As early as 1989, 29 well-known institutions in Europe came together, representing 24 languages. You found the Association of Language Testers in Europe, or ALTE for short. These include institutions such as the Goethe Institute and the University of Cambridge.

ALTE has the following goals:

• Support for the recognition of international language certificates in Europe.

• Establishment of generally binding standards for the assessment of language skills.

ALTE defines language levels on the basis of so-called can-do formulations.

Here is an example for the OLD level 1. One person ....

• CAN express simple opinions or wishes in a familiar context.

• CAN understand simple information on a familiar topic, such as in product information, notices, or reports.

• CAN fill out forms and write short, simple letters or postcards relating to personal matters.

These optional formulations and the associated levels will later be adopted by the European Commission in the so-called Common European Framework of Reference - GER for short - for the assessment of language skills (also Common European Framework CEF for short).

A total of 6 levels are defined:

A1 - A2 - B1 - B2 - C1 - C2

With A1 to C2 or from beginner to native speaker, the entire range of skills for foreign languages ​​is defined, with individual formulations for different areas of activity - commercial, technical, medical, scientific, etc.

So what is behind B2 or what does someone mean who describes a language level as pre-intermediate, because these terms - elementary, intermediate, advanced, etc. - are still in use.

We try to give you a brief overview here and offer you the opportunity, if necessary, to find out more in detail on the respective websites.