But when you choose to learn a language by yourself

instead of in a traditional classroom setting

figuring out your level of language proficiency is not always so evident.

If you're having a hard time determining your level

tag along and I'll show you how to use the CEFR standards

to find out where you stand.

And, equally important,

what you need to focus on to reach your target level.

Before I go on, please subscribe to our channel and click the bell icon

if you want a notification when we post new videos about language learning.

One more thing before we get into the main event:

I'll be talking about English as an example today,

but all this information is relevant for other languages, too.

CEFR, the system I'll be talking about,

was specifically designed to be applied to many different languages.

So why is it important to know your level?

Well first, it can help guide your practice.

Like I just said, once you know where you stand, it's easier to improve

because you're aware of your strengths and your weaknesses.

In just a few minutes, I'll tell you what activities and skills

you need to be focusing on at each level.

Next, if your ultimate goal is to study or find a job abroad

you will probably have to prove

that your language skills are good enough to do so.

The school or company might want to see a certain level

listed on your application or your resumé

or they might even require you to take a language proficiency test.

It can also be very encouraging for some people

to have a concrete goal to work toward

even if it isn't required by a school or employer.

And it's exciting once you finally have proof

in the form of a language certificate for example

that you have reached that goal.

For more on this, watch Luca's video

where he gives his professional polyglot opinion

about whether language certifications and exams are useful or not.

The link is in the video description.

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, CEFRL,

is a standard that is recognized all over Europe

and more and more in other countries around the world, too.

So if you use it to describe your level on a CV

the employer should understand what it means.

The CEFR or CEFRL has six levels:

A1, A2,

B1, B2,

and C1 and C2,

from lowest to highest.

In a nutshell, the A levels describe basic users.

Once you reach the B levels

you're considered an independent user

which basically means that you're conversational.

And finally, people who reach the C level

are considered proficient.

If you'd like more info about the CEFR levels

I've put links to our video and our article about them in the video description.

So, how do you know your level?

There are lots of official language tests and certificates out there.

If you're learning English, you may have already heard

of the TOEIC, the TOEFL or the IELTS, for example.

But they can be pretty expensive

and people who aren't good test takers can get inaccurate results.

This is where self-assessment can be helpful.

The Council of Europe has a really handy grid that you can use

to quickly evaluate your own skills in five different categories:

listening

reading

spoken interaction or dialogue

spoken production

and writing.

The nice thing about this tool is that it can help you identify

the discrepancies, or gaps, within your skillset.

For example: maybe you can read and understand opinion articles

which would put you at a B2 level for reading

but when it comes to writing

you can only produce short and simple personal letters

which would put you at about an A2 level.

Now you know exactly what skill you need to focus on

to bring your overall level up.

If you're learning English, the MosaLingua English teachers came up with

our very own interactive 20-question quiz

to help you determine your CEFR level as well!

We put links to both of those resources in the video description for you.

For other languages, a Google search for something like:

"free cefr level test"

or "online proficiency test"

should turn up quite a few results.

So, you have either gotten your level tested or tested it yourself.

What's the next step?

Setting a goal and planning your language learning activities accordingly.

If certain skills are much lower than others

you know what your focus should be.

For most people, speaking tends to be the skill that needs the most work.

Now, at any level, memorizing vocabulary

preferably with a spaced repetition system

should be one of your main activities.

If you're at an A level, focus on everyday communication.

We recommend working mostly on listening and speaking at this stage

because you want to create good habits

from the very beginning of your language journey.

A lot of people think that you need to wait until you know a ton of vocabulary

before you can start speaking, but that's a misconception.

At an A1 or an A2 level, you can already start having very basic conversations

with a tutor or a language partner.

As for listening, you'll probably want to stick to resources designed for learners

like MosaSeries, a step-by-step process

for improving your listening comprehension.

If you're at a B level, resources like podcasts, songs and short TV shows

are great resources for improving your listening skills.

Keep chatting with your conversation partner

and think about starting to add in a little bit of reading and writing practice

to round out your skillset.

Comic books are especially good for learners

because the amount of text isn't overwhelming

and the illustrations can usually give you some context to help you understand.

As for writing, you could keep a journal

or contribute to online forums related to your hobbies.

And finally, if you're at a C level,

you don't need to limit yourself to resources for learners.

You'll want to work with more challenging and engaging resources

like movies or novels, in order to learn more advanced vocabulary

idiomatic expressions, and slang, and sentence structures.

At this stage you have a lot of options and you can practice language immersion

using any interests you have.

Your progress will be a lot less noticeable than it was at the beginning of your journey.

But at least you can practice language without it really feeling like practice.

Now we want to hear from you.

In the comments, let us know what language you're learning,

what level you've reached and how you got there.

And, who knows... you might even inspire someone else to set a new language learning goal.

Take care!

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See you next time.