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Better German Podcast with Susi

Susanne Schilk-Blümel
Since 09/2023 56 episodes

19 German Levels and Exams Made Simple

What do A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2 mean?

2024-01-11 23 min

Description & Show Notes

Welcome to Episode 19 of the Better German Podcast! In this episode, Susi explains the different levels of German language proficiency and exams. She gives you details about each level, from A1 to C2, and gives you information on what you need each level for, as travel, work, and studying. She also tells you about the relationship between actually learning the language and passing the exams, and why she thinks it is problematic to learn for the exams.

This episode is perfect for you to become oriented in the world of language levels and to see which level you need to aim for and what you can expect from each level. The podcast gives you a glimpse into how Susi teaches—but if you're ready to take it further, the Better German Community is where the real magic happens! Connect with fellow learners, explore in-depth topics, and download PDF worksheets and word lists from previous episodes to boost your skills.

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In this episode of Better German, Susi Blumel explains the levels of proficiency (skill in understanding and using the language) in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, which is used by most schools and official places for language courses and exams. She discusses A1 to C2 levels and clarifies what each level means in terms of communication abilities. Susi emphasizes the importance of truly learning German, rather than just passing exams, and shares insights based on her teaching experience. She also provides information about exams necessary for visas and citizenship in Austria.

Key Topics and Bullet Points
Primary Topic: Introduction to German Language Levels and Exams
  • Explanation of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
  • How the framework defines the levels of knowledge in a foreign language
  • Use of the framework for referring to courses and exams
  • Emphasis on helping people to learn German, not just pass exams
Primary Topic: Description of Different Levels
  • Levels A1 and A2
  • An overview of the abilities and knowledge at A1 and A2 levels
  • Specific details about the A1 and A2 exams, with examples of where they are required for visas and citizenship
  • Levels B1 and B2
  • Description of the increased fluency and communication abilities at B1 and B2 levels
  • Insight into the necessity of B2 level for living and interacting in Austria
  • Details about the different parts and exam requirements for B1 and B2 levels
  • Levels C1 and C2
  • Discussion of the proficiency and fluency achieved at C1 and C2 levels
  • Requirements for studying at a university in Germany or Austria at C1 level
Primary Topic: Personal Insights and Recommendations
  • The host's experiences with students passing exams but lacking actual speaking abilities
  • The importance of achieving a high level of proficiency for genuine interaction with native speakers and life in Austria
  • The ongoing learning process and continual improvement in language skills
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Transcript

