Levels of English: Intermediate - is it in the middle?

The well-known Russian proverb says: "Forward do not poke, do not spin at the tail, do not push in the middle." But if we are talking about the level of English, is it really bad to be in the middle? In this article we will give a description of the most common level of knowledge of English - Intermediate.

Levels of knowledge of English are characterized by such parameters:

Passive, demonstrating how well you perceive:

1. Oral speech.
2. Written speech (that is, how well you read).

Active, showing how well you will be perceived:

1. Speech.
2. A letter (how well you write).

Of course, all these skills can be uncovered. In this article, we will not characterize all levels of English. Intermediate is the level that is either the most desired goal (if you just started learning the language), or an excellent springboard (if you plan to live, study or work abroad).

It is from the level of Intermediate that a big way to the country of English begins. With this level, one can already count on entering a foreign university (middle level, of course), or to apply for a number of positions in foreign companies.

Those who have reached the level of Intermediate, will never forget the language. Yes, the suspension of the study will result in you losing some of the vocabulary, forgetting especially complex grammatical constructions, but the basic, most important, knowledge will remain, and if you wish, you can always easily restore what you lost.

There is one more important point. It is known that the assimilation of the language occurs in a geometric progression. Moving forward, you accelerate. The more you know how, the more able to master. It is the level of Intermediate that gives you the opportunity to learn English, getting real pleasure. You can read books and magazines interesting to you, keep the conversation on a fairly live and deep level, moving away from boring phrases like: "what is your hobbies?" Or "where came you from?". Yes, much is still unclear, and it will be difficult for you to take a lecture at the university, but having such a good base, you will begin to guess involuntarily about the meaning of new words and will be able to expand your vocabulary without stress, simply by engaging in activities of interest to you.

What can a person who has an intermediate level of English?

In oral communication

You still can not talk about subtle matter, about politics, religion or philosophy, influence the interlocutor, subtly ironic, and naturally use idioms - all these give higher levels of knowledge of English. However, your skills are already enough to support the conversation with almost every native speaker you meet. If you do not understand something, you can clarify, ask again, it's nice to apologize. You will be understood and will make you a "discount".

You easily express your opinion or emotions, you can suggest an idea. You can tell about yourself and about what you are interested in. Your vocabulary is approximately 3000 words. In everyday life, almost none of us use more.

Your accent is noticeable, but you speak clearly enough. You can understand the fluent speech of interlocutors, you distinguish a native speaker from someone who has just learned it well. You can watch any popular films, except that scientific and documentary films will cause difficulties. You make grammatically correct phrases, allowing very small, rare errors.

On the letter

You can read in the original fiction, but not the most refined. Classical writers will still cause difficulties in the abundance of words-synonyms and unusual syntactic constructions (many who have reached the level of Intermediate, discover that the word order in the English sentence can be indirect). Very easily given to journalism, newspaper and magazine articles, instructions to the goods.

The level of understanding of written speech still depends on the specifics of your training and interests. If you studied the rules of English punctuation, studying texts on the economy, then, of course, they will not be difficult for you, although another person with the same level as you will experience difficulties. However, whatever topics you have studied better, you can understand the basic theme of any text in a newspaper or magazine.

On the letter, you express yourself in relatively simple, but grammatically correct phrases. Your syllable is clear and logical. You can easily write a letter, fill out a questionnaire, describe events, express your opinion. Your written skills at the intermediate level are enough to enter a technical foreign university, but not enough to enter the journalism faculty - this requires higher levels of English proficiency.

Thus, higher levels of English are necessary only for those who are making serious plans, going to use English for a specific professional or scientific activity. For them, the intermediate is a good, solid base. For all others, this level is more than sufficient, allowing to leave English courses and, finally, to learn the language, simply using it. The level of the intermediate is really the golden mean.