English levels
The highest CEFR level: near-native command. Around IELTS 8.5 to 9.0.
CEFR level C2 is the highest proficient 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 8.5 to 9.0.
Everything on this site is free and none of it requires an account. There is no separate C2 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 C2 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 C2, in plain terms.
Almost everything heard or read, including fast speech, academic writing and specialised material.
Reconstruct arguments and accounts from different spoken and written sources into a coherent presentation.
Spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in complex situations.
No IELTS requirement anywhere asks for more than C2, and very few ask for this much.
Not by inserting learned phrases, but because the idiom arrives at the right moment.
Almost nothing linguistic. What remains is subject knowledge and exam nerves like anyone else's.
Method
Six things worth doing at the highest level.
At C2 the limitation is rarely English. Practise the exam format and stop studying the language.
Band 9 is lost on task response and timing far more often than on English at this level.
At C2 the difference between 8.0 and 9.0 is about fully addressing the task, which is a reading skill.
Very advanced candidates often run out of time because they write more than the task needs.
Band 9 writing is clear, not ornate. Complexity for its own sake reads as imprecision.
That is usually all the preparation a C2 candidate needs.
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 C2 correspond to?
Roughly IELTS 8.5 to 9.0. 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 C2 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
C2 is the proficient level on the six-level Common European Framework scale, which runs A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2. It corresponds to roughly IELTS 8.5 to 9.0.
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 8.5 to 9.0. 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