Elementary
Able to satisfy partially the requirements of basic communicative exchanges by relying heavily on learned utterances but occasionally expanding these through simple recombinations of their elements. Can ask questions or make statements involving learned material. Shows signs of spontaneity although this falls short of real autonomy of expression. Vocabulary centers on areas such as basic objects, places, and most common kinship terms.
Higher Elementary
Able to handle successfully a limited number of interactive, task-oriented and social situations. Can ask and answer questions, initiate and respond to simple statements and maintain face-to-face conversation, although in a highly restricted manner and much linguistic inaccuracy. Misunderstandings frequently arise, but with repetition, speaker can generally be understood by sympathetic interlocutors.
Intermediate
Able to handle successfully most uncomplicated communicative tasks and social situations. Can initiate, sustain, and close a general conversation with a number of strategies appropriate to range of circumstances and topics, but errors are evident. Limited vocabulary still necessitates hesitation and may bring about slightly unexpected circumlocution. There is emerging evidence of connected discourse, particularly for simple narration and/or description.
Higher Intermediate
Able to satisfy the requirements of everyday situations and routine work requirements. Can handle with confidence, complicated tasks and social situations, such as elaborating, complaining, and apologizing. Can narrate and describe with some details, linking sentences together smoothly. Shortcomings can often be smoothed over by communicative strategies, such as pause fillers, stalling devices and different rates of speech. Native interlocutors can understand the speaker, at this level, without difficulty.
Advanced
Able to speak the language with sufficient accuracy to participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations on practical, social, and professional topics. Can discuss special fields of competence and interest with ease. Can support opinions and hypothesize. Sporadic errors may occur, particularly in low-frequency structures and some complex high-frequency structures more common to formal writing, but no patterns of error are evident. Errors do not disturb the native speaker or interfere with communications
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