Check your level

ATC’s Syllabus and Curriculum Guidelines are adapted from: The Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CUP).

ATC Checklist for A0 Beginner level learners

I can spell my personal details, name and address with some help…………………………….…..
I can write a short simple message sending greetings………………………………………………
I can use simple phrases to describe where I live…………………………………………...………
I can interact with help and reply in an interview to simple direct questions spoken very slowly ...
I can ask and answer simple questions on very familiar topics……………………………………..
I can understand familiar names and simple words, for example, on posters, publicity etc……......
I can recognise basic words and phrases concerning myself and my immediate surroundings……

ATC Checklist for A1 Elementary level learners

I can spell my personal details, names of everyday objects and regularly used set phrases………..
I can write a short simple message sending greetings………………………………………………
I can ask and answer simple questions on very familiar topics in an area of immediate need
I can recognise familiar words and basic phrases concerning myself, my family and my immediate surroundings when someone speaks clearly and slowly to me………………………….
I can reply in an interview to simple direct questions spoken very slowly and clearly…………….
I can understand instructions and follow simple directions when addressed slowly and simply.….
I can ask people for things and give people things when they ask for them slowly and simply…....
I can make an introduction and use basic greetings and leave-taking expressions…………………
I can ask how people are and react to news…………………………………………………………
I can use simple sentences and link words with very basic linear connectors like: and or then……
I can pronounce a limited amount of learnt phrases that can be understood with some effort by native speakers ……………………………………………………………………………………..
I can establish basic social contact by using the simplest everyday polite forms of greetings and farewells, introductions, saying please, thank you, excuse me, etc……………..…………………..

ATC Checklist for A2 Pre Intermediate level learners

I can understand familiar vocabulary for everyday purposes, like shopping and housework………
I can understand the main point in short clear simple messages and announcements……………...
I can find specific predictable information in everyday texts like ads, menus and timetables……..
I can communicate in simple and routine tasks in a simple and direct exchange of information…..
I can have very short social conversations and I can show that I am following a conversation……
I can use some phrases and sentences to describe people, my family, my job and education……...
I can read and write short simple notes and messages and personal letters of thanks………………
I can handle short social exchanges but not enough to understand everything …………………….
I can write about everyday aspects of my environment, family, job, living and study conditions…
I can write short basic descriptions of events, past activities and personal experiences……………
I can understand simple directions and instructions………………………………………………..
I can ask and answer questions and exchange ideas and information on familiar topics …………
I can ask simply for repetition when I do not understand and I can ask for clarification ………….
I can pronounce words quite clearly, but I do have a noticeable foreign accent……………………

ATC Checklist for B1 Intermediate level learners

I can understand the main points of clear standard speech on topics I am interested in……………
I can understand the description of events, feelings and wishes in personal letters……………….
I can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling……………………….……………
I can connect phrases in a simple way to describe experiences and events, dreams, and hopes …..
I can narrate a story or relate the plot of a book or film and describe my reactions………………..
I can write simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest……………
I can deliver short rehearsed announcements on relevant topics ……………………………….…
I can speak clearly despite having heavy L1 (mother tongue) stress and intonation patterns …….
I can summarise, report and give my opinion on accumulated factual information………………..
I can identify general messages and specific details, provided speech is in standard dialect……....
I can follow a lecture or talk in my own area provided the subject matter is familiar ……………..
I can understand simple technical information such as operating instructions for equipment……..
I can follow detailed written and spoken instructions and directions……………………………….
I can understand the main points of radio news bulletins, and the information content of the majority of recorded or broadcast audio material on familiar topics in clear standard speech ……
I can understand the description of events, feelings and wishes in personal letters …..……………
I can enter into conversation on familiar topics, express opinions and exchange information…….
I can exchange and check information, deal with less routine situations and explain problems…...
I can express thoughts on abstract cultural topics such as the arts, without difficulty ……………..
I can initiate, maintain and close simple face-to-face conversation on familiar topics……………..
I can intervene in a discussion on familiar topics, using suitable phrases to get the turn…………..
I can summarise the point reached in a discussion to help focus the talk…………………………..
I can during a straightforward lecture or talk as a list of key points…………………………….….
I can take simple notes and paraphrase in writing short passages using original words……………
I can pronounce English clearly and intelligibly even if my L1 (mother tongue) is noticeable ……

ATC Checklist for B2 Upper Intermediate level learners

I can understand extended speech and talks, and follow the argument on familiar topics……..…..
I can understand most TV and radio news, current affairs programmes and most films ……….…
I can read articles and reports concerned with contemporary literary prose……………………….
I can interact with some fluency making regular interaction with native speakers possible……….
I can take an active part in discussion in familiar contexts, defending my views………………….
I can explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of options…
I can write clear detailed text on a wide range of subjects related to my interests………………….
I can write an essay or report giving reasons in support of or against a particular viewpoint……...
I can understand standard spoken speech, live or broadcast, on any topic normally encountered in personal social academic or vocational life. Only extreme background noise, inadequate discourse structure or idiomatic usage influences the ability to understand………………………..
I can keep up with animated conversation between native speakers……………………………….
I can catch much of what is sad around me with some effort but may find it difficult to participate effectively in discussion with native speakers who do not modify their language in any way…….
I can follow the essentials of lectures and talks presented for professionals……………………….
I can understand announcements and messages spoken in standard dialect at normal speed………
I can read with a large degree of independence, adapting style and speed of reading to different texts and purposes and using appropriate reference sources selectively……………………………
I can use language fluently accurately and effectively on a wide range of general academic vocational and leisure topics, marking the relationship between ideas.. ………………………...…
I can communicate spontaneously with good grammatical control without much sign of having to restrict what I want to say and can adapt to the formality of the circumstances……………………
I can understand what is said to me in standard speech even in a noisy environment……………...
I can intervene appropriately in discussion, give feedback and follow up statements and inferences to help the development of the discussion, inviting others to join in……………………
I can initiate maintain and end discourse appropriately with effective turn-taking with difficulty...
I can use stock phrases to gain time and keep the turn whilst formulating what to say……………
I can ask questions to check that I have understood what a speaker intended to say ….…………...
I can understand a clearly structured lecture on a familiar subject and can take notes on points even though I tend to concentrate on individual words and sometimes miss information……….....
I can summarise a wide range of texts discussing contrasting points of view, including extracts from news items or documentaries containing opinions, arguments and discussion……………….
I can speak clearly and have almost natural L2 pronunciation and intonation………...……………
I can communicate quite fluently but I hesitate as I think of expressions …………………………

