For anyone interested in possibly taking a CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) exam in Esperanto in the future, this page offers CEFR practice exams at three levels. Even if you aren't interested in taking a CEFR exam, it looks like a good study aid to test how much you know! The answers are provided, so you can see where you went wrong.

Of course we also have exams at lernu, but it's always good to have more options, and the CEFR ones seem to require more reading and writing.

Thanks for that hint.

Intervjuo pri la KER-ekzamenoj (Katalin)

Referenckadro (some backgound information at edukado.net)

Komunaj referencniveloj: laŭŝtupa memtaksilo needs an edukado.net account.

Komuna eŭropa referenckadro (eo.wikipedia.org)

Ĉu vi scias, ke eblas trapasi Tutmondan Skriban Ekzamensesion laŭ la KER-sistemo?

Vidu la detalojn ĉe http://www.edukado.net/novajhoj?id=186

kaj por inspiriĝi spektu la reklamfilmon kun la muziko de JoMo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qQolY9h9a0

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Did you know that you can pass the written KER (CEFR) exams by participating in the Worldwide Written Exam Session?

Find the details at http://www.edukado.net/novajhoj?id=186

To get inspired, watch the advertisement clip, with music from JoMo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qQolY9h9a0

Examinations!

But Katalina, everybody knows that you only need 6 days to become a spertulo in Esperanto with the authority to demand substantial revision of the language.

You have only to look through the posts at Lernu to see how quickly absolute beginners become experts on whether Esperanto should have an accusative and other knotty problems.

Why, only after a few weeks, many of these novices, clearly should be standing for election to La Akadamio, so advanced have they become in their learned pronouncements.

sudanglo:Examinations!

But Katalina, everybody knows that you only need 6 days to become a spertulo in Esperanto with the authority to demand substantial revision of the language.

You have only to look through the posts at Lernu to see how quickly absolute beginners become experts on whether Esperanto should have an accusative and other knotty problems.

Why, only after a few weeks, many of these novices, clearly should be standing for election to La Akadamio, so advanced have they become in their learned pronouncements.

Others of us, who are struggling to gain some kind of competency, are dismayed by those who wish to change the ground beneath our feet.

Don't be dismayed Guy. The chance is about zero that any of the various reforms that you can find hotly debated in these beginners forums will actually enter the language.

Although I was teasing Katalin, there is something slightly odd about the notion of exams for Esperanto.

I can well imagine that the early Esperantists would have found the idea unwelcome, if only on propaganda grounds.

However in the 21st century, there may well be considerable propaganda value in having the formal paraphernalia associated with national languages. Particularly in this case, as the levels criteria have achieved formal recognition in the EU.

However there are various problems in principle which have been swept under the carpet.

What is difficult and easy in Esperanto doesn't follow the same pattern as what is difficult and easy in the national languages.

There aren't many areas of grammar in Esperanto which you might classify as difficult, and where this might be considered a reasonable description, there may not be uniform acceptance of what is correct.

Also much of the testing in a national language would be concerned with irregular forms - the more you have mastered these the more advanced you are. This does not apply in the case of Esperanto.

In the area of vocabulary what may be easy in a national language (because of the certainty of usage) may be debatable in Esperanto.

And who is to say that a compound word (easy to construct) in Esperanto is not a reasonable alternative to some specific root. Is Supervendejo more or less correct than Supermarkto (or indeed Butikego, Magazenego etc)

Knowledge of a least some common idioms would be a sign of an advanced level in a national language, but the same criterion would not apply in the case of Esperanto.

And in the matter of pronunciation, the criterion for a good accent in a national lanuage is well-defined (with reference to native speakers). Far less easy in Esperanto to classify an (intelligible) French or German accent as superior.

sudanglo:Don't be dismayed Guy.

Thanks. I find virtually everything can be translated from Esperanto with patience & a dictionary but I find it much harder to communicate in Esperanto with any kind of confidence, especially without cribs to hand.

1Guy1: I find virtually everything can be translated from Esperanto with patience & a dictionary but I find it much harder to communicate in Esperanto with any kind of confidence, especially without cribs to hand.

What does cribs mean? For me crib is a craddle.

Thanks for the info. Certainly, with the certificate, it enhance the career advancement, just the Malaysian experience.

If Esperanto is going to be in school, it should be issued with certificate of proficiency.

By the way what is ITK standing for ? It is not in Esperanto.

gxis

sudanglo:However there are various problems in principle which have been swept under the carpet.

What is difficult and easy in Esperanto doesn't follow the same pattern as what is difficult and easy in the national languages.

No offense, Sudanglo, but it seems like you don't know a lot about the CEFR exams, if you're making this statement.

CEFR exams aren't about "difficult" or "easy" grammatical forms. They don't measure how many grammatical forms you know, but by what you can do with the language.

For example, a person who speaks any language (including Esperanto) at CEFR A level should be able to have a simple conversation, in which they give basic personal information. They will be able to communicate basic health information to a doctor (I'm feeling ...), talk about their families, hold a simple conversation about the weather, etc. The B level up would require that the person be able to talk in a mostly grammatically correct way about topics that they are familiar with. The person would be have a reasonable understanding of a person speaking the target language with a standard accent. At the C (highest) CEFR level, people should be able to read and texts in the language that are written using specialist, technical language, and understand most of it. They should be able to hold complex conversations, even on topics they aren't very familiar with. They should be able to understand people speaking even with a strong accent, using non-standard language.

If you're interested, you can download the standards on this site

The difference between Esperanto and other languages, as far as CEFR is concerned, is that you would achieve a higher CEFR level much more quickly in Esperanto than in other languages. The Esperanto-language exams are not any less valid than those for other languages; you would just progress through them more quickly.