"Learning a language is one of the most difficult things that you will ever try to do as an adult.It's the equivalent of conquering a mountain.But it's not a mountain that you're supposed to CARRY it's a mountain that you're supposed to CLIMB." This reasoning is perfect an true! Thank you Christian.
I beg to differ, learning another language is easy using the correct tools and methodology. I learned it by myself by watching kids' cartoons with close captions. When I recorded the shows on tape and used a walkman with an endless cassette to repeat the same show over a week, the next week I did the same with a different chapter, washed, and repeated again and again. The endless cassette was just 4 minutes long, but I also use a regular tape for the entire show and the endless cassette for the most difficult parts.
Another weird thing about language exams is that usually it requires from you a number of skills that you don't really use. For example, the listening part where they test your skills in the so-called active listening where you need to search for specific information that you were previously told to find. The only time I personally use it in my native language is when I try to understand what station is being announced through broken speakers whenever I have to use a train. A friend of mine tried to pass her Chinese exam, she had a task where she needed to repeat out loud everything that she heard (this is not a language skill that everyone uses on a daily basis either). Idk all those exams just seem really absurd to me.
I'm in the run up to my DELE B2 exam Spanish and to be honest i feel so frustrated. Moved to Spain last year and i'm planning to become a tourist guide. At least B2 level is required for obtaining the official tour guide card. My focus is on the speaking part. I should be able to tell interesting stories and entertain my clients. Does it make sense that they ask me to write a report about a new diet and recommend it to other people. I'm not a scientist. So it is my believe that exams should be designed to your personal goals. I fully agree with your statement that language learners do not need equal abilities in every part of the language.
I hope you can get the scores you need to get your dream job. I'm from Peru and Spanish can be very challenging but with effort and passion you can definitely get it. In my case, I want to learn English and to become fluent in the future to use it as a tool to get a new job in a different area where I'm currently working in. My best wishes to you and I hope you love Spanish, it's a beautiful language.
I agree with you, that exam does not shows your authentic language level. But... this titulation is that you need for applying for some jobs or public oppositions. Like an universitary titulation. Some times (like in my case) we want and need only learn a language. Some times we need only a paper with the exam result. And, we can accept, someone who achive C1 knows a little bit more Languages that someone only can achive B2. The language they need? Well, probably not.
I still feel bad bc I was one point below a C1 certification. It had to be 180 and my score was 179. But this video helps me remember that this standards are not the most important thing in my language learning journey. Superb as usual!
I do not know if you will believe me or not, but the same happened to me. And to one more friend of mine. But, I think it's more a question of concentration than language prowess itself.
@@CalcioEUnico for real? This is crazy... I don't want to get paranoic but that's so suspicious. Could it be that they do it on purpose so you have to retake the test?
Exactly! That's why I never tried to pass any language exams. All I wanted is to read news, watch TV series and RU-vid videos, play games and make short conversations. And I don't care about how good (or bad) I am in terms of A1-C2 levels. I understood every single word you just said and nothing else matters.
This means you simply don’t need a document to go to university, get a work permit, or escape from war. Nobody kicks you out of the country because you didn't pass the exam. You're just lucky. Not everyone is so lucky.
Absolutely agree, we were discussing this idea at the class with my students recently. I've been in teaching for more than 40 years. Trying many ways of teaching I worked out my own methodology which gives better results compared to the standard ways of teaching. Thank you a million for this video. I really like your ideas and share them.
You are so interesting to listen to, Christian! Wish you all the best, keep going! I got my C1 CAE diploma more than 15 years ago and yes, that involved a LOT of traditional studying. But now I have a pleasure to forget all that stuff I was taught and just enjoy watching movies, communicating to people, and even making mistakes, which is not a problem anymore))
Incredible, although my poor compreension in English language, I am able to understand almost words and phrases that this guy said. Thank you a lot to provide me confidence to follow my studies.
