CEFR levels explained for English teachers

Six levels, three bands

The CEFR groups learners into basic users (A1, A2), independent users (B1, B2) and proficient users (C1, C2). The Companion Volume also describes Pre-A1, the stage before A1, which matters for anyone teaching young children or complete beginners. This guide covers Pre-A1 to C1, the range most teachers work in; C2 is the top of the scale and describes near-effortless precision.

Pre-A1 and A1: first words, first exchanges

Pre-A1: the learner recognises and uses single words and set phrases, mostly with pictures or gestures to help. They can answer "What's your name?" or "How old are you?" with a word or two, follow a short, simple instruction like "Sit down, please" when it is said slowly, and name familiar things — colours, numbers, animals.

A1: the learner understands and uses familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases. They can introduce themselves, ask and answer simple questions about where they live, people they know and things they have, and hold a simple conversation if the other person speaks slowly, clearly and is ready to help. In class you will hear short, memorised chunks — "I have a sister", "I like pizza" — and very little that is newly built.

A2: the routine-task level

A2: the learner understands sentences and frequent expressions about things of immediate relevance — family, shopping, the local area, work or school. They can manage simple, routine exchanges of information on familiar topics and describe their background and surroundings in simple terms. Typical lesson signs: past tense appears (often with errors), they link ideas with "and", "but" and "because", and they can get through a short role play at a shop or a café.

B1 and B2: independent users

B1: the learner understands the main points of clear, standard speech and text on familiar matters such as work, school and leisure. They can deal with most situations likely to arise while travelling, produce simple connected text on familiar topics, describe experiences, events, hopes and plans, and briefly give reasons for opinions. In a lesson, B1 students can keep talking for a minute or two, but reach for the same words again and again and struggle when the topic becomes abstract.

B2: the learner understands the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including discussions in their own field. They can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular conversation with speakers of the language possible without strain for either side, and can explain a viewpoint, giving advantages and disadvantages. Errors still happen, but they rarely block meaning; your work shifts to range, precision and register.

C1: the proficient user

C1: the learner understands a wide range of demanding, longer texts and recognises implied meaning. They express themselves fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for words, use the language flexibly for social, academic and professional purposes, and write clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects. Lessons at this level look like coaching: feedback on nuance, collocation, tone and the exact word.

How levels map to Cambridge exams

Cambridge English designs its exams around CEFR levels, which makes them a handy shorthand when parents or students mention them. For young learners: Pre A1 Starters, A1 Movers and A2 Flyers. Then A2 Key, B1 Preliminary, B2 First and C1 Advanced. School versions of Key, Preliminary and First exist for teenagers.

Placing a new student in 15 minutes

You don't need a long test. A short, friendly conversation that climbs step by step tells you most of what you need. Stop climbing when answers become one word, long pauses or the first language — that is roughly where the level sits.

• Pre-A1/A1 check: name, age, family, favourite things. "What's this?" with three pictures.
• A2 check: "What did you do last weekend?" and "Describe your town." Listen for past forms and linking words.
• B1 check: "Tell me about a trip that went wrong." and "What are your plans for next year?"
• B2 check: "Should children have phones at school? Why?" Listen for balanced arguments and hedging.
• C1 check: an abstract follow-up — "How might that change in ten years?" — and a short text with an implied opinion to interpret.
• Add a short reading and a two- or three-sentence writing sample: speaking and writing levels often differ.

What levels can't tell you

• Skills develop unevenly. A student can listen at B1 and write at A2; plan for the weaker skill.
• A level is not a grammar list. Coursebooks attach grammar to levels, but the CEFR itself describes ability, not syllabus.
• Children's levels look different. A seven-year-old at A1 talks about toys and pets, not jobs and travel — the descriptors are the same, the topics are theirs.