The Master Guide to Language Learning Levels of Fluency
What is Fluency? There are many different ideas when it comes to fluency in a foreign language. I don’t know […]
What is Fluency?
There are many different ideas when it comes to fluency in a foreign language. I don’t know about you, but I hate when people give vague answers.
So many people compare fluency, of a foreign language, to that of your native language. Even if it’s the logical comparison it only hurts your motivation because you will never be able to reach the same level as your native language (unless you want to scrap your life and live in only the foreign language for over a decade).
What is the Average Native Level?
The Educated Adult
An educated adult native speaker will have over 20,000 – 30,000 known words and their grammar has been ingrained into them since they were young. They grew up in a world that worked in the language. Even if you grew up in a bilingual home there was one dominant language that you were forced to use with the rest of the world. They played in the language, went to school in the language, read, listened, wrote for thousands of hours in the language.
These are all things that will be near impossible to replicate as an adult language learner and is exactly why you should never have native speakers as the ultimate mark of fluency.
Of course, you can use them a goal to replicate; aim for the moon to reach the clouds.
The Fluent Child
Children usually obtain fluency around the age of 8 years old. They will have a vocabulary of ~10,000 words and will have all the grammar they will ever need to function.
They may speak in simple sentences, they won’t have a diverse vocabulary, but they are fluent by all means.
The Quality of Understanding
Just because you have understood something before doesn’t mean you know it today. There is a push and pull that even happens in our native language all the time. That word on the tip of your tongue, the one you just can’t seem to remember, falls under the category, “Passive Vocabulary”.
What is Passive Vocabulary?
Words that are understood [without] the ability to use them in a real context.
You can read a word and understand it, but you won’t able to speak it in conversation. There is even a chance that you knew the word before but forgot it, like the “tip of your tongue” moments.
What is Active Vocabulary?
Words that are understood [with] the ability to use them in a real context.
Words in this category, you will never have to struggle to use. If it takes you more than 10 seconds to remember the word you can’t count it as, Active.
These categories can also apply to grammar. You can either use it or you can’t.
Don’t forget, your passive level of understanding will always be higher than your active level. Don’t get discouraged if you a high level of understanding but a low level of active use. These are two different skills and you must have dedicated practice to get most everything to an active level.
The Levels of Fluency
I will use the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) as the basis of my language learning levels descriptions.
* Notice *
I will be putting my own spin on the CEFR descriptions and will give you estimates of the number of words you should know through each level. All names, numbers, and descriptions are my own; built around the CEFR levels to try and give an easy-to-understand description of what each level holds. The Word Count is my educated guess and is not officially backed.
All word counts are defined as Active Vocabulary. (Ex. 250 words means 250 words of Active Vocabulary).
I wrote these, special, for use in my book, “The Language Learner’s Pocketbook”. If you would like to read more about how to use these levels to calculate your goals and more. There will be a limited time Free ebook download available for users who sign up at WeLing.com.
