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What do you mean by "Intermediate"...? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| TheBiscuit Tetraglot Senior Member Mexico Joined 5924 days ago 532 posts - 619 votes  Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, Italian Studies: German, Croatian | Message 17 of 18 22 June 2009 at 12:43am | IP Logged |
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Intermediate = treading water in the language.
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| RBenham Triglot Groupie IndonesiaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5644 days ago 60 posts - 62 votes Speaks: English*, German, French Studies: Indonesian | Message 18 of 18 22 June 2009 at 9:29pm | IP Logged |
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I think these language levels, while better than nothing, are still rather misleading.
I am familiar with the CEFR system, which maps onto the ALTE scale, and have done certifications at C2 level in my two main languages. In German, I have done the Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom, which is described as "C2+" (and got the max possible grade). Nevertheless, I am very dissatisfied with my level of German. I actually feel more comfortable in French, but I am still dissatisfied with that.e To put this in perspective, I can probably write academic French or German better than most natives, but may have trouble interacting with people in the street or supermarket. Once I was flummoxed by the instructions in a laundromat in Hamburg, because they contained a word, Polette I think, that I didn't know and wasn't either in Wahrig or Duden (the two German monoglot dictionaries I possessed). I don't suppose I should feel too bad about it, as a few locals I approached about it didn't know either.... It is for this reason that I have been reluctant to undertake other languages, other than a few dead languages (Greek, Old English, Coptic). One of the best things about dead languages is that it is neither useful nor possible to gain an active command of them. (Well, I know Latinists who communicate in the language, but even here there is no population of "native speakers" against whom to judge their proficiency.) I know that, perfectionist that I am, I would not be able to stop learning until I reached C2 level, and then I would be frustrated at the difficulty of getting any better. However, I am now living in Indonesia for largely economic and practical reasons. The island I live on (Batam) is part of a special economic zone, which means that a lot of nationalities are represented, and so English is used as a lingua franca. But recently I have acquired a girlfriend who speaks little English, and my Indonesian has been coming ahead in leaps and bounds. So I am starting to feel an urge to learn it properly. So heaven help me! 1 person has voted this message useful |
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