Yeah, well said! Christian said about one of the reason of issue: people and companies which want to get money from the learners. But there are more hidden issues, I think. First, it is the tendency for superficial view on everything (look deeper into EC documents? What for?). And second, it is, so to say, "hunger" of standardization for everything (even if it is not necessary). "We need a standard, well CEFR made such thing, great!" Because without standardization, we don't know how to make the exams (they say the idea is not for exams, but who cares).
Well said: hunger for standardisation and nearly nothing about the literature, poetry, songs, theatre, cinema, folk tales and dialects or regional languages of a country...
I like your English speaking. Is it the Australian English? For me it sounds perfect. It is perfect. I am your student from now. Thank you and see you again.
Well, in English, I reached this A1 to B2 in these exactly three months though, one of the reasons why I do not think this measure is 100% accurate. Nowadays (5 months after starting) I am already fluent, so I can see it, I am learning Italian nowadays, in the B2 level (2 months of learning), and reached the C1 of Spanish in just 1 month, in Spanish case is because my mother language is Portuguese so was extremely easy reach a high level on the language
@@M.F.J.C I dont wan't to discredit you. Spoilers: B2 level is not hard but the biggest problem is when you reach to higher levels where ur english has to be more accurate, which means, you have to learn new words (both formal and informal), new phrases with different meanings and of course, how to use use each word correctly. It is practically hard for someone like you to get a c2 grade even if you studied for 1 year. Now, c1 is where things get interesting tbh. New words, more developed texts, speaking feels amazing and listenings are great.
That’s probably because he is speaking intentionally slowly 😊. As a native English speaker watching this, I had to play it at 1.25x speed to be able to sit through all of it. Honestly, I could have probably put it up to 1.5x faster and still have been ok!
I think he is Australian. Kangaroo could be a clue. I can understand without subtitles, probably he talks slowly and clearly and I graceful at that. The most important to me it’s the message. I recommend you read a little every day, and listen some short podcast. This man encourage people and that it’s helpful. Thank you Kangaroo and Go ahead! 😊
@@chadbailey7038 I don't think speed matters in this case. This guy is very understandable even when you play the video at 2x, which btw I did to sit through it too lol. I think it is about his very crisp and clear speech.
Sorry, but I disagree with the thrust of this video. You said: “The idea that there is an authority deciding what you should learn and how you should be judged for using it is the opposite of what any human rights organization wants.” I can appreciate that the Council of Europe created it for human rights purposes, and it has been appropriated by language learners and teachers the world over-so what? Just because people take a new system and run with it doesn’t mean it’s all a cynical, money-making grab (of course a lot of people will try to profit from it, as they will from anything). It’s also an attractive, easy, convenient way to evaluate people’s levels. Not everyone is trying to achieve a certain CEFR level just to get a job or a place at university. Not everyone is in it just for the certificate. People want to know what their level is, or aim for a certain level; and despite what the modern, happy-clappy, student-centered approach might have you believe, it is actually useful to have a way of assessing people’s levels. There is nothing wrong with using A1-C2 as a standard by which to grade people’s language abilities, even if the way in which it is used does not align with what the Council of Europe initially envisioned. To the first half of the quote above, if you take the human rights part out of it, do you still stand by the judgemental attitude towards an authority deciding what you should learn? What do you think about implementing the student-centered approach in medical school, or aviation school? “Let them be free to decide what they want to learn!” Now, this doesn’t mean that if someone wants to study exclusively Business English they shouldn’t have that option, for example, but it does mean that within the domain of a given English class, once its scope has been determined, the teacher is the authority. Can there be bad teachers, whether ill-equipped or lazy, or any other number of shortcomings? Of course. But the same is just as true in a student-centered classroom. The only difference is, in a student-centered classroom, both good and bad teachers waste half of the class trying to elicit responses, because, “Ooh, input: evil!” Have you never heard of not throwing out the baby with the bathwater? Just because educators thought of Grammar Translation as rigid and stuffy doesn’t mean the solution is to swing to the other extreme of the stereotypical, much-lampooned “I like to think they teach me more than I teach them” teacher. I do agree that language-learning is not like all other domains. There definitely should be a can-do competence element to it, and in fact, that should be the primary element. But that doesn’t mean studying grammar is useless, or evil. Just as you hope a doctor can actually prescribe, and cure, and operate, there is a foundation of theoretical knowledge without which their can-do competence wouldn’t stand. Just as you hope an engineer can assess the structural integrity of bridges and buildings on-site and knows what to do with materials in the moment, their theoretical knowledge is indispensable. We all know that there is a legitimate age threshold beyond which you are less likely to intuit things in a foreign language. There’s nothing wrong with explicit input or instruction, especially with adults. But for there to be input or instruction, there needs to be an inputter or instructor. Why the constant vilification of such? Why the perpetual pooh-poohing of ‘native’ levels? Is this the neo-Marxist “linguistic colonialism is being perpetrated upon the poor noble savage” trope that will just not die?