A1 – The Party Trick |
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Up to 250 words | Beginner |
You are able to produce basic sentences and phrases that will only be useful during a party gag or the first small interaction in the language. (Ex. Able to say who you are, what you do, and what you enjoy doing in your free time). This is the quickest level to get through, but the most important. The whole language will be based on the concepts learned in this section. It cannot be skipped. | |
At this stage, you may consider yourself, “The Newbie” |
A2 – The Tourist |
|
250-999 words | Upper-Beginner |
This is where you are able to get around in most touristy situations. You can introduce yourself and talk about your interests at a basic level. If traveling is a part of your immediate plans: asking for directions, making reservations, or ordering meals will be a part of your skill base, however, it isn’t a requirement. (Ex. On the internet, travel skills aren’t needed.) This phase will further solidify the basic skills from A1, while adding more general concepts. You will notice that natives will have to use basic and slow speech for you to understand (almost like baby talk). | |
At this stage, you may consider yourself, “The Semi-Proficient Newbie” |
B1 – The Conversationalist |
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1,000 to 4,999 words | Low-Intermediate to Intermediate |
This is where it gets fun! You can “actually” speak in the language, no baby talk…though, native speakers will still have to drop their level to match yours. If they go off at their normal pace, you will find yourself at a loss even with the most basic phrases. You can, however, get by in the language. Depending on how well you can get around the parts you don’t know, some may consider you fluent…you’re not, but you can at least pretend you are and even pull it off in the right situations. | |
At this stage, you may consider yourself, “Conversationally Fluent” |
B2 – The S.S. Friendship |
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5,000 to 9,999 words | Intermediate to Upper- Intermediate |
This is where friendships begin. The natives will no longer have to drop their level of speech to fit yours. This is your turn to match the natives’ level. They can talk at their normal rate and you will understand what they mean. You will, also, have the ability to respond with some speed. Word searching will arise, but you will have a way to work around what you don’t know. | |
At this stage, you may consider yourself, “Fluent” |
C1 – The Worker |
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10,000 to 19,999 words | Advanced |
This is where you can start performing at a professional level. You can work at a company that operates in the language and make your way through most, if not all, situations that happen in daily life. There will still be unique situations where you won’t need the skills to talk fluently about a topic. These require special study which may not be necessary. (Ex. occupations you don’t work in or school subjects). | |
At this stage, you are definitely, “Fluent” |
C2 – The Specialist |
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20,000+ words | Advanced |
These are the ones who strive for native-like fluency in a language. To get here, you would have most likely lived in a country with the language for many years without secluding yourself from normal ‘native life’ activity. (However, if “truly” “TRULY” dedicated, you can do this from the comfort of your own home with the power of the internet – though it would involve not having a life at all ;p) | |
At this stage, you are, “Highly Proficient” |
Hours Needed to Reach Fluency
The Foreign Service Institute created a timeline (FSI Timeline) to estimate how many classroom hours it will take to learn various languages.
* Warning *
The FSI Timeline is created using native English speakers as the base. If you are a native speaker of another language, the following timeline will change. (Ex. Korean is noted as one of the most difficult languages for a native English speaker, but may be one of the easiest for a native Japanese speaker).
The timeline does state the number of weeks as well as the hours it would take. Don’t worry about the weeks, but we will use the hours as the baseline goal. The actual time will vary depending on how well you study.
Quoted from their official site, “It is assumed that the student has above average aptitude for classroom learning of foreign languages.”
Since I’m assuming most people reading this are self-learners, we can use this as a goal, but not hard fact.
Category I |
Closely Related Languages |
Afrikaans, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, French, Haitian Creole, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish |
24-30 Weeks (600-750 Hours) |
Category II |
Similar Languages |
German, Haitian Creole, Indonesian, Malay, Swahili |
36 weeks (900 hours) |
Category III |
Significant Linguistic and/or Cultural Differences |
Amharic, Bengali, Burmese, Croatian, Czech, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Mongolian, Nepali, Pashto, Persian (Dari, Farsi, Tajik), Pilipino, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Thai, Tamil, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese |
44 Weeks (1,100 Hours) |
Category IV |
Exceptionally Difficult |
Arabic, Cantonese Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean |
88 Weeks (2,200 Hours) |
These hours are a solid goal to get you to a B2 level or proficiency. You aren’t guaranteed this level, but if you have the proper study habits you will be able to achieve a solid level.
You may not even need to aim for this amount if your only goal is for quick communication. All languages have a group of words and grammar that are most heavily used. A lot can be don’t with only 2,000 words and basic grammar.
If you want to go beyond B2 then you will have to invest more hours because of diminishing returns. This isn’t a bad thing, it just shows how far you have come.
Setting Your Goals
It is important that you to know the levels and how many hours it may take to get to a fluent level. Without them, you will have no way of knowing how to set proper goals.
If you want to learn more about setting goals then you can read:
3 Easy Steps to Set Goals and Achieve Them
Setting goals can be easy, but many people, including myself, have set goals that set themselves up for failure. Failing without reason is not fun.