International ESOLB1 ACHIEVER LEVEL SYLLABUSSkills, Topics, Functions, and Grammar

B1 - Achiever level requirementsSkills, Topics, Functions and Grammar

B1

B1 - Achiever level requirementsSkills, Topics, Functions and Grammar

Skills

Listening

The candidate will be able to:understand clearly articulated standard speech delivered relatively slowly•follow short conversations both formal and informal in a range of familiar situations •understanding gist, context, feelings, opinions and relationshipsunderstand straightforward narratives, sequences, instructions, directions and explanations•identify the function of short utterances (see Grammar and Functions sections)•follow the main points, speakers, purposes and attitudes in an extended discussion•extract and reproduce key information from announcements and media broadcasts on a •range of familiar topics.

Phonological featuresrecognise stress and intonation in order to follow discourse•recognise feelings, moods, attitudes, important points and opinions expressed through •stress and intonation.

Rangeunderstand key grammatical forms used in familiar and less familiar contexts and situations•understand high frequency vocabulary and expressions relating to familiar and less familiar •topics.

Understanding gistunderstand the main ideas in straightforward announcements, conversations and •discussions on familiar and less familiar topics.

Understanding detailextract key information from announcements, conversations and discussions on familiar •and less familiar topics.

Reading

The candidate will be able to:locate and understand details in narratives, explanations, descriptions, instructions, •biographies, articles and discursive texts on familiar topicsunderstand the main ideas in straightforward texts of more than one paragraph•locate and understand specific information in formal and informal real-life texts which may •include graphicsunderstand the purpose of different texts•understand information or purpose which may not be expressed overtly•understand a line of argument and conclusions clearly signalled in discursive text•understand feelings and opinions expressed in informal texts.•

B1

Rangeunderstand words relating to work, leisure and study•understand longer texts which may contain some complex structures.•

Registerunderstand some of the features which signal formal vs. neutral/informal register•understand features which indicate the purpose of a text.•

Text structurerecognise the purpose of texts through layout conventions, common signs and symbols•use organisational features of texts to locate information•understand the organisational, lexical and grammatical features of a text•recognise the common structure of paragraphing to build up meaning in a text•understand how meaning is built up over discourse using markers to indicate addition, •sequence and contrast.

Writing

The candidate will be able to:write straightforward connected texts on a range of familiar topics•write short simple letters to ask for and convey simple information•write short simple texts for practical purposes: instructions•write short informal letters on topics of personal interest and knowledge•write brief narratives and descriptions on straightforward topics•express opinions simply, giving supporting reasons•use correct punctuation in formal and informal texts•spell correctly the majority of common words and key words relating to work, study and •leisure interestsuse basic grammatical structures correctly, including conjunctions, connectives and •discourse markers. Errors do not impede a sympathetic reader’s understandinguse vocabulary adequately to meet straightforward needs•communicate information and ideas with some adaptation to the intended reader•link a short linear sequence of ideas using discourse markers and conjunctions•demonstrate some awareness of conventions of an informal and formal letter.•

The text types candidates at this level will be required to produce are as follows:informal/neutral letter •informal/neutral email message•

The extent of each text to be produced by candidates is up to 120 words.

Speaking

The candidate will be able to:interact competently if not always accurately in everyday situation•communicate personal information, opinions and ideas and respond to those of others•communicate in a variety of social situations using an appropriate range of functional •language

B1

exchange information, feelings and opinions to perform a task•narrate, describe, explain and express opinions in extended speech related to familiar •contextscontribute points to a simple discussion.•pronounce the sounds of English sufficiently well to be generally understood and show a •fair control of stress and intonation patterns.display a good control of basic grammatical structures without impeding errors when •dealing with familiar topics.display an adequate range of vocabulary and expression to deal with familiar situations •and topicsnarrate using past tenses.•adopt a degree of formality appropriate to familiar circumstances•use appropriate phrases in familiar situations such as greeting and leave-taking.•initiate and follow the norms of turn-taking, prompt and manage the discourse with a •degree of independenceconnect descriptions, narratives and descriptions in simple ways•speak without undue hesitation unless searching for information, vocabulary or when •reformulating.

