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Language Testing in Asia
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Table 9 The Vocabulary Descriptor Bank

From: Calibrating the CEFR against the China Standards of English for College English vocabulary education in China

CEFR-CSE level ID Descriptor wording
C1-CSE8 V1 Understands and uses a wide range of vocabulary
C1-CSE8 V2 Understands and uses a wide range of idioms
C1-CSE8 V3 Understands and uses a wide range of technical jargon
C1-CSE8 V4 Understands and uses a wide range of colloquial expressions
B1 + -CSE6 V5 Knows many most frequently used idioms
C1-CSE8 V6 Knows quite a large number of less usual idioms
C1-CSE8 V7 Knows the synonyms of less common words
C1-CSE8 V8 Knows the antonyms of less common words
C1-CSE8 V9 Knows expressions based on polysemy
B2-CSE7 V10 Knows a number of principles of word formation, e.g., agree - agreeable
B1-CSE5 V11 Knows how to use basic word formation principles
B1 + -CSE6 V12 Can recognize polysemy, e.g., back a car/back a proposal
B2-CSE7 V13 Can recognize and use a range of vocabulary
B2-CSE7 V14 Can recognize and use a range of idioms
B2-CSE7 V15 Can recognize and use a range of colloquial expressions
B2-CSE7 V16 Can recognize and use a range of technical jargon
B2-CSE7 V17 Can use a number of frequently used idioms
C1-CSE8 V18 Can use words idiomatically and appropriately
B1 + -CSE6 V19 Can use a range of affixations to produce basic words
C1-CSE8 V20 Can use affixations even in the case of unusual and abstract words to form even less common expressions
B1-CSE5 V21 Can produce synonyms of basic words in different contexts
B2-CSE7 V22 Can produce synonyms of most common words in different contexts
B1 + -CSE6 V23 Can produce the synonyms to the most common words of most parts of speech
B1-CSE5 V24 Can produce antonyms of basic words in different contexts
B2-CSE7 V25 Can produce antonyms of most common words in different contexts
B1 + -CSE6 V26 Can produce the antonyms to the most common words of most parts of speech
B1-CSE5 V27 Can produce some frequent collocations
B2-CSE7 V28 Can express meanings by adding affixation to familiar words, e.g., have a review
B2-CSE7 V29 Has a good command of vocabulary related to everyday situations
C1-CSE8 V30 Finds several vocabulary options in almost all speaking and writing situations
B1-CSE5 V31 Knows the meaning of 3,000 words
B1-CSE5 V32 Knows the meaning of 400–500 idioms or fixed collocations
B1 + -CSE6 V33 Knows the meaning of about 5,000 words and words from the AWL (Academic Word List), and 700 phrases, among which 2,000 are active words
B2-CSE7 V34 Knows about 6,000 words, and words from the AWL (Academic Word List) and 1,200 phrases, among which 2,200 are active words
C1-CSE8 V35 Knows the meaning of about 8,000 words and words from the AWL (Academic Word List), and 2,000 phrases
B1-CSE5 V36 Can recognize the meaning of 1,500–2,000 most frequent everyday vocabulary related to a range of basic personal and familiar situations
B1-CSE5 V37 Can produce the meaning of 1,500–2,000 most frequent everyday vocabulary related to a range of basic personal and familiar situations
B1 + -CSE6 V38 Can produce the meaning of 2,000 most frequent words
C1-CSE8 V39 Has a good command of over 5,000 words
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