You're the only one I know who draws people's attention to these issues. And you do it so damn well. Thanks for shipping your generous work, Christian!
Hi Christian. How are you doing? I am José from canary islands. We are going to go to La Coruña, and l was wondering if we can meet you. We follow you on RU-vid. I really like the way you express yourself with the English language. You are a great teacher. I hope l will meet you. Please, let me know if we can meet. We are going to be there from April 11th until April 14th. Thank you.
Hi, I'm an English Teacher. I think this video is interesting, relevant and true to an extent. I'd just like to raise two points: one, measuring proficiency, though difficult, can be useful for many human activities, the use of language among them. So some kind of authority needs to set standards and ways to test them. Another issue has to do with receptive vs productive skills; maybe you just need to be able to produce written and spoken English at B1 level because you only want to be capable of using it in everyday conversations, but try to watch a film or series or docummentary or understand a native speaker, you'll see it's probably not enough. All in all, standards are necessary to assess, however imperfectly, your ability to use language in a given situation. My experience is that a B2-C1 language user will be clearly more proficient at explaining and understanding a subject that goes beyond usual, everyday, 'plain' interactions. I however agree that students' real needs are paramount.
Wow! I completely agree with you! I will immediately share this video with all my students who are struggling with achieving their desired level. It doesn't mean that you don't need to study but it means that you should realise what you are studying for. Thank you so much!
Thanks a lot for this amazing reflection! Thanks for casting light on such widespread misconceptions. Many other teachers should learn from your honesty and commitment.
Well said Christian. This will lessen the stress , we don't need that pressure. Language learning is difficult enough without being whipped along. What have the Romans ever done for us ? 😂
Yeah, right, I've always been telling people that my level is between A2 and C1 depending on a topic. I watch YT and rarely need to turn on captions, usually understand every single word spoken in different accents. I know a lot of car vocabulary, understand most jokes and puns, but I'm helpless when ordering food, cos I've never been interesting what all the vegetables and pizza toppings are called. I'm not good at giving directions either. Can't watch movies because of all the background noises. The only movie series I can watch is Harry Potter, for some reason. But whenever I come accross a movie fragment in YT shorts, I understand everything perfectly even without captions. Last sunday I failed a B2 test. A couple years ago I took a different test and scored C2😂
Woow thanks professor! This is a big change ! Is a new point of view about the learning! Is a new philosopy meaning. Excellent video ! Thanks for share! I send a hug from México.
This video pretty much validates what I thought all along about these standardized language tests and highly structured courses. I study French and a lot of youtube French instructors talk about passing these exams. They never say WHY those tests are important though. Only that their "discounted for a limited time" course will help you pass. As far as "levels", there are things in C1 I understand yet also things in A2 that I still struggle with in French.
As a native english speaker it is so strange to hear a person being so slow and careful with pronunciation and word endings - eschewing contractions - takes me back to old fashioned BBC RP of the 1950’s TV but in a very slight Australian accent.
This is an anti-english teaching channel. I watched the whole video carefully and still have no idea of what relevant point he is trying to making. Nonsense!
Damn it all that A0, A1,... C2... levels with all that CERFS bureaucrates. I want just to say people what I mean to say and I want they could understand me right - it's enough for me. 😊 From cold Russia with hot wishes.
