Hi everyone,
I’m currently using LingQ and I’m categorized at a B2 level. The app reports that I “know” 13,882 English words.
My concern is that this number seems inflated, as it includes many proper nouns (names) and other terms that may not be functional vocabulary or essential base words.
My question is: How can I get a more accurate assessment of my true English level and the actual number of core vocabulary words I really know?
Thanks in advance for your help!
There probably isn’t any easy way of doing that. You could go through your list of known words and delete all proper nouns etc. manually, if you don’t mind taking the time to do that. But your list of known words will still be somewhat inflated because LingQ counts inflected word forms as separate words (so for example write, writes, and wrote are considered to be three different words, even though they are in fact forms of the same lexeme).
When I read materials on LingQ, I always ignore (by using the trash can button) people’s names, grunts & groans, and other such words that do not require translation, so that they won’t unnecessarily inflate my word count.
I wouldn’t trust LingQ’s estimates of CEFR levels, myself. Especially not when based on word counts.
I think you know about 3000 words maybe a little more.
You can do vocab tests like these to get a rough idea.
https://www.myvocab.info/en/howitworks
Doing the test above gave me a C1 which matches the score on my IELTS that i did long ago.
Sometimes very simple, basic words still show up as unknown if you are learning by reading. I have about 46K known words on Lingq (in Russian), and very simple, easy words still come up as new words.
One way to get the core vocabulary is the old-fashioned Cortina series. Cortina covers very basic sentences. Cortina is available in some languages at the Internet Archive.
LingQ statistics are massively inflated in my experience. I wouldn’t worry, just use them as a sign of work done. Rome wasn’t built in a day. You eat an elephant one mouthfull at a time. Do throw in your own favourite truism.
How are you categorized at a B2 Level? LingQ does not categorize anyone as B1/B2 etc. but has its own categories (Beginner 1/2, intermediate 1/2, advanced 1/2 which do not correspond to A1/A2/B1/B2/C1/C2 levels).
The app also does not realy report that you “know” a certain nomber of words, rather you have marked that number as known words.
If you look into detail what B1 / B2 levels require, you should be able to determine which level you are having - if in doubt, just assume the lower level.
To my understanding, B2 is a rather high level where you are verbally fluent, can read books, watch movies, know rather complex grammar etc. - if you are not there yet and at the same time beyond A2 level - you are probalby at a B1 Level.
“3,000? How? I’ve read a whole book by Ben Shapiro and some other advanced books. Sure, I highlighted a lot of words, but after reading it twice, I know most of them now. It just doesn’t make sense to me. What is the average vocabulary size needed for a B2 level?”
What exactly do you mean by B2 level?
LingQ’s Beginner 2 or CEFR level B2?
NO NO LINGQ BEGINNER
I MEAN CEFR
LingQ itself doesn’t assign CEFR levels. 13,882 English words known would put you in the Intermediate 2 level on LingQ, but that is not B2. There are some posts on the forum (one linked below) from users who have experimented and say those word counts do correlate to the CEFR. However, as you point out, this would depend on how one assigns “known words”.
Tests like Hsingh pointed out can give you an idea for vocab.
Italki has some online tests: https://www.italki.com/languageassessment/opt
And of course there are the official tests: TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS, Cambridge, etc.
LingQ’s estimate of my level of Italian is completely accurate to my CEFR level, according to both my personal estimate and free CEFR tests I took online. I do ignore all proper nouns, grunts, nonsense words (like URLs) and other stuff, like what another user said.
The main thing is LingQ only really tracks reading. So I could theoretically be Advanced 2 in reading but Beginner 1 in speaking, and LingQ would still say I was Advanced 2.
B1-B2 is like elementary graduate level. It is not at all high in reality. You will still have a lot of unknown words in books and movies. You would still likely have major issues communicating at work, at the doctor’s and so on. But you would be able to understand the gist of many or most things. A lot of citizenship by marriage, and some citizenship by descent, requires this level. Many American Bachelor’s degrees with a major language, get the speaker to this level.
I got to B1 in Italian in just 1 month (32 days) on LingQ. The same in Japanese (not using LingQ) took me about 1 year.
C1 is jr. high school graduate level. You would still have issues in a full-on immersive environment in the country where you work or go to school in the language, but far less. A lot of countries accept this level as part of a Skilled Worker skillset for work visas, or accept it as proof of language knowledge required to go to university taught in that language. An American Bachelor’s and Master’s degree with a language major, or a Nordic Bachelor’s degree with a language major, would get you to this level.
I got to C1 in Esperanto in 4 months, Swedish in 1.5 years, and in Japanese in 2 years. Yes I have official certified proof (although not for Esperanto). None were learned using LingQ.
C2 is roughly high school graduate level. There are still words you don’t know, you may still have a few hiccups with the grammar… but you can understand practically anything. I got to this level in Esperanto sometime after 1 year, and Swedish sometime after 3 years. Japanese took me around 5 years or more.
B2 Level Description:
Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in their field of specialisation.
Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.
Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.