In the resume for various vacancies in the column “language proficiency”, applicants often indicate “English language proficiency at the Intermediate level”. Translated into Russian, this means "possession at an average level." Employers have an ambiguous attitude to such a record. Some believe that this is an insufficient level, others believe that in order to maintain professional activity for the chosen vacancy, this is quite normal. So what is this level? And is it really sufficient? Can it be improved and how? In this work, we will try to answer these questions.

First of all, we note that the concept of "average" in this case is very conditional: after all, we are not in the English-speaking language environment, and English is precisely a foreign language. And to master the language, even at an average level, is already a great achievement. After all, why only on average? The language consists of words, phraseological units, speech constructions. Moreover, many of them are completely unknown to foreigners, and are used only by native speakers, and their true meaning is the subject of study by linguists (see the works of L.V. Koshman, I.V. Tsvetkova, I.A. Zimnyaya, etc.). For example, the expression “We are in the same boat” is translated (in our opinion) as “We are in the same boat”, while in the USA this phraseological unit means “We are all in the same position”, i.e. has a completely different meaning, familiar only to native speakers and, moreover, in a single country. There are also many different individual words and phrases that refer to general vocabulary, but are not used as often as their synonyms and paronyms, familiar to those who study English. In other words, the concept of "language" as a whole can be compared with Moscow, in which local residents are well oriented, on the one hand, but where, nevertheless, it is impossible to know everything even for a native Muscovite. Yes, and the knowledge of the city is improved only with the years lived in it, i.e. Again, this is purely empirical.

Consequently, English Intermediate- level is really normal for most of our compatriots studying it. Moreover, language proficiency at this level is the result of long and hard work: it has been established that this level is typical, for example, for graduates of schools with in-depth study English with a number of subjects taught in it. Teaching in such schools is carried out according to an enhanced program that places very high demands on the student.

What are the skills and abilities of a person who knows English Intermediate? This is the ability to communicate on various everyday topics, a good understanding of oral and written speech, the ability to correspond in English, a good command of its grammar (although errors are allowed), average vocabulary.

Below we present brief description this level in relation to the main criteria for assessing language skills and abilities.

Dialogic speech (conversation):

• Understand other people's opinions, attitudes and emotions and verbally express their own;
• Express a lack of understanding of a situation and ask the interlocutor to explain it;
• Express your thoughts in a simple way using common syntactic constructions;
• Communicate with a clear and understandable pronunciation for others and intonation selection of sentences for the purpose of the statement;
• Express personal emotions and feelings with the help of logical stress and intonational means.

Listening (comprehension of what is heard):

• Understand the main ideas set forth in the text, the general meaning from the context and recognize the content of what is heard;
• Recognize and distinguish between the pronunciation of a person for whom English is not native, and a native speaker;
• The ability to understand and distinguish between informal and formal written and spoken language in a variety of situations.

Written speech:

• Fill out various papers: declarations, questionnaires, etc.;
• Write personal letters of various content;
• Write informative formal and informal letters;
• Write down the sequence of events;
• Describe people, places and situations;
• Supplement the presentation of a particular situation with personal comments;
• Simply and grammatically correctly express your thoughts in a written speech statement.

The skills and abilities described above are quite enough for full-fledged work in a domestic company, by the nature of which there are situations where the use of English is necessary. For example, such an employee, using English Intermediate, can carry out business correspondence using common lexical units, meet a foreign partner at the airport, tell him about the company's activities, etc.

At the same time, we note that this level is not enough for those who are going to work abroad or engage in research work there. Modern practice shows that persons who own English to Intermediate-level, pass international TOEFL exams with results of 5.0 or 5.5, which is not enough, for example, for admission to foreign university, where education is conducted in English (passing score in similar educational institutions according to the TOEFL system, as a rule, from 7.0 - A.H.). In this regard, it should be noted that English Intermediate can be improved in all aspects of language skills and abilities through special training sessions in courses or individually. At the same time, most methodologists are unanimous in their opinion that the preparation should be gradual, i.e. level-by-level (for example, from the Intermediate level to the Upper-Intermediate level, and then to the Advanced level).

In other words, if your level of language proficiency is average, then it is quite possible to improve it: depending on the goals of learning and the environment for using the English language, an appropriate curriculum, necessary manuals and teaching aids will be selected.

Do you want to know if your knowledge corresponds to the Pre-Intermediate level? Take our course and get recommendations to help you improve your English.

The Pre-Intermediate level is the basis of the basics of the English language

Pre-Intermediate - what level is it? How to determine if your knowledge is appropriate for this level?

