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British Council Milan
a quick guide to our courses and levels

Common European Framework

All of our courses fit the Council of Europe’s guidelines on language learning. This is useful for you because these levels are meaningful to employers, schools and universities. They also tie in with internationally recognised exams such as the Cambridge suite (First Certificate, CAE, Proficiency etc.).

See the table below or download our short guide (PDF - in Italian)

Language levels

Here are the language levels that relate to our courses. These are Council of Europe levels and are being used by more and more schools, universities and employers.

The time and number or study hours it takes to get from one level the next varies. For example, to get from advanced C1 to very advanced C2 usually takes students 2 x 90 hour courses, whereas most students can get from A2 to B1 after one course of 90 hours.

Levels and Courses

Council of Europe levels General English Exams preparation Business English IELTS Skills and Business Skills Legal English Special courses
A1.1 Beginners
A1.2 Elementary
A2 Pre-intermediate
B1.1 Intermediate 1
B1.2 Intermediate 2 BEC Preliminary IELTS Skills and B. Skills Legal English
B2 Upper intermediate FCE BEC Vantage IELTS Skills and B. Skills Legal English Special courses
C1.1 Advanced 1 IELTS Skills and B. Skills Legal English Special courses
C1.2 CAE BEC Higher IELTS Skills and B. Skills Legal English Special courses
C2.1 Advanced 2 IELTS Legal English Special courses
C2.2 CPE IELTS Legal English Special courses

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