Pada abad ke-21 ini, berbagai bidang mulai dari pekerjaan, pendidikan, pariwisata, dan sebagainya membutuhkan kemampuan bahasa asing terutama bahasa Inggris. Sebagai bahasa internasional, bahasa Inggris juga menjadi standar untuk keperluan karir dan bisnis seperti melamar pekerjaan dan promosi produk. Selain itu, berbahasa Inggris adalah salah satu soft skill yang digemari generasi milenial. Sampai-sampai, tanpa mendaftar bimbingan belajar, mereka jadi lancar berbicara bahasa Inggris karena bantuan internet.
Kemampuan bahasa Inggris menjadi soft skill yang tak terkira harganya sekarang. Meskipun kamu bukan berasal dari jurusan ilmu bahasa, kamu akan tetap butuh kemampuan bahasa Inggris. Bahasa Inggris bisa ditemui di mana saja mulai dari media sosial hingga aktivitas sehari-hari. Melatih kemampuan bahasa Inggris menjadi sebuah kegiatan yang menggiurkan bagi banyak orang.
For that reason, people are now practising their English skills through platforms. People are training their skills through online platforms such as YouTube and other websites that provide English lessons. Because of that, these kinds of online platforms can help you to be as fluent as native speakers. If so, how do we assess our personal levels in studying the English language?
In Which Level Are You Right Now?
According to engliven blog, there are 6 levels of language proficiency. These levels are decided by CEFR, which stands for Common European Framework of References for Languages. The CEFR is used across European nations as the standard of using a foreign language. Moreover, each level shows the ability of the foreign language itself. Because of the detailed information in CEFR, it is no wonder why a lot of education institutions use CEFR as well.
Starter
Beginner level is the surface level or the starting point for many people. Why do people call this level as a surface? Try to think of the fishes that do not swim at the surface of a water body such as river and sea. They can only be found either in the deep waters or on the seafloor. Because of that, we can only find fishes if we are trying to dive into the waters to have a look for ourselves.
How do fishes that live in the deep sea be related to the beginners in the English language?
A beginner is when a person begins to learn a language and try to practice it daily. That person can do it by speaking and writing in English every day. The beginner communicates with simple language and easy vocabulary. When the beginner tries to answer someone else, they might take some time to think of a proper response with their capability. Because of that, the person whom the beginner is talking to must talk clearly and slowly in order to make the beginner understand.
Therefore, to go to the next level, the beginner must dive deeper like a diver to see the fishes and corals inside the sea.
Elementary
In this level of water, the fishes and corals can now be seen. At this point, a beginner now understands the basics and appearance of the English language. The elementary English speaker is capable of telling about familiar things with common words to other people. The topic may vary from science, geography, religion, and many others. They are good enough to travel by themself and ask the natives with familiar questions. Because of this, the elementary English speaker can talk with native speakers more calmly.
The elementary English speaker can explore more words by doing various activities. From visiting grandparents’ house, watching movies to going to the park, they can do a lot of things. Then, they will explain what happened there and express their opinion about their surroundings. Because of these activities, they can enrich their vocabulary from seeing a lot of things in their activities. Therefore, by doing these things, the elementary English speaker will keep on training their skills regularly.
Pre-Intermediate
The intermediate level is enough for most people. The intermediate level is the moment where the student upgrades their skills in writing and reading significantly. For example, students can now write about complex things such as making a detailed life plan and methods to do it. Moreover, the intermediate student is now confident enough to handle certain situations when travelling. This intermediate-level will help students greatly when talking to natives and doing other things. Because of that reason, intermediate-level English mastery will be a major turning point for many people to go to the next level.
Intermediate
The upper intermediate level is rather narrow when compared to others. It means that upper-intermediate students have broadened their writing and reading skills, although in a narrow or limited scale. They are only familiar with things that they excel in. But even so, they can now speak informal English by using slangs and informal words, which makes it easier to understand. Moreover, they can speak and answer things spontaneously without stopping. But still, they haven’t increased their knowledge of other things.
Upper Intermediate
This is the point where the divers have reached the deep sea where fishes and corals live. This point is deep enough that the divers can clearly understand that there are a lot of living creatures here. Because of that, the divers have understood the depths of this point.
Comparably, advanced learning level is complex. Basically, students now understand more about complex topics. Advanced-level students can understand difficult words and long sentences in a text. Furthermore, advanced-level students could define the implied meaning of a text. When writing, the text is more structured and detailed. Moreover, advanced-level students can now use more complex language structures appropriately. For example, people use Business English sentences in the office, where Business English is more complex than the usual English sentences.
Mastery
Proficient-level students are now fluent in English. The language proficiency level is similar to native speakers. They understand everything in foreign languages, either in written or spoken sentences. They speak actively in foreign languages. Moreover, they express their feeling spontaneously. Therefore, a conversation between a proficient-level student and a native will flow faster and more naturally.
Stop Thinking and Start Practising!
The level of language proficiency is similar to the difference in sea depth levels. When we dive deeper, we can find and see a variety of sea creatures. However, the water pressure is also getting bigger, which makes it harder for humans to explore the seafloor. Because of that, humans need more effort to reach the seafloor by doing multiple things.
The effective way to reach the advanced level of proficiency is by doing daily training. Therefore, by doing training, we figure out our mistakes and errors that we make. Moreover, sparring with friends will help us to not get stuck easily. For that reason, we can try joining a language course to help us in learning foreign languages.
Vocabulary Corner
| English Words | Arti dalam Bahasa Indonesia |
| Language proficiency | Kecakapan berbahasa |
| Stands for | Kepanjangan dari |
| Business English | Bahasa Inggris Bisnis |
| Elementary | Dasar |
| Natives | Penduduk asli/orang asli |
| Enrich | Memperkaya |
| Stuck | Macet/ berhenti di tengah jalan |
| Intermediate | Menengah |
| Triggered | Dipacu/terpacu |
| Proficient | Ahli |
And so, we have reached the ending of this blog. Have you understood all of the different levels above? If not, you can leave comments or questions as well. Furthermore, we also have interesting blogs from Engliven for your enjoyment. Happy reading, everyone!