Often, students who once studied the language at school or in courses say that they do not know anything and do not remember. They think that the Pre-Intermediate level is not for them, they think that this is too high a bar. However, the Pre-Intermediate course begins with a repetition of simple constructions like the present simple tense (Present Simple). So do not be afraid to start learning from this level, because on it you will be able to qualitatively repeat the materials already familiar to you, systematize them and move on to learning new topics.

We recommend that you start learning English at the Pre-Intermediate level if you:

• understand the general meaning of the interlocutor's statements, can maintain a simple dialogue and ask questions, but speak in short fragmentary sentences;
• you know basic grammar well, but it is difficult for you to use it in spontaneous speech, you get confused in constructions or build phrases using only simple tenses;
• studied English at school or university and have good basic knowledge;
• recently completed an English course at the Elementary level.

The Elementary level is sometimes referred to as the tourist's "living wage". But it is not easy to exist on the "living wage", so the Pre-Intermediate level "gives a ticket" to further improve their knowledge and skills. The Pre-Intermediate step is an important step from the Elementary survival level to the Intermediate level most often required by employers.

The Pre-Intermediate level of English is a kind of "key point" in the life of every English learner.

Material you need to know with a Pre-Intermediate level

How to understand that you have knowledge of English at the Pre-Intermediate level? See the table for what you need to know at step A2.

If it turned out that you are not sure about your knowledge at this level, we recommend that you check if you know English at the level.

The Pre-Intermediate level program involves the study of such topics in the curriculum

How will your speaking skills develop in the Pre-Intermediate course?

At the end of the course, you will be able to talk on any of the topics presented above, basing your thoughts on real life examples. Vocabulary (Vocabulary) will expand significantly, enriched with set phrases, phrasal verbs, new widely used vocabulary.

You will work on development reading skills (Reading). You will be able to understand fairly complex texts such as newspaper and magazine articles, travel guides, Internet messages, etc. The textbooks at this level contain adapted texts from newspapers, magazines, websites. You will not only understand what you read, but you will also be able to discuss the text, express your point of view, agree or argue with the author.

Pre-Intermediate students sometimes panic because they do not understand well when native speakers "talk so fast." Not surprising! Indeed, at the Pre-Intermediate level, tasks for listening (listening) are quite complex in terms of the pace of speech, duration, lexical content, but they are always doable. At the beginning of the level, you will have to listen several times. Toward the middle of the course, the panic passes. Listening is given a lot of time at all levels, because understanding spoken English by ear is one of the most difficult skills.

An equally important aspect is letter (Writing). It is Writing that will show all your "gaps" in grammar. If in oral speech it is sometimes possible not to hear some kind of mistake, what is written with a pen ... In the Writing tasks, the learned lexical and grammatical material is repeated, emphasis is placed on the structure of the text, clichés, conjunctions, and so on. Sample types of Writing for Pre-Intermediate: an informal letter, essay.

At the end of the level, you adequately use the skills oral speech (Speaking) in familiar situations, talk about yourself, your family, profession, preferences (in music, food, and so on), describe your trip, shopping, navigate at the airport, at the station. You understand the texts of advertisements, announcements at the airport, shop, inscriptions on products, postcards. You know how to write personal letters and short essays, read and retell not very complex texts. You can clearly express your thoughts and opinions on various issues.

We recommend studying English at the Pre-Intermediate level if you:

• you have experience of studying English at school, university or courses, but are not confident in your knowledge;
• previously studied the language, but have not used it in practice for a long time;
• know the basics of grammar well, but are afraid to speak, use only simple sentences in speech;
• have gaps in grammar, confuse tenses, but have a fairly extensive vocabulary;
• do not perceive or poorly understand English by ear, especially when you hear the speech of a native speaker;
• have a fairly narrow (about 1000 words) vocabulary.

As you can see, people with a wide variety of knowledge can get to the Pre-Intermediate level: someone has a lame grammar, someone has a hard time speaking English, someone has a poor vocabulary. If you decide to enroll in a course, you run the risk of falling into a rather motley group. That is why we recommend studying at the Pre-Intermediate level: a personal teacher will work on your weaknesses, and not focus on the needs of the group. The English teacher will determine the pace of learning that is best for you and will plan classes according to your interests and needs.

The term of study at the Pre-Intermediate level

The duration of studying English at the Pre-Intermediate level may vary depending on the starting knowledge and individual features student. On average, the training period is 6-9 months.

To finally make sure that this course of study is right for you, we recommend taking it, which tests basic English skills.

Even without taking into account that this language is considered international and accepted as an official language in many states, nevertheless, the fact remains that English most often acts as an intermediary between representatives different countries. Therefore, knowledge of English at the Intermediate level is becoming more and more relevant. This stage in mastering the language allows you to quite successfully participate in discussions on generalized topics, negotiations, as well as conduct business correspondence.

