Can a learner be at different CEFR levels in different skills?

Yes, and that is very common. A learner might read at B2 but speak at B1. The CEFR deliberately describes skills and activities separately, so a profile is often more accurate than a single level.

How long does it take to reach a CEFR level?

There is no fixed number of hours in the CEFR itself. It depends on the language, the learner's previous languages, intensity of learning and exposure outside class. Course providers publish their own estimates, which vary considerably.

Is the CEFR only for European languages?

No. The framework is language-neutral and is used for many languages worldwide, although its adaptation to some languages and writing systems needs extra work.

What is the CEFR Companion Volume?

It is the Council of Europe's extended version of the descriptors, published in its final form in 2020. It adds Pre-A1, mediation, online interaction, plurilingual and pluricultural competence and sign language descriptors, and uses gender-neutral wording.

CEFR Levels A1 to C2 Explained for Teachers

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) describes language ability on six levels from A1 to C2, always in terms of what learners can do with the language: understand, speak, write, interact and mediate. For teachers, the levels are a shared language for describing progress, setting lesson aims and talking to learners about where they stand.

The three bands and six levels

The CEFR was published by the Council of Europe in 2001. It groups the six levels into three bands:

Basic user: A1 and A2
Independent user: B1 and B2
Proficient user: C1 and C2

The following table summarises each level in our own words. For the official descriptors, see the Council of Europe’s CEFR pages.

Level	In short	Typical can-do in class
Pre-A1	First words and phrases	Can say their name and age and answer very simple questions with single words
A1	Very simple everyday language	Can introduce themselves, ask and answer simple questions about familiar things if the other person speaks slowly
A2	Routine situations	Can shop, order food, describe their family and daily routine in simple sentences
B1	Getting by independently	Can deal with most travel situations, tell a story, give reasons for an opinion in simple connected text
B2	Confident and detailed	Can follow a discussion on a familiar topic, argue a point of view, write a clear text with pros and cons
C1	Flexible and precise	Can understand demanding, longer texts, express ideas fluently and adapt language to different situations
C2	Near effortless	Can understand virtually everything heard or read and express fine shades of meaning

What the Companion Volume added

In 2020 the Council of Europe published the CEFR Companion Volume with an extended set of descriptors. The most relevant additions for teachers:

Pre-A1, a level below A1 for very early learners.
Mediation: passing on information between people, explaining a text, summarising, helping others understand. This reflects what learners actually do with languages.
Online interaction: chatting, collaborating online, taking part in discussions in digital spaces.
Plurilingual and pluricultural competence: using all one’s languages as a resource.
Gender-neutral and modality-inclusive wording, including descriptors for sign languages.

The idea behind all this is the action-oriented view of language learning, explained in the action-oriented approach of the CEFR.

How to use the levels in teaching

As lesson aims

A can-do descriptor turns into a concrete lesson aim. “Can describe their daily routine” at A2 becomes: by the end of the lesson, learners can tell a partner about their weekday in six sentences using time expressions. The lesson planning guide shows how to build a lesson from such an aim.

For assessment criteria

The CEFR includes scales for qualitative aspects such as range, accuracy, fluency, coherence and interaction. These can be adapted into rubrics for speaking and writing, as shown in rubrics for speaking and writing.

For self-assessment

Learners can tick can-do statements at the start and end of a unit. This makes progress visible and supports learner autonomy. See self-assessment and language portfolios.

For placing learners

When you group learners or start a new course, the levels give you a reference point. A practical approach is described in placement tests.

Common misunderstandings

“B1 means the same in every test.” Exams aligned to the CEFR interpret the levels in their own way. Results from different providers are comparable only to a limited degree.
“A learner is B1.” Most learners have an uneven profile across skills. “B1 in speaking, B2 in reading” is more precise.
“The levels are equal steps.” Higher levels usually take much longer to reach than lower ones, because the range of language and situations grows.
“The CEFR is a curriculum.” It is a reference framework. Curricula, textbooks and exams are built on it, but it does not prescribe content or methods.
“Native-speaker level is C2.” The CEFR does not use the native speaker as a benchmark. C2 describes a highly proficient user, not an imitation of a native speaker.

Sub-levels in practice

Many textbooks and schools divide levels further, for example A2.1 and A2.2 or B1+. These sub-levels are practical for course planning, but they are not uniform: a “B1.2” course in one institution may differ from another. When you compare, look at the descriptors, not only the label.