How Testera estimates your speaking level from one conversation

You have just finished a conversation in the Language Lab. You pressed End & review, and your tutor has written you a short review with a level on it, something like B1. This post explains where that level comes from, what it takes into account and what it leaves out.

What the review looks at

The review is written from a transcript of your conversation, and only your own turns count. What your tutor said is not part of your level.

Your speaking is rated on five criteria, each on its own, from A1 to C2:

• Range: the words and structures you have available.
• Accuracy: your control of grammar.
• Fluency: how easily your speech flows.
• Interaction: how you take part, answer and keep the conversation going.
• Coherence: how you link your ideas into connected speech.

These are the five aspects of spoken language that the CEFR, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, describes. You see all five on your review, just under the overall level.

How the overall level is set

Your overall level is the level that most of the five criteria reach. It is never simply the highest one.

Say your range, accuracy, interaction and coherence all come out at B1, and your fluency at B2. Your overall level is B1. One strong area does not lift the whole estimate on its own.

Under the level you get one sentence explaining it, based on what you actually said. That sentence is often the most useful line in the review, because it tells you what decided your level.

What counts as a mistake

Only real mistakes count: things a native speaker would not say. If you said something correctly, just not the way a teacher might have put it, that is not a mistake and it does not lower your level.

Your words reach the review through speech recognition, and speech recognition sometimes mishears. This happens most often in Thai, Mandarin, Japanese and Hindi. A likely mishearing is not counted as your mistake.

The review also ignores what you say about yourself. Telling your tutor you have studied for ten years, or for ten days, does not change the estimate. Only how you speak does.

What it does not rate

Pronunciation is not rated. The review works from a transcript of the conversation, not from your voice, so your level is about what you said and how you put it together, not how it sounded.

When there is not enough to go on

If you said only a few words, the review does not guess. In place of a level it shows Level: talk a little longer, and the reason line says there was too little to judge. That is not a low mark. It means the conversation was too short to say anything useful yet.

How sure the estimate is

Every level comes with a confidence: low, medium or high.

Confidence follows the evidence you gave. It is high only when you spoke at length, across several different turns. If you mostly gave short answers to simple questions, confidence is low or medium, and the reason line says that a longer conversation on a harder topic would show more.

Length and level are judged separately. A short answer that is fully natural still counts as strong evidence, and your level is never held back because your tutor's questions were simple. Talking for longer does not raise your level by itself. It makes the estimate firmer.

What the levels mean

The six levels, roughly, as the review uses them:

• A1: single words and memorised phrases.
• A2: short, simple sentences about familiar things.
• B1: connected sentences on familiar topics, explaining and giving reasons, with noticeable mistakes or learner-like phrasing.
• B2: clear, detailed and spontaneous; mistakes rarely get in the way.
• C1: flexible and precise, with natural linking words and idioms, and few slips.
• C2: effortless and fully natural, the way an educated native speaker talks.

One line between them is worth knowing. Speech with no real mistakes that sounds natural is at least B2, even on familiar topics.

What the level is, and what it is not

The level is an estimate from one conversation, for practice. It is not an official result and it is not a certificate. Treat it as a pointer to where you are now and what to work on next.

The rest of the review helps with that. What worked lists a few things you did well. Say it better gives up to four things you said, a more natural way to say each one, and why. New cards turns words from the conversation into flashcards, and the cards you are due to review are given to your tutor, so they come back in your next conversation.

How to get a firmer estimate

If your review came back with low confidence, or asked you to talk a little longer, these help:

1. Talk for longer. A conversation can last up to ten minutes. Use more of it.
2. Give fuller answers. Instead of yes or no, say why, give an example or tell a short story.
3. Choose a harder topic. Ask your tutor about something that needs opinions, comparisons or plans, not only facts about yourself.
4. Keep going when you are stuck. English is fine when you cannot find a word, and if speaking is hard you can type in the box under the conversation.

Then compare your next review with this one. The level matters less than the reason line and the corrections, because those tell you what to practise.

When you are ready, choose a tutor and start a conversation.