UNIT 12
Needs analysis and understanding levels
Understanding the level of students will happen quite quickly
once you start teaching. Here is an overview.
Level
Description
Beginner
Student knowledge will range from absolutely nothing, which is very rare,
to a mix of words and phrases the student has picked up. But there is
little or no structure. Approx. 0 - 1000 words.
Elementary
This is where the student’s learning really comes on. They are getting to
grips with the tenses and can communicate simply about general topics.
Expect a lot of errors at this stage since new tenses and form will need a
lot of consolidation. Approx. 1000 words.
Pre-intermediate
Growing confidence in using tenses. There is also a big push here to learn
vocabulary, phrases and functions. Approx. 1500 words.
Intermediate
This level is usually very keen to use English, but fluency can be a
concern. Their knowledge of grammar is very good, it just needs
consolidation. A student’s vocabulary here is very good too. However, the
students might feel that they have reached stagnation since a lot of time
is spent on refinement and consolidation. Approx. 3000 words.
Post-intermediate
The level of English here is high and you would expect students to be
able to communicate on a wide range of topics. There will be mistakes,
particularly use of idioms, phrasal verbs etc. Approx. 5000 words
Advanced
Students are getting to the point of near-native ability and should have
no problems studying at a British university. Approx. 7000 words.
ASSESSMENT OF LEVELS
As the native English teacher in a school you could be asked to assess the level of students from
time to time.
There are a number of ways to do this: writing tests, speaking tests, and listening and reading
tests. One popular way is a simple interview, whereby you begin with very simple questions in the
present then gradually progress increasing the difficulty of the questions, incorporating more
complex grammar, vocabulary and idiomatic expression as you go. The student has to respond
using the same grammar as the question. You will see at what point the student begins to
struggle and then you can see what level the student is at.
Additionally, when assessing new students, you will need to ask about why they are learning
English, or if they have learnt English before. Furthermore, it is quite possible that the student is
rusty and his/her English will come back after a few lessons, so there are a few things to watch
out for when assessing new levels.
** See Unit 1 of the 50-hour Online Methodology course for more useful practice with
levels.
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