YOUR SPANISH LEVEL

The following are the general guidelines to helping you determine what is your Spanish Level.

Level 1 - ELEMENTARY SPANISH  I

This is your level if:

a. you have never taken any formal Spanish classes before

b. you have taken 1 year of high school Spanish or its equivalent

c. you are basically non-communicative in Spanish but can introduce yourself, greet people, and give basic information

d. you can fill in simple info on forms

e. you can understand uncomplicated info on familiar topics

f. you can understand simple sentences and instructions if pronounced clearly

Level  2 - ELEMENTARY SPANISH  II

This is your level if:

a. you have taken no more than 2-3 years of high school Spanish, 1-2  quarters of college-level Spanish, or its equivalent.

b. you  have problems  understanding what teachers say in Spanish and  you may find an all-Spanish classroom somewhat difficult at first, but you can function in an all-Spanish classroom.

c. you can give brief answers  and make remarks but your Speaking Ability is limited to words and phrases, not whole sentences.

d. you can understand very simple general texts in Spanish, but you need a lot of help to read anything longer than a couple of paragraphs, mostly because there are too many words you don´t know.

e. you can draft faxes and simple memos but you almost always need to look something up when you try to write a long sentence or you are not sure that your sentences are grammatically correct

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Level 3 - INTERMEDIATE  SPANISH  I

This is your level if:

a. you have taken more than 3 years of high school Spanish, 1 year of college-level Spanish, or its equivalent.

b. you are able to understand the gist of native speakers and principal points of radio/TV and you are comfortable in an all-Spanish classroom.

c. you are hesitant when you speak Spanish, but you can describe yourself, talk about your interests, ask other people about themselves and their activities, and carry out simple phone conversations.

d. you have done some reading in Spanish, but it takes you some time and effort to follow the gist of a story  or newspapers/magazine article.

e. you can write several paragraphs or short simple letters about yourself and your friends or family without a dictionary, but with some errors.

Level 4 - INTERMEDIATE  SPANISH   II

This is your level if:

a. you have no problems following your teacher in Spanish or conversations between 2 native speakers.

b. you can speak easily and express yourself well and you are able to speak comfortably in the past or present and discussing more complicated subjects (politics, etc.)

c. you can read general and specialized texts well. It may take time, but you can read with attention and some enjoyment.

d. you can write reports and business letters and you are comfortable writing longer compositions that develop an argument or a position on a serious issue. You may need a dictionary occassionally, but you make few grammatical errors.

Level  5- ADVANCED SPANISH

This is your level if

a. you can follow Radio/TV conversations in detail.

b. you can participate in every conversation without difficulty.

c. you can write extremely well and you don´t make grammatical errors.

d. you can read unabridged Spanish texts without problems.