CEFR levels explained: what A1 to C2 really mean when you speak

Here are the CEFR levels explained in a few lines. The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, launched by the Council of Europe in 2001, describes language ability in six levels grouped in three bands: basic user (A1, A2), independent user (B1, B2) and proficient user (C1, C2), each defined through "can do" descriptors (Council of Europe). At A1 you can introduce yourself if the other person talks slowly and is prepared to help; at C1 you can express yourself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions (global scale). In between, at B1, you can start, keep going and close a simple conversation on familiar topics (spoken language table).

You may know the feeling. The certificate says B2, the job advert asked for B2, and yet on the first video call with the London office the words arrive a second too late. Nothing is wrong with the certificate. It simply measured something other than the call. This guide reads each level the way the framework itself describes it: as things you can do out loud, at work, with someone waiting for your answer.

CEFR levels explained: six levels, three bands

The CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) organises proficiency in six levels, A1 to C2, regrouped into three broad levels: Basic User, Independent User and Proficient User. The levels can be further subdivided to suit a local context, and they are defined through "can do" descriptors (Council of Europe). It applies to all languages, which is why the same B1 appears on English, French and Spanish courses.

The framework did not stop in 2001. The Companion volume published in 2020 contains the complete set of extended descriptors and replaces the 2001 set; it adds descriptors for mediation and online interaction, and all descriptors are now gender-neutral (Council of Europe). The April 2020 edition also defines a new Pre-A1 level and strengthens the "plus levels" such as B1+ (CEFR Companion volume). So if a course talks about "B1+", it is using a subdivision the framework itself provides for.

Here is the short version, faithful to the official global scale (Council of Europe, Table 1):

What each level sounds like

Most guides stop at that table. The framework goes further. Its Table 3 was designed to assess spoken performances, across five aspects: range, accuracy, fluency, interaction and coherence (Council of Europe, Table 3). And the 2020 Companion volume has separate scales for formal meetings, for phone and video calls, and for interviews, including job interviews (CEFR Companion volume). Below, each level is read through those scales.

A1: short, prepared phrases

At A1 you can introduce yourself and others, and ask and answer questions about where you live and the people you know (global scale). Speech comes as very short, isolated, mainly pre-packaged phrases, with a lot of pausing to find words and repair communication. The conversation is totally dependent on the other person repeating, rephrasing and helping (Table 3).

At work, that means a greeting, your name, your role.

A2: understood, in short bursts

At A2 you communicate in simple, routine tasks and describe your background and immediate environment in simple terms (global scale). You make yourself understood in very short utterances, even though pauses, false starts and reformulation are very evident. You can show that you are following, but you rarely understand enough to keep the conversation going on your own (Table 3).

The work scenes are small but real. In a formal meeting, you can say what you think when someone addresses you directly, provided you can ask for key points to be repeated. On the phone, with repetition and clarification, you can hold a short, simple call with someone you know on a predictable topic, such as an arrival time or where to meet (CEFR Companion volume).

B1: you keep going, with visible effort

At B1 you understand the main points of clear standard language on familiar matters at work, school or leisure, and you can briefly give reasons for your opinions and plans (global scale). You keep going comprehensibly, although pausing to plan and repair is very evident in longer stretches. You can start, maintain and close a simple face-to-face conversation on familiar topics, and repeat back part of what someone said to check you understood (Table 3).

This is the level of the half-successful meeting. You can put over a point of view clearly, but you have difficulty engaging in debate, and you follow much of what is said about your field only if people avoid very idiomatic language. On the phone or in a video call you manage everyday personal or professional purposes, provided you can ask for clarification from time to time. In an interview you can take some initiative, for example to bring up a new subject, but you are very dependent on the interviewer (CEFR Companion volume).

B2: the meeting no longer frightens you

At B2 you understand the main ideas of complex texts, including technical discussions in your specialist field, and you can explain a viewpoint giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options (global scale). You show a relatively high degree of grammatical control and do not make errors that cause misunderstanding. You produce stretches of language at a fairly even tempo, with few noticeably long pauses, and you can take your turn and end a conversation when you need to, though not always elegantly (Table 3).

At work, you can keep up with an animated discussion and identify the arguments for and against each position, using the right technical terms with other specialists. You use phone and video calls for a variety of professional purposes, provided you can ask for clarification if an accent or a term is unfamiliar. In an interview you take the initiative and develop your ideas with little help or prodding (CEFR Companion volume).

One word of caution. The 2001 wording of B2 mentions interaction with "native speakers". The 2020 edition revises descriptors built on that idea, because the term has become controversial since the framework was first published (CEFR Companion volume). The person on the other end of your call may well be another non-native colleague.

C1: fluent, with the odd hard topic

At C1 you express yourself fluently and spontaneously, almost effortlessly; only a conceptually difficult subject can interrupt the natural flow (Table 3). You use the language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes (global scale).

