"What's my English level?" Going from Beginner to Intermediate English

Hey, everyone. This is Alex from engVid; and today, I want to talk to you about

how to tell if you are an intermediate-English learner. So, these

are going to be some guidelines to let you know if you are making progress, and

if you are above the beginner level, and if you're maybe ready to start looking

at advanced-student content. So, the first thing you should be able to do if

you are an intermediate-English student is to be able to talk about your daily

routines, your likes, your dislikes, your personal preferences. So, for

example, if I ask you: "What do you do every day?" you can tell me: "I get up

at seven am. I have breakfast. I brush my teeth." You probably get dressed

before that. "I go to work. I have lunch. I come home, and then I relax

before I go to sleep" — something like this. And you're able to answer

questions, like: "What do you like to do in your free time? What hobbies do you

have?" And you can say: "Well, I like to do this. I don't like to do that. I

prefer this instead of that". So, you're able to talk about your daily routines,

your likes, your dislikes, and your preferences. Number two: You should be

very comfortable with the English alphabet, if you want to consider

yourself an intermediate-level student. So, you can spell things out — if people

ask you to spell your name, for example. Numbers are another area that you should

be able to be comfortable with at this stage. So, if someone asks you for your

phone number, for example, you can say it in English without needing to, you

know... translate in your mind. Now, before I continue, I want to state that,

you know... this list, there are going to be some things that even advanced

students have trouble with. You will always have blind spots. "Blind spots"

are, you know... areas that are a problem that maybe you haven't

considered, or you haven't worked on enough just yet.

Next: You can express what you want in public places. So, whether you go to a

restaurant, whether you are at the subway station, or another place where

you have to interact with someone and ask for something — for example, if

you're a customer at a store; or a client at a bank — you can express what

you need to do. So, you can use phrases, like: "I would like", or: "I want", or:

"Can I have", or: "Could you help me with...?". So, you're okay, basically,

making requests. Next: You are also comfortable and familiar with a lot of

the basic elementary grammar topics. So, in terms of tenses, if you are an

intermediate student, you should have relative familiarity and comfort with

the present simple, the present continuous, so: "I play", "I am

playing"; the simple past: "I played"; the present perfect: "I have played";

and the future simple: "I will play". So, if you have at least a functional

use of these tenses; in addition to, of course, knowing how to use things, like:

"much" and "many", having a basic understanding of how articles work as

well, and how to use, you know... adjectives beyond just: "cold" and

"hot", and colours, and things like this. You should have a pretty good

command of these things. And you should be able to, you know... make questions

with all of them. So: "What did you do yesterday? Where did you go? Have you

seen that movie?" So, you're able to have conversations with these tenses

with these grammar elements.

Now, in terms of comprehension and listening skills, you should be able to

understand most basic children's television shows and some movies. Of

course, this will depend on the movie, this will depend on the show, as there

are still shows and movies where characters speak a little quickly, for

example. But a show, like: "Peppa Pig", for example — an intermediate student

should be able to understand what is going on in an episode of "Peppa Pig"

because, number one: The pictures are very clear and they tell you what's

happening. But number two: The language is relatively simple, and they pause

quite frequently, and they speak at, like, a good pace. So, an intermediate

student should be able to understand what's happening in the majority of an

episode of "Peppa Pig", for example. Finally, speaking takes time, but you're

able to do it. You're not ready to have political discussions, for example, but

you can express yourself; you can participate in a conversation with

people whose first language is English. And you don't feel... well, you still

feel and you will feel for a while this kind of, you know... sometimes anxious

feeling when you are speaking, like, you're struggling to find the vocabulary

and the words that you need, but you can express yourself.

So, if you go down the list of what I just mentioned about, you know... your

routines, your likes, your dislikes, being able to understand shows, knowing

the alphabet — these are all good ways to let you know that: "You know what? I

am functional in English. I am an intermediate student. People can

understand me now, and I can express myself better." You should feel really

proud of yourself, honestly. And go back and rewatch this video. Go over the

points again. Remind yourself of the grammar topics that I mentioned — the

tenses, in particular, that you should be comfortable with. And with some

practice, some dedicated practice daily, regularly — you will get there; you will

make it happen. And if you enjoyed this video, make sure to do the quiz. When

you're finished, subscribe to my channel on YouTube, turn on notifications, give

me a thumbs up, and tell your friends. Share with everyone, and leave a comment

down below. What level do you think you are in your English journey right now?

And what do you think you need to do to get to the next level? I'm genuinely

curious, so please let me know in the comments. Until next time, I wish you

success in your studies. Thanks for clicking.