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CEFR Level A1

A1 is the first level of the Common European Framework and the lower of the two Basic User levels. Its informal name is Breakthrough.

What A1 actually means

An A1 speaker can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at satisfying needs of a concrete type. They can introduce themselves and others, ask and answer questions about personal details — where they live, people they know, things they have — and interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

That last clause is the whole level. A1 communication is cooperative: it works when the other party is patient, and breaks down when they are not.

What it is not

A1 is not nothing, and treating it as nothing is the most common error learners make about themselves. A person at A1 has crossed from zero to functional in a defined set of situations. They can arrive in a country and not be helpless.

It is also not conversation. A1 is survival and courtesy — greeting, ordering, asking directions, filling in a form with name and nationality and address.

What it is worth in practice

• Immigration. Several European states require A1 for an initial residence permit or for spousal and family reunification visas. Where that is the rule, an A1 certificate is not a nicety — it is the document that decides whether a family is allowed to live together. This is the single most consequential use of the level, and the requirements change with the politics of the moment.
• Work. Rarely sufficient on its own, but genuinely useful in trades and service work where a specific, limited vocabulary covers most of the job. See Language Registers Business Religious and Trade Language.
• Study. Not sufficient for any course taught in the language.

Certificates at A1 with staying power

Prefer examinations issued by, or on behalf of, the country whose language it is. Those outlast the companies that sell courses.

• Spanish — DELE A1, Instituto Cervantes, issued on behalf of the Spanish Ministry of Education. No expiry.
• French — DELF A1, awarded in the name of the French Ministry of Education. A lifetime diploma.
• German — Goethe-Zertifikat A1: Start Deutsch 1, Goethe-Institut. There is also a Fit in Deutsch 1 version for younger candidates.
• Italian — CILS A1 (Università per Stranieri di Siena) and the corresponding PLIDA A1 (Società Dante Alighieri).
• English — Cambridge's suite begins its main series at A2, with Pre A1 Starters existing in the Young Learners range. For adults at A1 the practical route is to prepare for A2 Key rather than to certify at A1.

How long it takes

Published guided-learning-hours estimates for reaching A1 cluster around 80 to 100 hours for a European language from a European starting point. Treat those figures as indicative only: they assume a related language, regular study and a teacher. A language distant from your own takes substantially longer, and immersion changes the arithmetic entirely.

Where to go next

Straight to CEFR Level A2, which is where the level starts to pay — it is the point at which a person can describe their own background and manage routine transactions without assistance.

See also: CEFR The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages · Teaching English Abroad TEFL and TESOL · Making Money Certificate Pathways

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