B1

Topics

PERSONAL IDENTIFICATIONname•address•date and place of birth•age•sex•marital status•nationality•origin•occupation•family•likes and dislikes•physical appearance•title•first language•character, disposition•

HOUSE AND HOME, ENVIRONMENTaccommodation, rooms•furniture, bedclothes•services•amenities•region•flora and fauna•types of accommodation•cost•

DAILY LIFEat home•at work•income•prospects•

FREE TIME, ENTERTAINMENTleisure•hobbies and interests•TV, radio, computer etc•cinema, theatre•intellectual pursuits•sports•press•internet•music•holidays•exhibitions, museums•artistic pursuits•

PLACESasking the way and giving directions•location•

MEASURES AND SHAPESall digits and cardinal numbers•telephone numbers, process•height, length, weight, capacity,•temperature•dates, times, days•shape•

TRAVELpublic transport•private transport•traffic•holiday accommodation•luggage•travel documents•signs and notices•entering and leaving a country•

RELATIONS WITH OTHER PEOPLErelationships•correspondence•behaviour•invitations•club membership•government and politics•crime and justice•social affairs•friends•

HEALTH AND BODYCAREparts of the body•personal comfort•hygiene•ailments, accidents•medical services•

SHOPPINGshopping facilities•foodstuffs•clothes, fashion•household articles•prices•

B1

FOOD AND DRINKtypes of food and drink•eating and drinking out•

SERVICESpost•telephone•banking•police•hospital, surgery•garage•petrol station•emergency•

LANGUAGEforeign language ability•understanding, expression•spelling and alphabet•

WEATHERobtain information from weather•forecast•climate and weather•

EDUCATIONschooling•subjects•qualifications•

B1

Functions

PERSONAL ENVIRONMENTasking for and giving personal •informationdescribing where one lives •(accommodation, area etc)asking and answering questions •for confirmation, information, identificationdescribing people, places, things•correcting information•explaining daily routines•narrating and describing past, •present and future eventscomparing things, people•reporting facts, actions.•

ExPRESSING THOUGHTS, FEELINGS AND ATTITUDES

expressing and asking about •agreement or disagreementdenying something•expressing views and feelings with •reasonsstating and asking about •knowledge or ignorance of something or someonestating whether a person, thing or •action is remembered or forgottenenquiring of someone else whether •a person, thing or action is remembered or forgottenstating and asking about degrees •of probabilityexpressing, denying or asking •about necessity (including logical deduction)stating and asking about one’s •certainty or uncertainty of somethingstating and asking about one’s •ability or inability to do somethingstating and enquiring about •one’s obligation (or lack of) to do somethingseeking, granting or denying •permissionstating and asking about the •permissibility of doing something

expressing and asking about •wishes and hopesexpressing and asking about •wants, desires, needsstating and asking about intention•stating, responding to and asking •about preferenceexpressing and asking about likes •and dislikes, with reasonsexpressing and asking about (dis)•pleasure, (un)happinessexpressing and asking about •satisfaction or dissatisfactionexpressing disappointment•expressing gratitude•expressing and asking about •interest or lack of itexpressing surprise or lack of it•expressing and asking about fear •or worrygiving reassurance•expressing regret, sympathy•offering and accepting an apology•granting forgiveness•expressing approval or •appreciationexpressing regret•expressing indifference•expressing and asking about •approval or disapprovalexpressing moral obligation.•

MAKING THINGS HAPPENresponding to a request•requesting something or requesting •someone to do somethinginviting someone to do something•accepting or declining an offer or •invitationgiving instructions•giving and asking for advice•responding to or rejecting advice, •with reasonswarning others to be careful or to •stop doing somethingoffering and requesting assistance•insisting politely•persuading someone to do •something

B1

suggesting a course of action•asking for, responding to or •rejecting suggestions with reason/alternativeencouraging someone to do •somethingmaking and agreeing plans and •arrangementsreaching a compromise•prohibiting someone from doing •somethingmaking a complaint.•

SOCIAL CONTACTgetting someone’s attention•greeting people and responding to •greetingsexpressing thanks•addressing somebody•making and responding to •introductionsopening, closing a conversation•congratulating someone•praising someone•paying a compliment•asking someone’s opinion•indicating lack of understanding•giving and asking for clarification or •explanation of somethingconfirming one’s own or another’s •understandingasking someone to repeat a word, •phrase or sentenceasking someone to speak more •slowlyasking for help in finding words or •phrasesasking for and giving the spelling •and meaning of wordscounting and using numbers•asking for and telling people the •time, day, dateinterrupting politely•exemplifying or emphasising a •pointencouraging another speaker to •continueindicating a wish to continue or •finish speaking

summing up•taking leave•observing telephone conventions•observing letter-writing conventions•

B1

Gra

mm

ar

Plea

se n

ote

that

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ndid

ates

may

be

expo

sed

to th

e gr

amm

ar r

equi

red

for

the

leve

l abo

ve, b

ut w

ill no

t be

test

ed o

n it.

