English levels
Fluent, flexible English for academic and professional use. Around IELTS 7.0 to 8.0.
CEFR level C1 is the advanced level on the Common European Framework, the six-level scale used across Europe and increasingly worldwide to describe language ability. It corresponds to roughly IELTS 7.0 to 8.0.
Everything on this site is free and none of it requires an account. There is no separate C1 course: the material is organised by skill rather than by level, and the guidance below tells you which parts are worth your time at this stage.
Not taking IELTS?
Everything on this site is aimed at IELTS. If you are working on your English at C1 without an IELTS date, or preparing for a different exam, our sister site ExamEnglishforFREE covers the other major English exams. It is free on the same terms: no signup and no payment.
What you can do
The official descriptors for C1, in plain terms.
Long and demanding texts, and recognise implicit meaning rather than only what is stated.
Fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions.
For social, academic and professional purposes, adjusting register to the situation.
Clear, well structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using organisational patterns and connectors well.
Postgraduate study, professional registration in medicine and nursing, and Superior English for Australian migration all sit here.
Complete precision under pressure, and the idiomatic and cultural range of a fluent native speaker.
Method
Six things worth doing to reach C2.
At C1 the gaps are in unfamiliar subject areas rather than in grammar. Reading widely is the fix.
Hedging, implication, tone. C1 to C2 is about saying exactly the right amount, not more words.
Most C1 learners have three or four grammar errors they still repeat. Finding them takes an outside reader.
At this level the gap between what you can do and what you do in an exam is the main obstacle.
Ambitious words used slightly wrongly cost more than plain words used correctly, and that penalty grows at C1.
At 7.0 you are usually held back by one of the four criteria, not by your English in general.
Practice
Five questions about this level and what it means for IELTS.
A1 Beginner · A2 Elementary · B1 Intermediate
B2 Upper intermediate · C1 Advanced · C2 Proficient
The two scales do not convert exactly, and you can sit at different levels in different skills.
1Which IELTS band range does C1 correspond to?
Roughly IELTS 7.0 to 8.0. The mapping is approximate, because CEFR describes what you can do and IELTS measures performance on a specific test.
2Which comes immediately after B1 on the CEFR scale?
B2. The order is A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, from beginner to proficient.
3Which level do most universities require?
B2. Most undergraduate courses ask for IELTS 6.0 to 6.5, which sits at B2. Postgraduate courses often ask for C1.
4Can you be at different levels in different skills?
Yes. Most learners read above the level they speak at. That is why IELTS reports a band for each paper and why targeting your weakest skill works.
5At which level does IELTS test technique start to be worth studying?
B1. Below that you cannot reliably understand the questions, so technique adds nothing. From B1 upward it starts to add marks, and at B2 it is the fastest gain available.
Most people place themselves slightly high. Sit a full practice test under time, or work through one of the topic guides and see whether the language feels comfortable or effortful.
The complete IELTS course on IELTStestONLINE has video lessons on every question type, many more exercises like this one, and your own support tutor you can ask when an answer does not make sense. Take a look at the complete course
Knowing you are at C1 tells you what to study. It does not tell you what band you would get, because that depends on the test as much as the language.
IELTStestONLINE keeps every score you get in one place, gives you an estimated band as you work, and assesses your writing and speaking against the four criteria so you can see where you stand before test day. See what full membership includes
C1 is the advanced level on the six-level Common European Framework scale, which runs A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2. It corresponds to roughly IELTS 7.0 to 8.0.
There is no course organised by level. Everything here is free and organised by skill instead, which works better because most learners are at different levels in different skills.
Approximately 7.0 to 8.0. The two scales measure different things, so treat the mapping as a guide rather than a conversion.
Commonly quoted figures are around 200 hours of study per level, and the higher levels take longer than the lower ones. Six to eight weeks is realistic for half an IELTS band.
Yes, and most learners are uneven in exactly that way. Reading is usually ahead of speaking, which is why targeting your weakest skill is the most efficient use of study time.
Full membership
CEFR describes what you can do with English. An IELTS band describes how you performed on one test on one day, and only an assessment against the four criteria tells you what that would be.
IELTStestONLINE assesses your writing and speaking against the four IELTS criteria, instantly and as often as you like, using a system built by a former IELTS examiner and examiner trainer. It keeps every score in one place with an estimated band, and it carries no advertising.
See what membership includes