Assess your language skills realistically
Assessing your own language skills is not always straightforward. Your last language lessons may have been many years ago. Alternatively, you may have developed your skills through regular collaboration with international customers, colleagues or business partners.
To describe language skills clearly and consistently, we use the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) . It distinguishes three broad categories of language proficiency, comprising six levels from A1 to C2.
The overview below helps you assess your skills as realistically as possible. What matters is not which language courses you once attended, but how confidently you can understand and use the language today.
Avoid both overstating your abilities and being overly modest. An honest assessment creates transparency and helps match a role’s language requirements with your actual skills.
| Proficiency category | Level | Description of language skills |
|---|---|---|
| Basic user Basic communication | A1 Beginner |
Understands and uses familiar everyday expressions and very simple sentences to communicate basic needs. Can introduce themselves and others, and ask and answer simple questions about personal details. Can communicate when the other person speaks slowly and clearly and provides help where needed. |
| Basic user Basic communication | A2 Elementary |
Understands frequently used sentences and expressions relating to familiar topics, such as personal information, work and immediate surroundings. Can communicate in simple, routine situations and exchange information on familiar matters. Can use simple language to describe their background, education and everyday circumstances. |
| Independent user Independent communication | B1 Intermediate |
Understands the main points of clear, standard language on familiar topics relating to work, everyday life and leisure. Can manage most typical situations encountered when travelling and communicate coherently about familiar topics. Can describe experiences, events, goals and plans, and briefly explain their views. |
| Independent user Independent communication | B2 Upper intermediate |
Understands the main ideas in more complex texts on concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions within their own specialist field. Can communicate spontaneously and fluently enough to hold conversations with native speakers without significant effort on either side. Can explain complex matters clearly, present viewpoints and weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of different options. |
| Proficient user Confident, nuanced communication | C1 Advanced |
Understands a wide range of demanding, extended texts and recognises implied meanings. Can express themselves spontaneously and fluently without frequently having to search noticeably for words. Can use the language flexibly and effectively in professional and social settings. Can present complex matters clearly, with structure and in detail. |
| Proficient user Confident, nuanced communication | C2 Highly proficient |
Understands almost everything they read or hear with ease. Can summarise information from different written and spoken sources and present arguments coherently. Can express themselves spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, conveying subtle differences in meaning even when discussing complex matters. |
Our advice for your application
When assessing your skills, consider how confidently you can use the language in your everyday work. Can you, for example, take part in meetings, explain technical matters, deliver presentations or conduct complex negotiations? Your listening, reading, speaking and writing abilities may differ. Describe your language skills as accurately and realistically as possible.