How do you evaluate your language level in target languages?

Ask specific questions about your target languages. Beginner questions welcome!
BeaP
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Re: How do you evaluate your language level in target languages?

Postby BeaP » Wed Jun 01, 2022 6:38 pm

I learned English at school up to a certain point, but in high school we got a very bad teacher, and I mainly improved because I was watching cable TV all the time. My mother sent me to a language school in the summer holidays and I had several possibilities to speak. Later at the university I had foreign professors, so I spoke English relatively regularly. I spoke English fluently very early, no matter what you mean by this term. I remember clearly (it's weird) not having a clue about these grammar points: some or any, present perfect or simple past, past conditional. The difference is: I didn't realise that I was making mistakes. I was just talking and thinking that thing were OK. At the age of 15 (!) I sat the Oxford C2 exam (I don't remember the old name), because my fluency made me overestimate my level. I don't really remember how I realised that I had serious gaps in grammar, but I sat down to learn a grammar book. It took me a couple of months to complete it. I don't think that there's no room for further improvement, but at the moment I'm OK with what I know.

I've made the same mistake with Spanish, and learned the language through input. I speak very rarely, so I'm not totally fluent, but I know that if I only use the language, I'll end up speaking with a lot of mistakes that I don't even recognise. On the other hand, in the case of German I got a conservative teacher who put emphasis on grammar. The difference is that I know when I make mistakes and I'm annoyed by them. And this constant self-correction and frustration hinders fluency. I don't know if I could explain things well, and sorry if I derailed the thread. I just remembered that german2k01 likes Krashenite theories so I wanted to share this experience.
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Re: How do you evaluate your language level in target languages?

Postby rdearman » Wed Jun 01, 2022 6:41 pm

german2k01 wrote:so that means you do not take any test that may evaluate conscious knowledge of your grammar.

https://oda.dliflc.edu/ does test grammar. In fact, it gives you a score on: "Understanding complex grammatical relationships within sentences"
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Re: How do you evaluate your language level in target languages?

Postby Le Baron » Wed Jun 01, 2022 6:42 pm

luke wrote:This goes back to the "individuality" and "what are your (the individual) goals"? If "communicate with ease" is the main goal, and one can do so fluently, precise grammar may be secondary, versus "communicate with ease and correctness", which adds more rungs to the ladder to the goal.

@german2k01, you're in the "communicate with ease and correctness" camp, right?

Choice no.2 is something like a 20-year project. Maybe I exaggerate, but not much. Some people are good at this languages lark, but in my experience when you're in the target country you tend to slacken off somewhat on the hypercorrect usage view once you get good facility in usage. I've been tweaking/improving Dutch on and off for 20-something years - more sophisticated grammar, more idioms, more vocabulary, better pronunciation. Yet it's been a long time since anyone claimed not to understand me or did the 'narrowing eyes' thing whilst listening to me. :lol:
I really don't have time to waste trying to be an undetectable chameleon and I'd guess no-one else does really. I try to be as good as I can and to improve, but that's a long term thing. In the meantime you want to get going. A few years ago I watched a little video where I'm speaking Dutch with someone at a Christmas dinner in 2003. From my perspective now it looks lower intermediate. I laughed when I saw it and yet I remember the day quite well and that I spoke with my other half's relatives well enough. I don't recall any major handicaps. What I'm long-windedly trying to say is that very refined improvement is a long game, whereas in the meantime you can go very far and also improve with the less-than-perfect ability and using it for what it's meant to be used for: talking to people.
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Re: How do you evaluate your language level in target languages?

Postby zenmonkey » Thu Jun 02, 2022 5:47 am

I’ve used tests as motivation or for legal reasons. But I generally don’t try to evaluate too closely my level.

My children do that for me :lol: :roll:

What I do is constantly consider if I’m making mistakes and if the material I’m using is adequate.

My goals tend to be high verbal fluency and “correct” speech - mastery of wordplay and registers of slang. I want to read great books (but not necessarily “Great Books”), poetry and consume news media, podcasts and movies. So I tend to test myself against the learning material which I enjoy the best.
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Re: How do you evaluate your language level in target languages?

Postby IronMike » Fri Jun 03, 2022 12:02 am

I'm lucky that I can use the DLPT and OPI to determine my language level in my target language, as long as it has a DLPT/OPI!

I've also used ODA as Rick mentioned.
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Re: How do you evaluate your language level in target languages?

Postby german2k01 » Sat Jun 04, 2022 8:32 am

If you are good at reading and listening, but have not studied grammar consciously and have not done writing at all.
Is it fair to evaluate your language level based on your conscious grammar knowledge and written skills when it comes to writing an essay?
Does it reflect your true level? I mean it does not test your listening and speaking skills.
In real life when you are communicating with native speakers, communication involves only 2 skills. Listening and speaking.
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