•Ca

ndid

ates

are

req

uire

d to

pos

sess

all

stru

ctur

es d

escr

ibed

in th

e le

vel(s

) bel

ow th

em•

Prel

imin

ary

Acce

ssas

Pre

limin

ary

and

in a

dditi

onAc

hiev

eras

Acc

ess

and

in a

dditi

on

Sim

ple

sent

ence

sw

ord

orde

r in

sim

ple

stat

emen

ts:

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bjec

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ect/

adve

rb/a

djec

tive/

prep

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onal

phr

ase

wor

d or

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in in

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wor

d or

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in q

uest

ions

• • Th

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nou

n

Ther

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as/w

ere

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poun

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use

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plex

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ing

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tive

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, w

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, th

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ause

as

subj

ect/

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ct•

B1

Verb

for

ms

Prel

imin

ary

Acce

ssas

Pre

limin

ary

and

in a

dditi

onAc

hiev

eras

Acc

ess

and

in a

dditi

on

Verb

form

sPr

esen

t ref

eren

ce:

sim

ple

pres

ent t

ense

of

•be

/hav

e/do

and

co

mm

on r

egul

ar v

erbs

pres

ent c

ontin

uous

of c

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on v

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• • H

ave

got

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er:

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no q

uest

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uest

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wor

ds:

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hat/

whe

re/w

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how

muc

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any/

how

old

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liary

‘•

do’ f

or q

uest

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and

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ativ

es

(pos

itive

que

stio

ns o

nly)

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t ans

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s su

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s •

yes

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oes,

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en’t

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es a

nd n

egat

ive

impe

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cont

ract

ed fo

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appr

opria

te to

this

•

leve

l•

let’s

+ in

finiti

ve fo

r su

gges

tion

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efer

ence

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e pr

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no

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• Past

ref

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ce:

past

tens

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reg

ular

and

com

mon

ir-

•re

gula

r ve

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with

tim

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arke

rsFu

ture

ref

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ce:

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rese

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and

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:lim

ited

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com

mon

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•

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com

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is le

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this

•

leve

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Past

ref

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ce:

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ith s

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et/a

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st

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ref

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ce:

used

to

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r re

gula

r ac

tions

in th

e pa

stpa

st c

ontin

uous

• Futu

re r

efer

ence

:Fu

ture

sim

ple

verb

form

s, N

P +

will

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er:

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and

1st

con

ditio

nal

•Ra

nge

of v

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+

•-i

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rms

to•

+ in

finiti

ve to

exp

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pur

pose

com

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phr

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and

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B1

Mod

als,

nou

ns, pro

noun

s, p

osse

ssiv

es,

pre

pos

itio

ns

Prel

imin

ary

Acce

ssas

Pre

limin

ary

and

in a

dditi

onAc

hiev

eras

Acc

ess

and

in a

dditi

on

Mod

als

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ent r

efer

ence

:ca

n, c

an’t

• (a

bilit

y/in

abilit

y, p

erm

issi

on)

and

wou

ld li

ke (r

eque

st)

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als

and

form

s w

ith s

imila

r m

eani

ng:

mus

t•

(obl

igat

ion)

mus

tn’t

• (p

rohi

bitio

n)ha

ve t

o, h

ad g

ot t

o•

(nee

d)ca

n, c

ould

• (r

eque

sts)

coul

dn’t

• (i

mpo

ssib

ility)

may

• (p

erm

issi

on)

sing

le m

odal

adv

erbs

: •

poss

ibly

, pr

obab

ly,

perh

aps

Mod

als

and

form

s w

ith s

imila

r m

eani

ng:

shou

ld•

(obl

igat

ion,

adv

ice)

mig

ht, m

ay, w

ill, pr

obab

ly•

(pos

sibi

lity

and

prob

abilit

y in

the

futu

re)

wou

ld/s

houl

d •

(adv

ice)

need

to

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blig

atio

n)ne

edn’

t •

(lack

of o

blig

atio

n)willdefinitely

•(c

erta

inly

in th

e fu

ture

)m

ay I

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skin

g fo

r pe

rmis

sion

)I’d

rat

her

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tatin

g pr

efer

ence

)N

ouns

regu

lar

and

com

mon

irre

gula

r pl

ural

•

form

sve

ry c

omm

on u

ncou

ntab

le n

ouns

•ca

rdin

al n

umbe

rs 1

-31

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coun

tabl

e an

d un

coun

tabl

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uns

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mpl

e no

uns

phra

ses

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al n

umbe

rs u

p to

100

+ m

ultip

les

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100

noun

phr

ases

with

pre

- and

•

post

mod

ifica

tion

such

as

fair-

hair

ed

peop

le w

ith

sens

itiv

e sk

inal

l car

dina

l num

bers

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onou

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rson

al -

subj

ect

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ject

, refl

exiv

e•

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essi

ves

poss

essi

ve a

djec

tives

suc

h as

•

my,

you

r, hi

s, h

er,

its,

our

, th

eir

use

of ‘

•s,

s’

