficiency means having the ability to use a language correctly in almost any setting imaginable. At this level, you can get a well-paying job as an interpreter, as you can communicate with relative ease. Your grammar and pronunciation is impeccable.
Level 5: Native Proficiency
To achieve skills comparable to native speakers, not only will you need to know the language inside and out. More importantly, you need to have a sense of the culture and the history of the source country, allowing you to incorporate all the nuances and idioms only life-long speakers are often privy to.