The following skill levels as described by the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) characterize proficiency in the four language skills. Each of the six base levels (Data coded 00, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50) implies control of any previous base level’s functions and accuracy. The plus level designation (Data coded 06, 16, 26, 36, and 46) will be assigned when proficiency substantially exceeds one base skill level, but does not fully meet the criteria for the next base level. The plus level descriptions are therefore supplementary to the base level descriptions.
A skill level is assigned to a person by means of an authorized language examination. Examiners assign a level on a variety of performance criteria exemplified in the descriptive statements. Therefore, the examples given here illustrate, but do not exhaustively describe, either the skills a person may possess or situations in which he may function effectively.
Statements describing accuracy refer to typical stages in the development of competence in the most commonly taught languages in formal instructional programs. In other languages, emerging competence parallels these characterizations, but often with different details.
Unless otherwise specified, the terms “native listener,” “native reader,” “native speaker,” and “native writer” refer to native users of a standard dialect.
“Well-educated,” in the context of these proficiency descriptions, does not necessarily imply formal higher education. However, in cultures where formal higher education is common, the language use of persons who have had such education is considered the standard. That is, such a person meets contemporary expectations for the formal, careful style of the language, as well as a range of less formal varieties of the language.