Level Descriptions

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    Institute of Intensive English                                                                                    ...Honolulu, Hawaii
             iiemahalo@hawaii.rr.com   Tel : 808.924.2117  Fax : 808.924.3227
               2155 Kalakaua Avenue, Suite 700  Honolulu, HI 96815, USA


	Level Descriptions for the General English Course

IIE offers six levels of instruction in the General English Course for students from beginning to advanced levels. Other elective skill classes such as Academic English, Academic TOEFL, TOEIC, Cambridge, and Business English require students to test into Level 400 or above to enter the course. There is a minimum requirement of 4 students to hold an elective skill class.

Levels 100, 200, and 300 are primarily “building” levels. Students build their English foundation by learning new grammatical forms, and basic vocabulary as well as developing their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Levels 400, 500, and 600 are “refining” levels. Students in these level continue to improve their English by comparing and contrasting grammatical forms and learning increasingly sophisticated ways of expressing their thoughts in English.

Level 100

Students are able to say simple things such as “My name is...” and “I am from...” but have trouble speaking in complete sentences. Students usually do not use the past tense very much and have a limited vocabulary.

Level 200

Students can comfortably speak about everyday topics such as explaining what they did on the weekend (“I went to the beach”) or future plans (“Next year, I will go back to my country.”) but have difficulty explaining details and talking about topics they are not familiar with.

Level 300

Students are becoming more comfortable with English at this level. They can talk about their past experiences (“I have been to Spain three times.”) but still make frequent mistakes in English.

Level 400

Students have been previously exposed to all the major tenses and grammatical forms in English. (“Next week, I will have been in Hawaii for 6 months.”) Level 400 is considered a break through level. Students are beginning to master English and now need to focus on overall fluency. Level 400 students may still have difficulty following native speakers in an extended conversation.

Level 500

Students can generally maintain a conversation with a native English speaker and express their opinions fairly completely. However, their English is still markedly foreign and does not use a full range of vocabulary or grammatical forms that a native speaker would. Students at this level continue to work on refining their English, building their vocabulary and learning how to express more subtle differences in their ideas.

Level 600

Students are able to speak comfortably in both familiar and unfamiliar situations. They may still make some mistakes but can often correct their own mistakes. Level 600 students continue to refine their language skills and build an advanced vocabulary. Many students in Level 600 are able to successfully pass university entrance exams and/or hold jobs where English fluency is required


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