Pronunciation, stress, rhythm and intonation, though influenced by the first language or regional variation, rarely interfere with ease of understanding.

Basic grammatical structures and sentence patterns are consistently well controlled.  Complex structures are attempted but with errors which sometimes interfere with meaning.

Vocabulary range and accuracy are sufficient to communicate effectively on common, concrete and work-related topics.  Paraphrases consistently and successfully.  Vocabulary is sometimes idiomatic.

Able to speak at length with relative ease on familiar topics but may not vary speech flow as a stylistic device. Can make use of appropriate discourse markers and connectors.

Comprehension is accurate on common, concrete and work-related topics and mostly accurate when the speaker is confronted with a linguistic or situational complication or an unexpected turn of events.  Is able to comprehend a range of speech varieties (dialect and/or accent) or registers.

Responses are immediate, appropriate and informative. Manages the speaker/listener relationship effectively.

Pronunciation, stress, rhythm and intonation, though influenced by the first language or regional variation, only sometimes interfere with ease of understanding.

Basic grammatical structures and sentence patterns are used creatively and are usually well controlled. Errors may occur, particularly in unusual or unexpected circumstances, but rarely interfere with meaning.

Vocabulary range and accuracy are usually sufficient to communicate effectively on common, concrete and work-related topics. Can often paraphrase successfully when lacking vocabulary in unusual or unexpected circumstances.

Produces stretches of language at an appropriate tempo. There may be occasional loss of fluency on transition from rehearsed or formulaic speech to spontaneous interaction, but this does not prevent effective communication. Can make limited use of discourse markers or connectors.  Fillers are not distracting.

Comprehension is mostly accurate on

common, concrete and work-related topics when the accent or variety used is sufficiently intelligible for an international community of listeners. When the candidate is confronted with a linguistic or situational complication or an unexpected turn of events, comprehension may be slower or require clarification strategies.

Responses are usually immediate, appropriate and informative. Initiates and maintains exchanges even when dealing with an unexpected turn of events. Deals adequately with apparent misunderstandings by checking, confirming or clarifying.

Pronunciation, stress, rhythm and intonation are influenced by the first language or regional variation and frequently interfere with ease of understanding.

Basic grammatical structures and sentence patterns associated with predictable situations are not always well controlled.  Errors frequently interfere with meaning.

Vocabulary range and accuracy are often sufficient to communicate effectively on common, concrete and work-related topics but range is limited and the word choice often inappropriate. Is often unable to paraphrase successfully when lacking vocabulary.

Produces stretches of language, but phrasing and pausing are often inappropriate. Hesitations or slowness in language processing may prevent effective communication. Fillers are sometimes distracting.

Comprehension is often accurate on common, concrete and work-related topics when the accent or variety used is sufficiently intelligible for an international community of listeners. May fail to understand a linguistic or situational complication or an unexpected turn of events.

Responses are sometimes immediate, appropriate and informative. Can initiate and maintain exchanges with reasonable ease on familiar topics and in predictable situations.  Generally inadequate when dealing with an unexpected turn of events.

Pronunciation, stress, rhythm and intonation are heavily influenced by the first language or regional variation and usually interfere with ease of understanding.

Shows only limited control of a few simple memorized grammatical structures and sentence patterns.

Limited vocabulary range consisting only of isolated words and memorized phrases.

Can produce very short, isolated, memorized utterances with frequent pausing and a distracting use of fillers to search for expressions and articulate less familiar words.

Comprehension is limited to isolated, memorized phrases when they are carefully and slowly articulated.

Response time is slow and often inappropriate. Interaction is limited to simple routine exchanges.