If you have been studying and practicing English for a while and you’re still worried about your level, then you need to pay attention to this. Let me put it another way. If I met you down the street and asked you what your exact English language level is, would you be able to answer without hesitation or reluctance? would you be able to explain it to me?
The thing that frustrates my students the most, is when they don’t feel or cannot tell if they are progressing in their studies. They keep working and they don’t know how good they are and they don’t know where they are going. Do you feel like this sometimes? How can you know if you’re improving at all?
Have you heard about the CEFR before? The Common European Framework of reference is what that means….It’s the official language testing levels that are set by institutions for students learning English. I’ll be brief about this. There are three levels tested which are split into A, B and C. (with sub categories 1, 2, and 3) A is for the most basic learner and C is for the most proficient one. If you grab any booklet or check online, these levels are broken down into various tasks that you should be able to do at each level. It says that those who follow this FB page ‘should’ ideally be at B1 level. B1 is classified as an intermediate and independent learner. It expects that you can communicate essential points within a limited range of contexts and subjects.
But the problem is that most students know English in theory but not using it in real time or actual situations. That’s why students are truly frustrated and lost. If you pass an English exam which says you are B2 level yet you don’t feel it, does that mean it’s true? Most honest students I’ve talked to would say NO.
There’s a problem in my opinion with official categorising of levels for English. Or languages in general. They are missing the human element of how you feel working through those levels..
Let me put it another way, how come some other people who don’t know grammar and cannot write well in a target language are able to learn and execute communication like a pro? What’s going on here?
Here’s my answer. I believe there’s two forgotten ingredients that students need to provide a true accuracy of what their current real level is…and those are the twin superpowers of confidence and motivation.
Confidence comes from understanding a subject and then using what you know. So firstly you must be sure exactly of what you know.
You may need to revise what you have learnt and then put it into practice. Then adjust(or correct) as you learn from practicing so that you can consolidate your learning.
Remember you won’t have confidence in the beginning of your studying(and practicing), because it doesn’t come straight away. It is something that you need to build up like muscles in the gym. Regular practice and adjusting your mistakes after reviewing is necessary. What you need to have in the beginning is Courage, which is to take action even when you are afraid. Especially if the feeling is when you don’t know if you are progressing at all.
‘Fear is peeing in your pants; courage is doing what you have to do in wet pants.’ – Dan Sullivan
Take a step and make the corrections, then a few more and watch your confidence start to grow.After doing this for a little while, you feel better about your language destination.Confidence will then help you take control of your learning.
Motivation is the fuel that keeps you on the journey so you complete it successfully. To be truly motivated you need to create a vision of what you want to achieve and plan what reward you’ll get for completing your language journey.
Your Motivating starts with coming up with your own powerful and real personal goals for your target language learning.
I encourage you to start using these two ideas of courage and motivation to find out what your real feelings are about your English level today.