CEFR A1 · Beginner

What is A1 English?

A1 is the first rung of the CEFR ladder. You can make yourself understood in slow, simple exchanges about immediate needs, and you understand people when they speak clearly and are willing to help you.

Beginner
A1
On our test
0-20%
To get here
90-100h
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At A1, you can

  • Introduce yourself and answer simple questions about where you live and who you know
  • Order food, ask a price, and buy a ticket
  • Understand short, clear instructions when someone speaks slowly
  • Fill in a form with your name, nationality and address
  • Write a short, simple postcard or message

What is still out of reach

  • Following a conversation between two native speakers
  • Explaining why you think something, rather than just what you think

What A1 English looks like in practice

Three situations, and where each of them stops. A level is easier to recognise from the moment it runs out than from a definition.

  • Checking into a hotel

    You can give your name, say you have a booking, hand over a passport and understand a room number said slowly. Asking to change rooms and explaining why is a level away.

  • Ordering in a café

    You can order what you want, ask what it costs and say thank you. If the answer comes back as a question you were not expecting, you will need it repeated.

  • Introducing yourself

    You can say your name, where you are from and what you do — in short, separate sentences rather than as one connected paragraph.

How long it takes to get here

Reaching A1 from scratch typically takes 90-100 hours of guided learning — the range Cambridge English publishes, and a range rather than a number because it depends on you and on how close your first language already is.

Getting from A1 to A2

A1 to A2 typically takes another 90 to 100 hours of guided learning, and most of that gain is vocabulary rather than grammar: at this stage you are limited far more by the words you have than by the structures you have not met yet.

The fastest way out of A1 is talking every day without the fear of getting it wrong — which is exactly what a tutor who never sighs is for.

What A2 English looks like

Where A1 sits on the scale

Six levels, from your first words to full command. The bands are the share of our test you would answer correctly at each one.

A1
A2
B1
B2
C1
C2

Every CEFR level in English

What each level means for English, in the same plain terms.

The levels either side

The level aboveWhat is A2 English?You can cope with routine, predictable situations.

You can handle simple, everyday exchanges.

FAQ

A1, answered

The questions people ask about this level.

Start the test

A1A2B1B2C1C2

Find out if you're A1

Thirty questions, about five minutes, and a CEFR level at the end that explains itself. No account needed to start the English test.

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