Choose the right Languages for All stage

Be honest and realistic:

• If you start in a class which is at too low a level, you may get bored and frustrated.
• If you join a class which is at too high a level, you may struggle to keep up.

Find the right stage for you

Read the questions for each stage.

If you can answer yes to most of them, and the ones for the previous stages, then you should apply for that level.

If you discover the stage you chose is too easy or difficult you can change to a more appropriate level.

Stage 1

Do you have little or no knowledge of the language?

• would like to gain a University Certificate at the end of the course?
• know only some simple phrases such as Hello / Goodbye / How are you?/ Please, Thank you / Excuse me?
• can introduce yourself and talk simply about your self / family? such as I am a student, I live in Dundee

Stage 2

Have you already learned some of this language either at school or a previous adult education class?

• can you talk about your likes and dislikes? I don’t like white wine, I prefer beer
• are you familiar with numbers up to at least 100?
• can you order food and drinks in a restaurant, ask for tickets or book a room/table? I would like to book a table for 7.30 tonight
• can you write a holiday postcard?
• do you have a basic knowledge of grammatical structures?

Stage 3

Do you have a good Standard Grade / O-level / GCSE or have you attended adult education classes?

• have you spent a short time living in a country where the target language is spoken?
• could you go shopping for clothes and ask for and describe what you want (colour, size, bigger, smaller)?
• could you talk or write in some detail about where you went on holiday last year and what you did?
• could you talk or write about what you’re going to do next week?
• do you have a general knowledge of basic grammar?

Stage 4

Do you have a good, recent Higher/AS Level or a rusty A-level or have you attended adult education classes?

• have you spent some time living in a country where the target language is spoken?
• can you understand large numbers (e.g. 25,000/1996) when spoken at a natural native speaker level?
• can you talk or write about different jobs/professions and give opinions?
• can you use a range of tenses in your speech and writing? (past, present, future, conditional)

Stage 5

Do you have a good A-level / Advanced Higher? OR Have you attended adult education classes or lived in a country where the language is spoken

• can you arrange social events, holidays etc. confidently by telephone?
• can you discuss current affairs to a limited extent?
• can you use a wide range of tenses/moods in your speech and writing? (past, present, future, conditional, subjunctive)
• can you understand most of what is said in conversations between native speakers?

Stage 6

Have you studied the language over a period of many years, or at University? Have you attended adult education classes to an advanced level or lived in a country where the language is spoken

• can you sustain a conversation, with some hesitation, on a variety of subjects?
• can you follow most of the news on television/radio?
• can you read articles from newspapers/magazines/internet without consulting a dictionary (much!) and write on a variety of topics, in a variety of registers such as formal letters?