During many years of practical training, you trained your English, during which you delved into the work on vocabulary, mastery of the basics of oral and written speech. And now you want to check if your level is English.
What is the Upper-Intermediate Level?
In general, the result of your training should be an adequate perception of the original, including spontaneous, emotionally colored, dialogical and monologic oral speech of a native English speaker, teacher or interlocutor in the recording or direct communication. We list in more detail the skills that indicate the level of Upper-Intermediate, below:
- possession of dialogical and monologue speech in situations of official and unofficial communication on various topics (they will be indicated below);
- expressive speaking, demonstrative presentation of thoughts using a variety of grammar and vocabulary;
- the ability to compose an oral report, report, conduct interviews;
- discussion of read and heard original texts (including journalistic);
- conducting a conversation or dialogue of a problematic nature using adequate speech formulas;
- active participation in the discussion, conversation, confidently defending their point of view;
- assessment of the statements of other people in terms of the correctness and content of the language form.
The above listed skills can be achieved by studying, for example, the textbook “New English File Upper-Intermediate”.
As for reading, your skills should be manifested in the improvement of all types of reading (introductory, studying, search, and viewing). And on their basis, you must extract from the material the emotional, ideological, aesthetic and semantic information contained in it based on a meaningful and linguistic analysis.
You also need to punctually, spelling and graphically competently write various written works; to express their ideas and thoughts in written speech of various kinds (essay, letter, resume, abstract, literary review); Explain and correct lexical, spelling, stylistic and grammatical errors in the written text presented to you.
When studying well-known publications, for example, “Opportunities Upper-Intermediate”, your vocabulary should be at least 3000 units, close to the list below with situational-thematic characteristics of topics. The listed includes the subject matter of permissible communication, various situations of a social nature, metalanguage verbal means and tasks for adequate speech, presented in the form of a monologue or dialogue.
List of topics
An example subject-thematic list, mastered in the study of the most famous methodological complexes, for example, "Headway Upper-Intermediate".
The sphere of personal and social communication:
1. The appearance of a person.
2. The nature of the person, mood, manners, behavior. Psychological types of people, personality traits of a person (positive and negative), types of emotional state of a person, manners, norms of good behavior.
3. Relationships. Love. Family life.
4. Phobias and mania. Faith and superstition. Ways to overcome fears.
5. Crime and punishment. Types of crime. The reasons for the increase in crime. Prison as a measure of punishment. Juvenile delinquency.
The scope of domestic and social communication:
1. Our home. Home repairs. Buying a home. Homeless
2. Health. The disease. Health care.
The scope of social and cognitive communication:
1. The world of animals. Problems of conservation of endangered species of animals. Environment and civilization, sources of environmental pollution. Problems of environmental conservation.
The scope of professional communication. Field of work:
1. Work. The right choice of profession. Representatives of atypical professions. The personality of the teacher, his human and professional qualities.
The sphere of political and public life:
1. News.
2. Policy. Pros and cons of a political career. Political parties. Personality Politician.
3. Developing countries and their problems. Need, poverty. Charity organisations.
The scope of social-cognitive and socio-cultural communication:
1. Advertising on television and radio, commercial video production.
Sphere of socio-cultural communication:
1. The music. Music in our life: classical, popular, folk, jazz. Youth and pop.
English Upper-Intermediate, in turn, has its own classification. Consider the various steps related to this level.
About speaking. Characteristics of Superior Skills
Let's start with the highest requirements that are mastered by a student during the study of any high-quality textbook at this level (for example, New English File Upper-Intermediate).
Mandatory full and adequate implementation of communicative intentions in the framework of a wide range of diverse situations. Fluent, well-organized speech. Lack of pronounced accent. Appropriate and correct use of vocabulary and grammatical structures.
Excellent performance
The next level of Upper-Intermediate is the full realization of communicative intentions. Fluent speech with small hesitational pauses and compositional deviations. Rich vocabulary. The correct use of a variety of grammatical formulas. Rare and minor reservations and errors that do not reduce the effectiveness of speech. Emphasis on a negligible level.
Above average performance
Confident realization of communicative intentions in the above situations. Good fluent speech with very insignificant hesitational pauses and compositional deviations, which are caused by the difficulty in the correct formation of the content of speech and / or the choice of means of expression. The presence of reservations, errors in the use of grammatical structures and / or in usage, which generally do not interfere with the achievement of communicative goals. Noticeable accent.
Upper-Intermediate mid-range feature: what is it
It is an adequate implementation of the communicative process in the above situations. Satisfactory fluent speech. Minor violations of the compositional structure of the text. The presence of hesitational pauses. The presence of notable reservations and errors in the use of grammatical structures and words. Violation of pronunciation norms that may make it difficult to understand.
Characteristic below average
Inability to fully realize the communicative intention. Limited scope of utterance. Quite frequent compositional and logical breaks in the narrative. Lack of fluent speech and the presence of a large number of hesitational pauses. Common errors and disclaimers in the use of grammatical structures and vocabulary. Violation of pronunciation rules that make it difficult to understand.
About the letter. Excellent writing skills
Let's start with the highest Upper-Intermediate skills. What this level includes, its features and characteristics will be considered below.
A rich idiomatic and phraseological vocabulary that complies with the norms of modern English. Missing spelling errors. Absolutely appropriate and correct use of grammatical formulas. Exact correspondence to the set communicative tasks. Absolutely reasoned and complete narration, description of events, objects or presentation of ideas, points of view. Consistent and logical development of the plot and idea. Full compliance with the style and genre of the written work. Accurate and appropriate use of various artistic means of expression.
Such a level of language proficiency can provide only high-quality educational materials (for example, "English File Upper-Intermediate").
Excellent writing skills
A rich idiomatic dictionary, quite consistent with the norms of the modern language. Less than one spelling, grammatical or lexical error per hundred word forms. Some deviations in the use of grammatical constructions. Compliance with the communicative task. A reasoned and complete narrative, a description of events, objects, or a statement of one’s vision of an object. The logical development of the plot and ideas. Compliance with the style and genre of the written work. Properly used means of expression.
Good writing skills
Good vocabulary, used in an appropriate way, generally competent English. A good level Upper-Intermediate does not allow more than one spelling, grammar or lexical error per 100 word forms. Some deviations are observed in the use of grammatical constructions. Compliance with communicative tasks is quite accurate. In general, a convincing and complete narrative, a description of events, objects and accessible to understanding the presentation of their own thoughts and ideas. Some logical deviations and lack of sequence of plot development. Individual moments of inconsistency with style and genre.
Average Proficiency in Writing
In general, the vocabulary is satisfactory. However, the word stock is limited, there are errors in the selection of a suitable word. No more than two grammatical, spelling or lexical errors per 100 word forms. Some cases of the use of grammatical constructions make it difficult to understand the meaning of what is written. The communicative task corresponds to the letter. Deviations from the sequence and logic of the development of the plot and idea are observed. Limited selection of artistic expressiveness. Genre and style do not meet the established standards.
Below average written language
This level of Upper-Intermediate has a limited vocabulary. Significant errors in the use and selection of words are observed. No more than three spelling, grammatical or lexical errors per 100 word forms. Quite serious violations observed in the use of grammatical constructions. The idea presented in the communicative task is reflected, but not fully implemented, due to the lack of clarity of presentation and convincing arguments in favor of one or another point of view. There are inconsistencies in the sequence and logic of presentation, mixed genres and styles.
Having reached your goal, set yourself new, even more complex tasks. The Advanced level is the next peak that only those who are able to overcome themselves and embark on boundless language expanses can conquer.