ATC Checklist for C1 Advanced level learners

I can understand extended speech even when it is not clearly structured and when relationships are only implied and not signalled explicitly………………………………………………………..
I can understand long and complex factual and literary texts, appreciating distinctions of style….
I can understand specialised articles and technical instructions not related to my field…………..
I can express myself fluently and spontaneously without obvious searching for expressions……..
I can use language effectively and flexibly for social and professional purposes………………….
I can express myself in clear well-structured text, expressing points of view at some length……...
I can select and use a writing style appropriate to the reader in mind discussing complex subjects
I can recognise a range of expressions and colloquialisms and register shifts…………………….
I can easily understand complex interactions and debate abstract, complex unfamiliar topics…...
I can follow most lectures and talks, discussions and debates with relative ease………………….
I can extract specific information from poor quality, audibly distorted public announcements ...…
I can understand complex technical information such as operating instructions ………………......
I can understand a wide range of recorded and broadcast audio material including some non-standard usage and identify points of detail including implicit attitudes between speakers……..…
I can understand in detail lengthy complex texts using occasional use of a dictionary…………….
I can express myself fluently and spontaneously, almost effortlessly. I have a good command of a broad lexical repertoire, allowing gaps to be readily overcome with circumlocutions and with little evidence of my searching for expressions or avoidance strategies and only a conceptually difficult subject can hinder a natural smooth flow of language…………………………………….
I can understand speech on abstract topics of a specialist nature, needing to confirm some details
I can select a suitable phrase from a readily available range of discourse functions to preface my remarks appropriately in order to get the floor to gain time and keep the turn whilst thinking…….
I can take detailed notes during a lecture on topics in my field of interest, recording the information accurately and close enough to the original to be useful to other people……………...
I can vary my intonation and place sentence stress correctly to express finer shades of meaning....

ATC Checklist for C2 Proficiency level learners

I can understand without any difficulty any kind of spoken language whether live or broadcast even when delivered at fast native speed provided I have time to get familiar with the accent…….
I can read with ease virtually all forms of the written language including abstract structurally or linguistically complex texts such as manuals specialised articles and literary works………………
I can take part effortlessly in any discussion using idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms…….
I can express myself fluently and convey finer shades of meaning precisely and if I do have a problem I can backtrack and restructure around the difficulty so other people are not aware of it...
I can present a clear description or argument in a style appropriate to the context and with an effective structure which helps the person with whom I am speaking to notice significant points...
I can write clear smoothly flowing text in an appropriate style…………………………………….
I can write complex letters reports or articles which present a case with an effective logical structure which helps the reader to notice and remember salient points……………………………
I can write summaries and reviews of professional and literary works……………………………..
I can substitute an equivalent term for a word I can’t recall smoothly so it is not noticeable……...
I can follow specialised lectures and presentations employing a high degree of colloquialism, regional usage or unfamiliar terminology…………………………………………………………..
I can understand and interpret critically virtually all forms of the written language including abstract, structurally complex and highly colloquial literary and factual written text……………...
I can understand a wide range of long and complex texts appreciating subtle distinctions of style..
I can speak fluently and accurately, having a good command of idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms with awareness of connotative levels of meaning…………………………………..
I can convey finer shades of meaning by using accurately, a wide range of modification devices..
I can understand any native speaker interlocutor even on abstract and complex topics of a specialist nature beyond my own field, given an opportunity to adjust to a non-standard accent …
I can converse comfortably and appropriately unhampered by any linguistic limitations in conducting a full social and personal life…………………………………………………………...
I can participate in lectures and workshops fully, being aware of the implications and allusions of what is said and can make notes on them as well as on the actual words used by the speaker……..
I can summarise information from different sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation of the overall result…………………………………………………………..
I can exploit a comprehensive and reliable mastery of a very wide range of language to formulate thoughts precisely, give emphasis and eliminate ambiguity without having to restrict what I say…
I can consistently use correct and appropriate vocabulary in context, having a good command of a very broad lexical repertoire including idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms and having an awareness of connotative levels of meaning………………………………………………………..
I can mediate effectively between speakers of English and speakers of my mother tongue taking account of socio-cultural and linguistic differences, aware of connotative levels of meaning…….
I can create coherent and cohesive text making full and appropriate use of a variety of organisational patterns and a wide range of cohesive devices……………………………………...
I can express myself at length with a natural effortless and unhesitating flow, pausing only to reflect on precisely the right words to express my thoughts or to find an appropriate example or explanation, using accurate and almost native-like pronunciation patterns………………………...