Pragmatic competences

	FLEXIBILITY
C2	Shows great flexibility reformulating ideas in differing linguistic forms to give emphasis, to differentiate according to the situation, interlocutor, etc. and to eliminate ambiguity.
C1	Can adjust what he/she says and the means of expressing it to the situation and the recipient and adopt a level of formality appropriate to the circumstances.
B2	Can adjust what he/she says and the means of expressing it to the situation and the recipient and adopt a level of formality appropriate to the circumstances.
B2	Can adjust to the changes of direction, style and emphasis normally found in conversation. Can vary formulation of what he/she wants to say.
B1	Can adapt his/her expression to deal with less routine, even difficult, situations.
B1	Can exploit a wide range of simple language flexibly to express much of what he/she wants.
A2	Can adapt well rehearsed memorised simple phrases to particular circumstances through limited lexical substitution.
A2	Can expand learned phrases through simple recombinations of their elements.
A1	No descriptor available

	TURNTAKING
C2	Can select a suitable phrase from a readily available range of discourse functions to preface his/her remarks appropriately in order to get the floor, or to gain time and keep the floor whilst thinking.
C1	Can select a suitable phrase from a readily available range of discourse functions to preface his/her remarks appropriately in order to get the floor, or to gain time and keep the floor whilst thinking.
B2	Can intervene appropriately in discussion, exploiting appropriate language to do so. Can initiate, maintain and end discourse appropriately with effective turntaking. Can initiate discourse, take his/her turn when appropriate and end conversation when he/she needs to, though he/she may not always do this elegantly. Can use stock phrases (e.g. ‘That’s a difficult question to answer’) to gain time and keep the turn whilst formulating what to say.
B1	Can intervene in a discussion on a familiar topic, using a suitable phrase to get the floor.
B1	Can initiate, maintain and close simple face-to-face conversation on topics that are familiar or of personal interest.
A2	Can use simple techniques to start, maintain, or end a short conversation. Can initiate, maintain and close simple, face-to-face conversation.
A2	Can ask for attention.
A1	No descriptor available

	THEMATIC DEVELOPMENT
C2	Can give elaborate descriptions and narratives, integrating sub-themes, developing particular points and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion.
C1	Can give elaborate descriptions and narratives, integrating sub-themes, developing particular points and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion.
B2	Can develop a clear description or narrative, expanding and supporting his/her main points with relevant supporting detail and examples.
B1	Can reasonably fluently relate a straightforward narrative or description as a linear sequence of points.
A2	Can tell a story or describe something in a simple list of points.
A1	No descriptor available

	COHERENCE AND COHESION
C2	Can create coherent and cohesive text making full and appropriate use of a variety of organisational patterns and a wide range of cohesive devices.
C1	Can produce clear, smoothly flowing, well-structured speech, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.
B2	Can use a variety of linking words efficiently to mark clearly the relationships between ideas.
B2	Can use a limited number of cohesive devices to link his/her utterances into clear, coherent discourse, though there may be some ‘jumpiness’ in a long contribution.
B1	Can link a series of shorter, discrete simple elements into a connected, linear sequence of points.
A2	Can use the most frequently occurring connectors to link simple sentences in order to tell a story or describe something as a simple list of points.
A2	Can link groups of words with simple connectors like ‘and’, ‘but’ and ‘because’.
A1	Can link words or groups of words with very basic linear connectors like ‘and’ or ‘then’.

	SPOKEN FLUENCY
C2	Can express him/herself at length with a natural, effortless, unhesitating flow. Pauses only to reflect on precisely the right words to express his/her thoughts or to find an appropriate example or explanation.
C1	Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously, almost effortlessly. Only a conceptually difficult subject can hinder a natural, smooth flow of language.
B2	Can communicate spontaneously, often showing remarkable fluency and ease of expression in even longer complex stretches of speech.
B2	Can produce stretches of language with a fairly even tempo; although he/she can be hesitant as he/she searches for patterns and expressions, there are few noticeably long pauses. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without imposing strain on either party.
B1	Can express him/herself with relative ease. Despite some problems with formulation resulting in pauses and ‘cul-de-sacs’, he/she is able to keep going effectively without help.
B1	Can keep going comprehensibly, even though pausing for grammatical and lexical planning and repair is very evident, especially in longer stretches of free production.
A2	Can make him/herself understood in short contributions, even though pauses, false starts and reformulation are very evident.
A2	Can construct phrases on familiar topics with sufficient ease to handle short exchanges, despite very noticeable hesitation and false starts.
A1	Can manage very short, isolated, mainly pre-packaged utterances, with much pausing to search for expressions, to articulate less familiar words, and to repair communication.

	PROPOSITIONAL PRECISION
C2	Can convey finer shades of meaning precisely by using, with reasonable accuracy, a wide range of qualifying devices (e.g. adverbs expressing degree, clauses expressing limitations). Can give emphasis, differentiate and eliminate ambiguity.
C1	Can qualify opinions and statements precisely in relation to degrees of, for example, certainty/ uncertainty, belief/doubt, likelihood, etc.
B2	Can pass on detailed information reliably.
B1	Can explain the main points in an idea or problem with reasonable precision.
B1	Can convey simple, straightforward information of immediate relevance, getting across which point he/she feels is most important. Can express the main point he/she wants to make comprehensibly.
A2	Can communicate what he/she wants to say in a simple and direct exchange of limited information on familiar and routine matters, but in other situations he/she generally has to compromise the message.
A1	No descriptor available

© Council of Europe