Learning another language is now easier than ever, I learned English by watching kids' cartoons, and recording them into cassettes (1999s). Now we have technology on our side, if you do not learn a language is because you are not really motivated.
A lot of native speakers of English wouldn't pass the C1 Advanced exam. Mainly because they say "she don't know nofink, innit?", "you was", "anywayS" (that's an American 'fing') etc.
That’s why I study English alone is feel good, but when I want to take this exam like IELTS and TOEFL, I will frustrated and angry, this agency want to earn money, for them is a business. When I was a student I often think about what kind of test should I take, and what kind of school should I apply, but now I couldn’t think about that, it’s waste my time. I just study English and by the way find a university to study.
I passed a C1 exam for German in 2013 and I still have problem to understand German movies especially about war, because soldiers speak not that clearly and use very difficult vocabularies... So, I feel I am still a very beginner. In the exam, Germans speak fast but very clearly like TV moderator... And also, when I learnt German I learnt most of time alone with a grammar book, so I still don't know many vocabularies about their culture (like some words about fairytale, easter, christmas etc). I have lived in Germany for seven years but I could not make any German colleagues so I had no opportunity to hear such things. But I moved to Prague and I am learning Czech from start with teacher and students, and my wife is Czech, so my Czech is only A2 but I think I know more words about easter and christmas etc. Because I was just at home and watched RU-vid in national holidays in Germany but meanwhile I participate on such holidays with my new family.
Since I am not a native speaker myself, I have significantly improved my English skills over the past 5 years by consuming all movies, TV shows, and content in English whenever possible. Now, I work in a company with employees from over 60 countries. This has led to the following issue over the years: While my English has improved, the level of English among my colleagues has remained the same. In meetings, I notice that they nod at my statements, but in one-on-one conversations, it turns out that they sometimes do not understand everything. As a result, I now pay more attention to who is present in meetings and use simpler words whenever possible, which are more familiar to most people. Therefore, my conclusion is: It is not about whether we strive to reach a C1 level or better, but whether the people we are communicating with are at least at a solid B1 level.
I completly disagree. Yes, of course your language learning should suit your purpose. But there's clearly a core set of knowledge for understanding the language. Some organization actually broke the levels up into different categories? Okay...? There's still a massive difference between somebody who averages A1 vs averages B2. These categories are effective for making these distinctions. They are obviously not meant to represent the infinite complexity of language acquisition, who said they were? You want to erase all standards and distinctions because they aren't perfectly accurate and represent different people's goals? People are responsible for their own goals. Approximations are important. This is a very unwise message.
Thank you for this video which was very humane compared to all these test prep videos on RU-vid! It's like the world is turning into an AI bot; everyone just wants success. But what about making meaningful connections? I am an online English language teacher and was surprised when my students loved my courses because although I'm educated, I'm not that organized. I don't base my lessons on test preparations. Like you said, people want/need language in order to communicate, so when you let the students express themselves, it's more of a success than trying to get rid of their accent or do verb drills.
I looked up the CEFR booklet after watching this and found the chart displayed in the video. I noticed a huge error. There was 0 put down for Understanding Conversation Between Other Speakers and Understanding as a Member of a Live Audience in the chart. That makes no sense.
"Good language learning always starts by finding out what you need and want and then focuses on developing those skills." This brainless kind of marketing BS makes me want to throw up... And no, tests are NOT "used to punish you"...
I see what u mean, you might be perfect in grammar test, in comprehension, in writing a proof, but maibe you fail in speaking , not completely, but you could have been disturbed by external causes or sources or people, or you might just be emotional or tense, and in 30 minutes be ok again, and that's would be too be late , for your level exam. I don't mind abt my English level , nor abt my French or German or Spanish level . That's why I write on my C.V. " I speak English , French, and more or less German, and I understand Spanish. I' sure i'm not able to test how I'm able to speak a foreing language after a year of training or a course, ... To get a job.
