Today is the Great Union Day, Romania’s national holiday!
To keep the story short, it celebrates the reunion of Translyvania with Romania in 1918. Learn more here.
Today is the Great Union Day, Romania’s national holiday!
To keep the story short, it celebrates the reunion of Translyvania with Romania in 1918. Learn more here.
One of the best things about working with international people is all the things you can learn from them!
Watch me stumble through my first few phrases of Polish after a couple weeks of 15-minute lunchtime Polish lessons 🙂
The featured image for this post was taken inside the Wieliczka salt mine in Poland when I visited in 2011. I didn’t get to stay long in the country, but I recall that the food was incredible!
I first came into contact with the CEFR language levels during a semester in Orléans, France. I was presented with a French placement exam to figure out my level.
The CEFR (Common European Framework for Languages) tests are produced in multiple countries. They are often referred to with different acronyms according to the language in question.
The levels are: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2, with A1 being the most elementary level and C2 corresponding to a “native” speaker’s level.
People who take language learning seriously use these levels are used to judge a person’s language skills. I can’t say how many times I’ve met someone who tells me they are “fluent” in Spanish, but the second I ask them a simple question (“¡Muy bien! ¿Como estas?), they either refuse to respond or use grammar that is heavily flawed.
There are many levels in between. In fact, many people believe that nobody is ever really “fluent” in any language, as you can never know 100% of grammar rules and vocabulary– languages are just too complex.
Nevertheless, CEFR provides a way for people to identify themselves with levels that attempt to define language competence.
CEFR has it’s own definitions on what each level means which are very thorough and very diplomatic. In my experience, and in the fewest words possible, here’s what they mean:
At the B2 level, you might still speak a bit slowly and need a dictionary on occasion. Usually, though, you can start to take college classes and work a job in the language with this level.
[Cover photo: Paris and the Eiffel Tower as seen from the Arc de Triomphe.]