The Upper-Intermediate level is an advanced average
Really face the needIntensive communication in English is a very small number of people. For professional development, reading and listening skills are sufficient. These skills are mastered independently, without a tutor, the success will depend only on the time spent and the efforts made. But what should be the minimum level necessary for professional growth? The answer is Upper-Intermediate. This is the so-called medium advanced. Insufficient for Advanced, but much higher than a simple average.
Learn, learn and learn ... all life
As you know, linguistic schools are interested in the fact that a person learns the language endlessly, from time to time yet showing results that can be used in advertising.
If a person does not rotate in an English-speaking environment,even just to maintain the level it needs constant interaction with native speakers and samples of the language. Therefore, while you are in a non-English-speaking country, it is advisable to still engage in foreign - in the right amount you need. There is even such a thing as Lifestyle English - a person simply considers interesting topics with the teacher and thus maintains the level, although it does not grow particularly.
Approximately the same knowledge
The introduction of international standards wasthe need to compare the quality of knowledge and skills in different languages and unify the classification of the degree of ownership of them. The problem was that some schools could have dozens of levels just for pumping money out of their listeners, and learning itself turned into a form of leisure.
Of course, it was not just the arbitrariness of schools, butand the need for people to understand that if two are diagnosed with Upper-Intermediate, it means that two have approximately the same knowledge.
For the profession will suffice
Since this level is consideredthe majority of employers are sufficient for admission to the state of the non-linguist, we will describe it in detail. Upper-intermediate in the skills of listening and speaking is an opportunity to discuss your personal and professional experience, as well as news that a person heard or read in the newspaper.
In general, in terms of their own speech, this level(its international name is B2) is limited to still familiar topics. Such a person does not have enough vocabulary to work with the material unfamiliar.
Read all know how?
Another important skill that is considered the mosteasy, - reading. However, the opportunity to understand correctly is also the result of regular replenishment of the passive vocabulary. How well does B2 understand texts in English? Upper-Intermediate is the ability to understand things that are carefully explained (for example, advertising), as well as the ability to decipher the most commonly used abbreviations, to understand culinary terms in the menu of restaurants, etc. That is, this understanding of words from commonly used areas, as well as texts , intended for non-carriers.
Academic needs
Foreign universities accept students with a B2 level for some specialties that do not require high language skills (usually technical ones).
This is because at this level peoplealready able to conduct a sufficiently detailed summary, and can also write official letters using their skills in non-standard situations. Figuratively speaking, such a student "will not be lost" because of a lack of language skills. Is there a special test to accurately determine the level? Yes, test Upper-Intermediate. It's nothing more than the famous FCE. Also at this stage receive 87-109 points in the TOEFL exam or 5-6 in the IELTS exam. Upper-Intermediate is a pretty high bar and an elusive goal.
Which test should I choose?
If you want to enter a foreign university,taking different tests, it is preferable to take TOEFL. It is the most standardized, and with a good development of the skills of actually working with this test, you can pass it even better than the real level allows.
With IELTS, the problem is that the openassignments involve certain correct answers. If you answered correctly, but did not formulate the idea in a way that the compilers demanded, the answer will not be counted. Let us give an example.
Wall of stone and misunderstanding
There is a concept in English such as stonewall construction. This means that the noun is used near another noun as an adjective (in fact, the name of the structure is an example). This method allows you to save words. On the IELTS, the correct answer is the wall made of stone. And the design will be counted incorrect, although from the point of view of grammar it is completely admissible. Therefore, in the TOEFL exam - with ready answers - there is less risk. But Canadian and British universities often require only IELTS (or one of the Cambridge exams). If you have a choice, agree to the TOEFL.
Only after school
How often does Upper-Intermediate occur? This is a difficult question. High school students know the language at this level after the end of the secondary school (if it is of high quality), but as the contact with the native speaker decreases, they degrade, if they do not do linguistics purposefully. Most of those who believe that they know English, own it at the Intermediate level, or B1.
How to distinguish the level of Upper-Intermediate fromAdvanced? There is a comic way - actually advanced (C1) have more doubts about the choice of grammatical constructions. In reality, almost everyone knows only proficient, or who know the language at the C2 level, but it's very easy to distinguish them from B2. Most of the problems of those who know the language on the average advanced level are associated with productive skills - speaking and writing. To develop the first skill at this level, you can already search for a friend carrier. For the second one, find a suitable recipe for the used course - Upper-Intermediate workbook (this is a job quest, which is used not for speech skills, but for working with vocabulary and grammar). Very good course The English File - in terms of methodology, it is the most modern and convenient.