The way English is taught now is completely wrong. It is based on the same method Italian nobleman used to learn Latin that was then introduced into the English education system In Victorian times. People learn ABOUT the language and that is stored in the relatively short-term declarative memory. The focus is on studying when it should be on practice which then gets stored in the procedural long term memory as skill . Large classes are nonsense, you couldn't teach a musical instrument in a large class. Quote from a 15 language polyglot: 'Languages cannot be taught: they have to be learnt'. Research shows only 4 tenses are used about 80% of the time, waste of time and energy trying to learn all 12 tenses. The method is back to front: show people a grammatical structure and then get them to use it. It should be people learn by practice and then if necessary the grammar is explained. Grammar is a very difficult subject and why there is a selection process for grammar schools and yet second language learners of any IQ are expected to understand grammar. Unless there is a disability everyone learns their first language without studying grammar. The CIA produce excellent second language agents in 1 year because their classes are maximum of 5 people and the focus is on listening and speaking. The CEFR is built on an obsolete and often worse than useless method. 95% of English second language learners fail to get past basic level.
We have the old problem with benchmarking. Complex situations are categorized into a linear scale, and suddenly your place on the scale gets more important than you and the situation you are in. Suddenly, you are below or above a treshold, and you become the problem instead of your problems being understood and tackled. And why this tendency to linear scales? Mathematicians may have a clue: only linear scales have the Archimedean property, where, given two positive numbers x and y, you can always find a natural factor f, so that f*x > y. And people really like x > y. People like to be better than others. People like to categorize others in scales from 1 to 10. No one wants to become Buridan's ass.
My thoughts exactly! Only 1 question tho. Why do we not use c2 English regarding everything we discuss? It would make mutual understanding way deeper and meaningful. In my world at least)
Hi teacher, where are you? You stopped giving us English courses like the one you posted in flowentify. Can you begin a program for intermediate. Thank you in advance
Sorry to say, I have only recently come across your RU-vid channel. You make a lot of sense in your videos, but I would like to ask, when you teach, do you use text books? If your answer is no (which I think it is), then could you answer why? Or maybe I'm wrong and you do use text books. Anyway, I hope you see my comment and thank you for your response. I really enjoy the content of your videos.
I love the ABC system, but I never had to cope with language schools stuck in a system. The level can describe what level you have whether it is reading, listening, certain job situations etc. Of course if you think your B2 Level French is covering every aspect of French communication you need to rethink. It is to think you know how to drive a car if you have a driving licence.
Eh no, the tests and levels are obviousky flawed but your take is also kind of whacky. If am a B2 in reading comic books but can't order a coffee in clear language then I'm an A1. No excuses. Now if I study matetial that I know I will be tested on I may even be able to scrape past a B1 exam but no way would my real life ability reflect that.
Accepting at Human Rights organization or expecting a Human Rights organization to have any legitimate insight into language learning is like taking the advice of a plumber as authoritative and educated on a question about physics. I don't seek out the advice of painters when I have an electrical issue in my home.
A bit more about why the present method is worse than useless for learning English: The human brain changes in adolescence into a default forgetting mode. This is why repetition is essential for older learners. Spaced repetition has been thoroughly researched and shown to be extremely effective and yet it is not included in most courses. All the books and videos and courses are based on Latin grammar translation method and it seems therefore everyone believes this is the only way to do it.
That reminded me a story about a Ukrainian refugee who learned Norwegian and took the B2 exam. But he had to live in the region with the other dialect, Norway has four different ones. Oh, he was really frustrated.
Don't see how this letters can help me learn a language or encourage me to do it - they look kind of useless for this. But paper with this letters from proper authority can help to find a job. Maybe this human right organisation should just shut up?
Do your best to have fun while learning a new language. Read books and watch movies in your target language. Movies with subtitles in your native language and speech in your target language is a great way to learn while having fun.
Not completely agree with the video. The system of levels is perfect for organizing the process of teaching and evaluating candidates for some specific purposes. The way it's speculated for earning money is unfair for sure. Nevertheless the result depends on how a teacher uses cefr and efforts a student applies to personal development.
you could speak a thousand tongues and still fail of you lack knowledge of another's culture - that's from a video game "nier automata" what do you think about that? i think its spot on
