European Language Portfolio

Speaking Skills Self-Assessment Grid

This Self-Assessment Tool is based on one of several components of the European Language Portfolio developed under the auspices of the European Council. The European Language Portfolio is designed to provide continuity and comparability throughout Europe in documenting and assessing language skills.

Which of the following descriptions most closely matches your skill level when you speak English? Choose one, then click on the icon to go to the appropriate assessment sheet. If you feel your skills levels are somewhere between two or more descriptions, you may complete more than one sheet.

Spoken Interaction:

• I can interact in a simple way, provided the other person is prepared to repeat or rephrase things more slowly and help me formulate what I'm trying to say. I can ask and answer simple questions in areas of immediate need or on very familiar topics.



• I can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar topics and activities. I can handle very short social exchanges, even though I can't usually understand enough to keep the conversation going myself.
  
  
• I can deal with most situations likely to arise while travelling in an area where the language is spoken. I can enter unprepared into conversation on topics that are familiar, of personal interest or pertinent to everyday life (e.g., family, hobbies, work, travel and current events).



• I can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible. I can take an active part in discussion in familiar contexts, accounting for and sustaining my views.



• I can express myself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. I can use language flexibly and effectively for social and professional purposes. I can formulate ideas and opinions with precision and relate my contribution skillfully to those of other speakers.



• I can take part effortlessly in any conversation or discussion and have a good familiarity with idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms. I can express myself fluently and convey finer shades of meaning precisely. If I do have a problem I can backtrack and restructure around the difficulty so smoothly that other people are hardly aware of it.

Spoken Production:

• I can use simple phrases and sentences to describe where I live and people I know.
  
  
• I can use a series of phrases and sentences to describe in simple terms my family and other people, living conditions, my educational background and my present or most recent job.
  
  
• I can connect phrases in a simple way in order to describe experiences and events, my dreams, hopes and ambitions. I can briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. I can narrate a story or relate the plot of a book or film or describe my reactions.
  
  
• I can present clear, detailed descriptions on a wide range of subjects related to my field of interest. I can explain a viewpoint on a topical issue, giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.
  
  
• I can present clear, detailed descriptions of complex subjects integrating sub-themes, developing particular points and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion.
  
  
• I can present a clear, smoothly-flowing description or argument in a style appropriate to the context and with an effective logical structure which helps the recipient to notice and remember significant points.

This page is maintained by Janet Sutherland
Last updated: 10 September 2005