Welcome to the Better German podcast. My name is Susi Blümel, and I will teach you German and everything around the language , the countries and the culture. So maybe you have wondered what the different levels in like when you look for German courses are actually also other courses mean like you've seen things like a one and a two and P two and. You have wondered what these mean and what you need and what this is all about. So this is what this episode is about. Welcome to the Better German podcast. My name is Susie. And I am helping you to learn German. So if you follow this podcast, you can learn German. No, you will learn German. And let's get into this episode. So something that you will for sure run into when you start looking at German courses, or even at learning German, is pretty soon things like A1, A2 and so on. So basically there is some thing done by the council of Europe. So basically by the European Union and they have defined the different levels of knowledge, if you learn a second language, or if you learn a foreign language, which is not your native language. This is called a Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Which is super complicated, you don't have to remember, but if you see this, then know that that's what it is. It's, it's abbreviated. It sometimes they don't say this whole word, but they say C E F R. What it means is that it's a definition about the level of knowledge in a foreign language. This is not just for German. This can be used for any language. And this is also used to refer to courses and to exams. Some schools don't use this, however. I haven't used this for a long time and I'm going to tell you why right ahead. There are these levels and there are certain exams that go with it. However, in my experience, unfortunately, the fact that the person has passed a certain level of exam doesn't necessarily mean that he really speaks and understands the language as well as he should in that exam. And I, like in my school and in my teaching activities, I am not planning on helping to pass people to pass exams, just for the sake of passing exams. I want to help people to learn German. So, My target public, the people I want to work with, or that I work with are people that really want to learn German. They want to be able to speak and understand German and communicate with other people in German. And I actually don't care personally so much which level that is on a certain scale, but this scale is used and it's used for reference. So I have actually now decided to call my levels, my course levels also according to these levels, because this is what people are used to. And so, but when you take my courses, I'm not necessarily preparing you for an exam, but I'm giving you all the information you need, and when you go through all the courses and you do all the exercises, you will end up at the level that you should have. And if not, then we're going to, there is ways of doing that. If you come to the end of the course and, you don't have fully achieved, what you should, you can redo it, and we will get you to that level. That's what I want to do. My purpose is to help people learn German and not to help people pass an exam. That being said, if you actually learn German, to learn German, like, if that's your purpose, then you will also be able to pass the exams. So, yes, at the end of every course, or at the end of courses, I will give you also an overview on what are the exams and how to do them. And in my experience, every one of my students, that did courses with me when they did the respective exam, they passed it. Every one of them. I've never had a student that couldn't pass the exams after they did one of my courses. But it only works if they really want to learn German, it doesn't work, if they just come to pass the exam. Okay, by the way, I've made an, episode on this. It's the Episode 2 of this podcast, it's called Reasons to Learn German, and I talk a little bit about learning for an exam or not learning for an exam and how successful that is in there. Anyway, let's get into the different levels. So we have these levels that describe the ability to communicate in a foreign language. And they go from A.1 and basically the levels are, there are six levels and they're A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2. A.1 being the simplest and C.2 being the highest level. So A.1 is basically a total beginner. Sometimes, you actually could say somebody when he starts learning the language and he doesn't know anything, he's at A.0 and then after learning German for some time, he comes to the point where he is A.1 So, what does it mean when somebody is on an A.1 level? He can understand easy words that are used every day and very basic sentences. And he can answer things like, what's his name and where does he come from? And he can also ask these questions. He can talk to someone when the person doesn't speak very fast, when he speaks a little slower, and uses easier words and tries to understand. So that's it. This is basically what you come to when you achieve A.1 This is relatively fast. If you learn with me, people usually get to the level relatively fast. A.1 is, is relatively easy to achieve. And by the way, I'm also going to tell you, there, there is an exam for A.1 And, this is something that you need for some of the visas, if you want to come to Austria, and I think it's the same in Germany, for some of the visas, depending on which visa you get, you need to have this A.1 exam before you can get this visa. There is like three of these levels that I'm going to tell you. There are exams. There are exams for every one of these levels, but three of the levels are important for certain visas in Austria, if you, or if you want to get the Austrian citizenship, in some cases. So I'm going to mention that just as an aside. By the way, there is an additional material. So that was A1. So after A1 comes A2 and A2, basically means that you can understand a little more than on A1, obviously a little bit more about personal and family information. You can talk a bit, a little bit about shopping. About where you are, and even some basics about working like employment and you can communicate simple and routine routine things that just ask for a small vocabulary. And you can also tell a little bit of you about your background and about your immediate environment. So that's basically A2. All of these levels, by the way, cover, always understanding, speaking, reading and writing. For both A1, and A2, there are like two courses. When you do courses with me. There is like A 1.1 and A 1.2 Different, schools do it differently, but this is a very usual thing. So A1 and A2 basically two parts. So A2 is also, the exam for A2 is also something that is necessary for some visas. Like when you, for example, you marry an Austrian, and you come to Austrian, you get a visa for the first time, you need A1. And in order to, renew this visa, you need to do an A2 exam. After A1 and A2 comes B1 and B1. Means basically you can already understand pretty good. So on B1, I would say is a level where you can hold up to a conversation and you can, you're still going to be talking relatively simple, but you can also write, some a little more on B1. And it's, quite good. You can talk it's not super fluent, but you, you will be fine. Like once you get to B1 level, you will be fine. If you're learning German, basically just to get, along, let's say you come here for holidays, or maybe you have friends that you visit regularly, you will probably be fine. You will feel fine if you have a B1 level and you may not even have an urge to learn more than that. You will be able to speak a little bit more about yourself and like what your plans are and your dreams are, and be able to talk about opinions, and so on. So B1 is kind of like the first level where you can communicate relatively freely. B1, courses in many schools also with me. I'm not 100% sure when the B1 courses will be ready, but you will see that when you go on courses.bettergerman.info. Anyway, B1 is, has three different, parts. So there is like B 1.1 B 1.2 and B 1.3. So obviously it takes a little longer to get to be one then to a one or a two each. So, There's also a, an exam connected to B1, and that in Austria is the exam that you need. Sometimes if you want to get the Austrian nationality, if you want to get an Austrian passport, for example, because you came here marrying an Austrian, then you need the B1 exam. And there are other forms of getting the Austrian nationality where you do not have to have an exam. Also I think for some, long-term visas. you need to get B1 exam. And to be very Frank, I think if you plan on really living in Austria, you should do more than B1. If you plan to be living in Austria and be here and interact, I think you should get at least level B2. By the way, these A1 and A2 have basically the heading, the name of basic user. So if you have A1 and A2 you are a basic user of the language, and then the B1 and B2 have the name "independent user." So if, let's go into B2, so in B2, it means you can understand pretty complex ideas, both theoretical, but also like physical things. You can even do some technical discussion in an area, you know, of course, and you can fluently speak with native speakers. So this is B2, it's the level where you can have a communication with a native speaker without difficulty. So, as you see, it takes some time to get there. Also B2 levels, in many schools, including with me, have three parts. So, if you want to go to B2, it's basically, all together in many places. I don't know. Yeah. Zach's like 10 courses. 