Guide to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages From Languages Direct

The Languages Direct Guide to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)

 What is ACTFL?

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) is dedicated to the improvement and expansion of the teaching and learning of all languages at all levels of instruction. ACTFL is an individual membership organization of more than 12,500 language educators and administrators from elementary through graduate education, as well as government and industry. 

How do the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines work?

The framework is made up of ten levels, explained in the chart below.

Why is it useful for me?

There are several ways the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines can help you as a language learner. They can be useful for identifying which language learning resources are most suitable for you - many publishers map their products to the framework. Likewise, they are really useful for being able to convey your degree of proficiency in a language to other people, particularly in official contexts like academia and business, and in other countries.

If you'd like to assess your level of proficiency according to the ACTFL Guidelines, you can use the chart below. In addition, you might find this reproduction of the official ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines useful - it has more detailed criteria than our chart, and you can use it to assess your key language skills - listening, speaking reading and writing - individually. 

Learner Class

Grade Name 

Description

Corresponding CEFR Level

Basic User: People beginning to learn the very basics of the language.

Novice Low

-  You are able to engage in simple conversations such as exchange greetings, introduce yourself, and name a number of familiar objects from their immediate environment.

0

  

Novice Mid

 

- You can communicate minimally by using a number of isolated words and memorized phrases limited by the particular context in which the language has been learned.

 0

 

Novice High

 - You are able to manage successfully a number of uncomplicated communicative tasks in straightforward social situations.

 A1.1

Independent User: Learners familiar with the basics of the language, aiming to deepen their knowledge and fluency of expression.

Intermediate Low

 

- You can talk about basic personal information; for example, self and family, some daily activities and personal preferences.

 A1.2

 

Intermediate Mid 

-  You are able to handle successfully a variety of uncomplicated communicative tasks in straightforward social situations.

 A2

 

Intermediate High

 - You can generally be understood by native speakers unaccustomed to dealing with non-natives, although interference from another language may be evident

 B1.1

Proficient User: Learners with a full command of the fundamentals of a language, looking to develop creativity and flexibility in the way they use it.

Advanced Low

 

- You are able to participate in most informal and some formal conversations on topics related to school, home, and leisure activities

 B1.2

 

Advanced Mid

 

- You are able to handle with ease and confidence a large number of communicative tasks. 

 B2

 

Advanced High

 - You are able to engage in conversation in a clearly participatory manner in order to communicate information on autobiographical topics, as well as topics of community, national, or international interest with linguistic ease, confidence, and competence.

 C1.1

 

Superior

 - You are able to communicate with accuracy and fluency in order to participate fully and effectively in conversations on a variety of topics in formal and informal settings.

 C1.2

 

Distinguished

- You can  produce highly sophisticated and tightly organized extended discourse.

- You can speak succinctly, often using cultural and historical references to allow them to say less and mean more.

 C2