For those people who are leaning Chinese, there are seven levels for them to assess their abilities of applying Chinese in their lives or work. And a clear idea of these criteria will also help Chinese learners to go on their learning plan well.
For those people who are
leaning Chinese, there are seven levels for them to assess their abilities of applying Chinese in their lives or work. And a clear idea of these criteria will also help Chinese learners to go on their learning plan well.
Level 1 Learners who are in this level will be able to carry out minimal activities of daily living. They should be able to handle routine shopping, order a simple meal, ask and give directions.
Level 2 In this level the learners can interact with people in routine social situations and for limited work requirements. They will be also able to engage in superficial discussions on current events, talk about themselves, their families and work. What’s more, they can handle limited work requirements such as giving simple instructions or simple explanations and descriptions. At Level 1 most of the things they could say had been specifically prepared. By Level 2 they will be able to speak extemporaneously (although in a limited way) about many topics.
Level 3 Learners in this level will find that they can speak Chinese with sufficient structural accuracy and vocabulary to satisfy normal social and work requirements. They can participate effectively in all general conversations, and discuss topics of interest with reasonable ease. The number of the Chinese words they have learned in this level is also board and they rarely have to grope for a word and are able to use the language well enough to establish close friendships.
Level 4 In level 4, the learners will find that they are able to discuss generable topics, raise complex questions, and express their opinions freely. And their abilities of listening will also be enhanced too. At the same time, they can handle professional discussions within a specialized field.
Level 5 learners in this levelwill be able to use the language fluently and accurately with vocabulary that is always extensive and precise enough to enable them to convey your exact meaning. They can understand and participate in any conversation with a high degree of fluency and precision of vocabulary.
Level 6 Learners in this level will be able to read and understand some newspaper news, periodicals, and radio or television programs in Chinese and can choose some professional or special courses to learn. Their spoken Chinese will as effortless as their mother tongues.
Level 7 Stepping into this level means that native speakers react to the Chinese learners as they do to each other. Their speaking proficiency is equivalent in every way to that of an educated native speaker. They also have higher conversation abilities, discussion and debate abilities, spontaneous language abilities plus a language command which can surprise a native Chinese speaker.
Chinese Language Ability
"Ching-chong-ching" Stage (Know nothing about Chinese)
In this stage, you will get an idea that Chinese sounds like some crazy and nonsense noises. For native English speakers, these noises are truly bizarre. You will find it ridiculous to call such noises as a kind of language. However, all the things are natural for you can't speak Chinese.
It won’t take much time for you to get to the next stage, for one semester of Chinese will be enough.
"OK, it's a Language" Stage (Chinese beginner)
At this stage, learners have become a "learner" , and have relinquished the notion that Chinese cannot possibly be a real language. In this stage they will recognize a number of common phrases and vocabulary words, and can usually make themselves understood in the most basic communication scenarios. Their pronunciation, however, is still quite horrible. Tones are a complete mess, and he has not yet started to get a handle on the Chinese "r" or "y", or on the distinctions between Mandarin's "x/sh", "q/ch", and "j/zh" pairs.
It takes hard work to get to the next stage. It can be accomplished through years of university study in the West, but this process can be accelerated by study in China.
"I'm speaking Chinese!" Stage (Intermediate level)
Through hard work and meticulous self-criticism, learners can get to the third stage. In this stage, they will have not only acquired the pronunciation of pinyin's consonants (r, y, q, j, etc.), but also brought tones under control well. One kind of dangerous thing at this stage is that by the time the learners have got to this stage, their comprehension should be pretty decent as well, and because few foreigners make it to this stage, the learners can get a false picture of their "mastery" of mandarin. This stage can last for a long time, as pronunciation and tonal errors are slowly reduced, fluency is increased, and vocabulary is expanded.
For learners who want to get to the next stage, a lot of hard work and self-criticism is necessary, as long as prolonged, intense exposure to Chinese.
"I'm just speaking Chinese" Stage (Advanced level)
At this stage, learners who make it to this level can most likely read and write as well, because of their level of dedication involved. And their knowledge of Chinese grammar and vocabulary has expanded efficiently. At this stage the learners will have a lot of Chinese friends, but they will have no need to ask for help from their friends.
In order to get to the next stage, the learners will need to receive some formal coaching and training.
"Pretty Much Chinese" Stage (Native-like)
At this point, the learner's ability of speaking and applying of Chinese is probably better than half of people in China.
The table below shows the every level in a more vivid way. If you are
learning Chinese, check the table and find which level you are in. Then go on your learning process.
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Levels
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Language Ability
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Level 1
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Elementary(1)
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Level 2
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Elementary(2)
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Level 3
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Intermediate (1)
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Level 4
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Intermediate (2)
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Level 5
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Advanced(1)
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Level 6
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Advanced(2)
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Level 7
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Native
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