10 individual courses. So it takes some time. It is something you have to work on this for some time. It's not something that you get in, like a day or so. If you learn, for example, also to give you an idea what it means, if you, Do a higher school and also like a "Matura," it's called. That's what people do usually when they're 18 and it's more or less what this thing exists in many countries. I, it depends on, on your school system, but usually if you go to school until you're about 18, before you go to university, in many countries, you learn foreign languages. And usually the if you have two languages that you learn in addition to your own native language, usually the first one should be at the B2 level, and the second one should be at the B1 level. So, basically, that's the idea. That's what you should get when you go to school and you learn this language for like eight years. However, to be very honest, in my experience, depending very much on, on how much the person wanted to learn that and how it was taught in that school, many people don't actually achieve that. And I also said it before, so many people that pass a B1 or B2 exam, they have passed the exam, but in my experience, as a teacher, as a professional teacher, if I compare what they should be able to do, and what they are actually able to do is they're not. Like I have students that come to me and they say, "Yes, I passed the B1 exam, but please help me learn German, I cannot speak with people." So you have to get to an actual B2 level, to be able to do that. So when you are not able to speak to a native speaker easily, then you do not have B2 level, whatever exam you have past. So that's the level that I suggest to people to get minimum. When they want to live in Austria and stay here and be here and interact. If you don't do it, you will probably, depending on where you are, get along for some time, but, it's going to be hard because you will have a hard time interacting with any official places, and you will have a hard time interacting with people that live here. That being said, in Austria and in Germany, particularly if you're not in the big cities, people outside of the big cities, they speak the slang or to speak to the regional dialect of their regions, and, You basically need to be B2, and then spend some time, learning the regional versions of that language. So that sometimes, because people are very sometimes puzzled, they speak German and then there's Austrian German and it seems totally different, yes, it could be. it's not just with Austrian, it's, it's like that with many regions also in Germany. So you have to come up to the, to the level of understanding the standard German, so to say. We have one common language more or less that every German speaker understands and usually can also speak to some degree, but, we have regional versions of, of language. And I understand if you're a learner of German, this can be frustrating. I think it is nice, we have variations. It's it's a cultural thing. And it can be very interesting, but I understand the frustrations that could exist there. So I'm trying to help you to do that. I I'm also, including in my courses a little bit of information about my regional dialect, which is Austrian or particularly Viennese, so in order to help you to get that as well. But basically you have to first learn standard German and then learn a little bit more about the regional dialects. It's it's easy once you have learned German, it's. Hard. If you're trying to do both at the same time. And then the last levels that I'm going to go into our C1 and C2. C1 and C2 together they're called "proficient users," or that could be like something like a professional user. So C1 means that you can actually speak very, very fluently and you can even hold lectures and use language flexibly. Also in an academic and professional purpose. So, if you want to, for example, if you want to study in Austrian university, I think it's the same in German university, if you enroll in a, in a subject that is taught in German, you need to be C1. If you want to go, anything lowered and, if you want to do any courses like academic courses that are lowered and university level, for example in Austria, there are things called "Kollegs." —"Colleges." That's something that you can do after a high school graduation, then you'd need be too. If you want to go to university, you need to have C1 level, if you study a subject taught in German. So that is like, it says here, it can produce clear well-structured detailed texts on complex subject. So that's quite an achievement, if you get to C1, in any language. It is something that not all native speakers may have, depending on their school and education. So, this is really quite a high level of education. And then C2 is basically the level of a native speaker that is very well educated. So very fluently, very precisely, and you can differentiate in finer shades of meaning. I'm not sure if I will ever offer a C2 course, because I think you can get up to C1 level. And after that, basically, you never stop learning. I never stopped learning my own native language, that's German. I still look in dictionaries. I still learn new things all the time. I'm also translating, so that's also a reason why I learn things, but the same thing English. I really only speak English as a foreign language, all the other languages that I, I know a little bit of. I know a little bit of French and I know a little bit of Italian, but this is very down in the A1 level. But for every language that you really learn and you want to be professional or proficient in, very good in, it's kind of like something you never stopped learning. And that's good. That's not something that should be frustrating you. You shouldn't go ahead and think of, "Oh no, I will never." But it's, it's, it's an exciting thing. It will keep you awake, mentally, and it will, it can stay interesting. As a summary, if you just, like if you want to be able to speak sort of, and like come here for holidays and know a little bit, you will be fine with A2 or B1 levels. If you want to live in Austria and be here for a longer time, you should definitely go for B2 level, and if you want to study or be in university, you need to be C1. If you're interested in in my courses, you can go on courses.bettergerman.info. and you can already enroll in the beta version of of the first course. I don't have all the levels ready. I'm, making them. They are in the process of being put together. But, you can already enroll in a 1.1. You can already get access to it, early access now, like this is mainly for my podcast listeners. Okay. So it was a pleasure to talk to you. Thank you for listening to me. If you find this information helpful, please tell other people. Definitely subscribe to the podcast, and, I also invite you to subscribe to my newsletter. You can do that on bettergerman.info/newsletter. This will also give you access to all the materials that I have produced for the podcast so far, and that I will be producing. So talk to you next week. We will actually have a very interesting Sentence Pattern, and, also something to download. A Word List with the translation and so on. So, tune in and talk to you next week. Bye bye

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