Effective language acquisition at the next level is possible only if the full results were achieved at the previous level. There is a gradual increasing increase in the number of functional structures and the addition of terms to the active dictionary, as well as training of the speech and hearing aids and setting up the language center (under the language center we mean the neuropsychological features of human perception, association and reproduction). All levels differ in the difference in word coverage, which fluctuates within 500 units - accordingly, there is a tendency for more constrained comprehension of words closer to the initial stages and an accelerated expansion of the lexical block closer to better language proficiency.

How to determine knowledge of English at the Intermediate level

In order to determine your level of knowledge, it may be enough just to look at the table, which shows the classification with a detailed description. However, despite the apparent ease, it is not always possible to objectively evaluate yourself on your own. Because, not knowing all the constructions, the student cannot always classify the complexity of a particular turnover, as well as determine the reliable number of words included in the main lexicon. It would seem that there is nothing difficult in this - to determine the vocabulary. However, in reality, not all familiar words can be attributed to this category. In order for a word to be counted as used, it must actually be used - that is, actively and correctly applied in appropriate situations and unmistakably defined in the context in all its meanings.

Many tests have been developed that, by means of general categories of tasks and questions, will help to understand. In addition, there are several foreign sites accredited for testing, which issue a special certificate upon completion, which indicates the level of English proficiency that the student has. Intermediate is an intermediate level, counting from zero to absolute.

Sublevels Intermediate

In total, three sublevels are defined, the group of which together forms a block that qualifies the student as a master of structure and communication at a quite decent level. In general, the intermediate (Intermediate) level of English allows you to communicate in general everyday topics and develop professionally. And, most importantly, based on the communicative base and reading skills accumulated to this point, the student can develop further independently, increasing his ability to listen and reproduce speech qualitatively, as well as expanding his vocabulary and specific structures, because the amount of information acquired begins to approach 80-90%.

Pre-Intermediate (below average)

Unlike the Intermediate Intermediate, the level of English Pre-Intermediate (which literally translates as “pre-intermediate”) means that the student cannot perceive oral speech in detail and detail or understand authentic, unadapted text, especially without resorting to various facilitating the process. materials such as dictionaries and translators. And also the ability to express their own opinions is very limited. Nevertheless, there is an understanding of the main component of the current discussions, the text and the possession of terms, basic turns and constructions inherent in a specific profile activity. In this case, the vocabulary can include from one and a half thousand words. Although it's hardly possible to observe a fluent grasp of the text and ensure the discussion at a decent level, but maintaining the usual pace of conversation within the Pre-Intermediate is quite feasible. With such baggage, there are chances for a successful passage of the international Cambridge PET test (Preliminary English Test) - of course, subject to prior directed preparation.

Intermediate (actually average)

Actually, the average (Intermediate) level of English is an indicator of a very successful use of the language in various circumstances - from everyday moments to communicating for business purposes with native speakers. Thus, vacancies in firms dealing with international operations, as well as training and internships abroad, become available. By this time, the number English words can get close to two and a half thousand. Intermediate students can also try the PET test.

Upper-Intermediate (above average)

The Upper-Intermediate level of English assumes that the student successfully uses various constructions and phrases, being perfectly oriented in the prevailing number of informal and formal circumstances and perceiving specific literature, which makes it possible to easily study in English-speaking countries or work in an international organization. With Upper-Intermediate, the student can freely use three to four thousand lexical units. There are serious chances to prepare and successfully pass one of the international Cambridge tests - IELTS (International English Language Testing System), FCE (First Certificate in English) or international test TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language).

Why do you need a level

The need to classify knowledge and skills in the field of English lies, among other things, outside educational process. This means that the assessment of knowledge on different scales indicates the range of your opportunities in modern society, and not only serves as a control of language acquisition. Often in the advertised vacancies you can find the wording - "Level of English: intermediate". What does it mean?

Opening Opportunities

It is very common for foreign students to study at English-speaking universities. Since the classes are conducted in a mode not adapted for this category, those who wish need certain knowledge and communication skills. As a rule, English at least intermediate level allows foreign students to enter the general process without much difficulty.

Also, along with the development of international relations, specialists who speak the language in sufficient volume for negotiating and conducting business correspondence with partners have become very in demand. At the same time, the circle of partners with whom you can communicate using English is much wider than residents of countries for which it is the main one. It is the most widely spoken language in the world, which is generally recognized for the purposes of the international exchange of information and experience, and in addition, in many states it is accepted as official language- this implies that every citizen must own it, and it is mandatory taught in educational institutions along with their relatives.

English at work

In companies dealing with various foreign enterprises, English-speaking specialists are in demand. This includes not only remote contacts or reception of foreign representatives - this is also work with individuals located on the territory of the country who are residents of other states. Usually the required knowledge of English is set at the intermediate level, which indicates the ability to be quite fluent and