Guide to Levels

We understand that it is often difficult to work out which level you are working at. To help you best choose which resources may be most suited to you, we have therefore created just three groups of resources: Beginners/Higher Beginners, Elementary/Improvers and Intermediate/Advanced

Beginners/ Higher Beginners

Beginners

You will maybe know a few words in French or just have some basic knowledge. That’s great because you can look at the beginners resources which will help you to start learning.

Higher Beginners:

You will already have some experience of learning French, perhaps from completing a beginners course, studying at school in the past or spending time in a French speaking country. You will have a range of every day vocabulary and will be able to take part in simple exchanges such as ordering food, checking into a hotel etc… as well as talking a little bit about yourself. You may have working knowledge of the Present Tense and the Near Future Tense but may not yet use these confidently when speaking.

Elementary:

You will be beginning to feel more confident in engaging in short, structured conversations using the Present and Near Future tenses to speak about yourself and others and will understand what is being said when being spoken to - if they are speaking clearly and slowly and using vocabulary you are familiar with.  You may have some knowledge of the Perfect Tense and Simple Future and will be ready to explore these tenses further with a view to using them in spoken French.

Improvers:

As above, you will be able to recognise and use a wide range of tenses including the conditional tense and be able to understand and participate in a conversation with a sympathetic native speaker.

Intermediate:

You will have a good working knowledge of the Present Tense, Future Tenses and also the Perfect Tense and will be able to use these, perhaps with some hesitation, in short conversations on a broad range of every day topics. You will understand an interlocutor speaking clearly and quite slowly (or quite quickly) using both familiar and unfamiliar vocabulary. You will be able to structure longer sentences using a good and broad range of vocabulary but are likely to still feel more confident preparing work prior to engaging in conversations. You will be ready to explore the Imperfect Tense and the Conditional Tense with a view to using them in spoken French.

Advanced:

You will have an excellent knowledge of the tenses listed in the Intermediate Level and will be able to use these quite fluently in conversation, although hesitation may occur with more complex structures. You will also have a good understanding of the Subjunctive and Third Conditional structure but may use these less spontaneously in spoken French. You will be able to understand a native speaker but may require some repetition and clarification. You will be able to talk confidently on known topics but may be less confident with new and unfamiliar subject areas.