The work scenes change in nature. In a meeting you can make critical remarks or express disagreement diplomatically, which is often the hardest move in a second language. You use calls effectively for most professional purposes. In an interview, on either side of the table, you participate fully and develop the point fluently without any support, handling interruptions well (CEFR Companion volume).

C2: difficulties nobody notices

At C2 you understand virtually everything you hear or read, summarise several sources into a coherent presentation and express fine shades of meaning even in complex situations (global scale). The spoken descriptor is precise: you speak at length with a natural colloquial flow, avoiding or backtracking around any difficulty so smoothly that the other person is hardly aware of it (Table 3).

Notice what is missing from that description: perfection. C2 speakers still meet difficulties. They handle them so well that nobody notices. Which brings us to the first myth.

Your level is not the grammar you have covered. It is the meeting you can get through.

Three myths the framework itself corrects

"C2 means native-like"

Many guides call C2 "near-native". The Council of Europe says the opposite, in plain words: C2 "has no relation whatsoever" with the performance of an idealised native speaker, a well-educated native speaker or a near-native speaker, and such concepts were not used as a reference when the levels were built (CEFR Companion volume).

"A good level means no accent"

The 2020 edition rewrote its pronunciation scale from scratch. Its reason: the focus on accent and accuracy, instead of intelligibility, had been detrimental to the teaching of pronunciation (CEFR Companion volume). The new descriptors say so level by level. At B1 your accent is usually influenced by your other languages, and your pronunciation is generally intelligible. At B2 the accent still shows but has little or no effect on intelligibility. At C1 some features of your accent may be noticeable without affecting intelligibility (CEFR Companion volume). The useful question after a call is simple: did they understand me first time?

"You have one level"

The framework describes separate activities (reading, listening, speaking, interaction, writing), and the Council of Europe shows a typical adult profile that is far stronger in reading than in the other skills. Its conclusion: the proficiency of any learner is almost always going to be uneven, partial (CEFR Companion volume).

This explains the opening scene. Years of reading reports and writing emails can build a solid B2 in reading, while speaking stays at B1 because it was rarely practised. The level that counts on a call is your speaking level. And speaking rises the way it was built in the first place: by speaking, often, in the situations you will actually face.

How long does each level take?

Cambridge English gives a rule of thumb: approximately 200 guided learning hours to progress from one CEFR level to the next. It lists the factors that change that figure: your language learning background, the intensity of your study, your age and the amount of study or exposure outside lessons (Cambridge English).

The same page gives cumulative hours from zero, which it describes as "a guideline only" (Cambridge English):

Two readings help. First, the amount of study or exposure outside lessons is one of the factors Cambridge names, so what you do between lessons changes your own figure. Second, the steps grow at the top: in this table the gap between C1 and C2 is wider than the one between A1 and A2. If you are aiming for the B1 to B2 jump, a dedicated guide to that step is on our list.

How to use the levels: reading a requirement, setting a target

When a job advert, a master's programme or your HR team asks for "B2", the framework gives you a better way to read it than "am I good enough?". A short checklist:

1. Ask which activity. B2 in reading, in writing or in spoken interaction? The framework describes them separately, and your profile is probably uneven.
2. Name the scene you need. A weekly meeting, client calls, a job interview. Each has its own official scale, quoted above.
3. Test yourself against the descriptor, out loud. Take the B2 meeting line: "Can keep up with an animated discussion". Record yourself in a mock discussion and listen back honestly. A self-assessment guide built on the same descriptors is coming soon.
4. Check what your certificate measured. Exams test different things, in different formats. Score conversions between exams such as TOEIC or IELTS and CEFR levels deserve their own article, and we will publish one rather than squeeze it in here.
5. Write the level honestly. On a CV, a level by activity ("B2 reading, B1 speaking, working towards B2") is more credible than a single flattering letter.

For managers and universities the same logic applies in reverse: define the target level together with the scene. "B2 in meetings with technical teams" tells a learner exactly what to practise.

Rehearse the scene out loud

Descriptors tell you where you stand; practice is what moves you up. If your target is B2 in meetings, rehearse the moment B1 struggles with: engaging in debate. With the Alyx AI Teacher for language learning, the tutor holds that conversation with you and corrects pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary in real time, without stopping the exchange. Here is a scene to try, as a project engineer:

• AI Teacher: "We're thinking of pushing the release back two weeks. What's your view?"
• You: "I understand the reasons, but I'd rather keep the date and cut the reporting feature for now."
• AI Teacher: "Wouldn't the client notice the missing feature straight away?"
• You: "They might. That's why I'd suggest telling them this week and offering it in the next update."

Run it three times, changing your argument each time. When you can push back without rehearsing the words, you are doing what the B2 meeting descriptor describes. Alyx covers six languages from A1 to C2, including English, French and Spanish, with more than 30 ready-made programmes, among them Business English and preparation for TOEIC, TOEFL, IELTS and Cambridge.