poss

essi

ve p

rono

uns

such

as

•m

ine,

yo

urs,

who

seAs

Acc

ess

•

Prep

ositi

ons

and

prep

ositi

onal

phra

ses

com

mon

pre

posi

tions

suc

h as

•

at,

in,

on,

unde

r, ne

xt t

o, b

etw

een,

nea

r, to

, fr

ompr

epos

ition

al p

hras

es o

f pla

ce, t

ime

and

•m

ovem

ent,

such

as

at h

ome,

on

the

left

, on

Mon

day,

at

six

o’cl

ock

prep

ositi

ons

of p

lace

, tim

e an

d •

mov

emen

t, su

ch a

s be

fore

, af

ter,

tow

ards

, up

, do

wn,

alo

ng, ac

ross

, in

fr

ont

of,

behi

nd,

oppo

site

prep

ositi

onal

phr

ases

of p

lace

and

tim

e,

•su

ch a

s af

ter

dinn

er,

befo

re t

ea

wid

e ra

nge

of p

repo

sitio

ns, s

uch

as

•be

yond

, ab

ove,

ben

eath

, be

low

prep

ositi

onal

phr

ases

suc

h as

•

in h

er

twen

ties

, of

ave

rage

hei

ght,

in t

he t

op

righ

t ha

nd c

orne

r

B1

Art

icle

s, d

eter

min

ers,

adje

ctiv

es,

adve

rbs,

int

ensi

fier

s

Prel

imin

ary

Acce

ssas

Pre

limin

ary

and

in a

dditi

onAc

hiev

eras

Acc

ess

and

in a

dditi

on

Artic

les

Defin

ite, i

ndefi

nite

•de

finite

art

icle

•ze

ro a

rtic

le w

ith u

ncou

ntab

le n

ouns

•de

finite

art

icle

with

sup

erla

tives

•

defin

ite a

rtic

le w

ith p

ost-m

odifi

catio

n,

•su

ch a

s th

e pr

esen

t yo

u ga

ve m

eus

e of

inde

finite

art

icle

in d

efini

tions

, •

such

as

an a

rchi

tect

is a

per

son

who

de

sign

s bu

ildin

gs

Det

erm

iner

san

y, s

ome,

a lo

t of

•al

l, no

ne,

not

(any

), e

noug

h, (

a) f

ew,

•(a

)lit

tle,

man

y, m

ore,

mos

t, m

uch,

no

a ra

nge

of d

eter

min

ers,

eg

•al

l the

, m

ost,

bot

h

Adje

ctiv

esco

mm

on a

djec

tives

in fr

ont o

f a n

oun

•de

mon

stra

tive

adje

ctiv

es

•th

is,

that

, th

ese,

tho

seor

dina

l num

bers

1-3

1•

orde

r of

adj

ectiv

es•

com

para

tive,

sup

erla

tive,

reg

ular

and

•co

mm

on ir

regu

lar

form

s•

use

of

•th

anor

dina

l num

bers

up

to 1

00 +

mul

tiple

s •

of 1

00

adje

ctiv

es e

ndin

g •

–ed

+ -

ing

such

as

tire

d an

d ti

ring

com

para

tive

stru

ctur

es, s

uch

as

•as

……

as, i

s th

e sa

me

as,

not

so…

..as

…, lo

oks

like/

is li

keal

l ord

inal

num

bers

•

Adve

rbs

sim

ple

adve

rbs

of p

lace

, man

ner

and

•tim

e, s

uch

as

•he

re,

slow

ly,

now

sim

ple

adve

rbs

and

adve

rbia

l phr

ases

: •

sequ

enci

ng, t

ime

and

plac

e, fr

eque

ncy,

m

anne

rpo

sitio

n of

adv

erbs

and

wor

d or

der

of

•ad

verb

ial p

hras

es

mor

e co

mpl

ex a

dver

bial

phr

ases

of

•tim

e, p

lace

, fre

quen

cy, m

anne

r, s

uch

as

as s

oon

as p

ossi

ble

Intensifiers

very

, re

ally

•qu

ite,

so,

a b

it•

a ra

nge

of in

tens

ifier

s su

ch a

s •

too,

en

ough

B1

Pun

ctua

tion

and

spel

ling

Prel

imin

ary

Acce

ssas

Pre

limin

ary

and

in a

dditi

onAc

hiev

eras

Acc

ess

and

in a

dditi

on

Punc

tuat

ion

use

of c

apita

l let

ters

and

full

stop

s•

use

of q

uest

ion

mar

ks, e

xcla

mat

ion

•m

arks

, use

of c

omm

a in

list

sus

e of

pun

ctua

tion

in fo

rmal

and

•

info

rmal

text

s, s

uch

as d

ashe

s,

brac

kets

, bul

let p

oint

s, s

peec

h m

arks

Spel

ling

the

corr

ect s

pellin

g of

per

sona

l •

keyw

ords

and

fam

iliar

wor

dsth

e co

rrec

t spe

lling

of m

ost p

erso

nal

•de

tails

and

fam

iliar

com

mon

wor

dsth

e co

rrec

t spe

lling

of c

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