Listening - Basic proficiency

Global Performance Descriptor

• Learner can follow, although with considerable effort, simple formal and informal conversations and other listening texts/ discourse on topics of immediate personal relevance at a slower to normal rate of speech.
• Can recognize many topics by familiar words and phrases.
• Can follow simple short direct questions related to personal experience and general knowledge.
• Can understand many common everyday instructions and directions related to the immediate context.
• Can follow simple short predictable phone messages.
• Often requests repetition.
• Needs a little assistance (such as speech modification or explanation).

Performance Conditions

• Listening texts are short monologues, presentations and dialogues (several exchange turns) on familiar everyday topics.
• Speech is clear and at a slow to normal rate.
• Learner has been adequately briefed for focused listening.
• Communication is face to face or video-and audio-mediated (e.g., tape).
• Instructions are clear and explicit, used with some visual clues. They are mostly simple and compound clauses containing longer phrases of location, movement and manner.
• Some tasks require oral or physical response.
• Some tasks are in a "guided" writing format (e.g., circle or match items, fill in blanks).
• Learner may require an occasional repetition.