B1 (THRESHOLD USER) LEVEL

This examination is based on the Threshold specifications worked out by the Council of Europe and assesses whether the candidates can meet the basic communication demands of everyday life and whether they can create and maintain social, cultural and work relationships at a basic level in an Esperanto language environment. Passing the examination requires 350-450 hours of study, depending on the circumstances. A successful Threshold level examination creates the foundation for further progress towards the Independent User level.

 

INFORMATION TABLE - B1 USER LEVEL

	Time	Type of task	Length	Points
Oral exam	10 minutes	Structured conversation (conversation)	about 4 min.	*40 points
		Talking about a certain topic (based on a picture stimulus) (choosing from two sets of pictures)	about 3 min.
		Situation (picking a topic)	about 3 min.
	30 minutes	Listening comprehension: - partly edited dialogue (multiple choice tests, multiple cloze, cloze test) - (edited) text adapted from the audio-visual media (information transfer exercise, multiple choice tests, multiple cloze, cloze tests)	(1800-2200 characters)	20 points
Oral exam ('A' type):				60 points
Written exam	120 minutes	Reading comprehension: - one longer or two shorter written (edited) texts (information transfer exercise, multiple choice tests, cloze, multiple cloze, yes-no questions)	(2600-3000 characters)	20 points
		Composition (letter): - two topics, four or five instructions	13-15 lines (approx. 100 words)	20 points
		Use of the language: - different kinds of grammar and lexical tasks not related to a text (multiple cloze, cloze, transformation tasks, etc.)	20 items	10 points
Written exam ('B' type):				50 points
Total ('C' type):				110 points

 

*The number of points at the oral examination:

The areas of evaluation at the oral examination:	Number of points:
communicative value, pronunciation:	15 points (3 x 5 points for each task)
vocabulary:	15 points (3 x 5 points for each task)
accuracy:	5 points
listening comprehension:	5 points (measured by another task as well)
Total:	40 points