Understanding the Échelle Québécoise Des Niveaux de Compétence en Français

What's your level of French? Beginner, intermediate or advanced? If you're learning French as part of your studies in Quebec, or as part of an immigration process to Quebec, you may find it useful to know your level according to the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français.

What is the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français?

Created in 2000, the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français is the responsibility of the Ministère de la Langue française. It has 12 levels, and sets the standard for describing and assessing the language skills of learners for whom French is not their first language. According to the official document, “the Quebec scale comprises twelve levels subdivided into three stages: beginner (levels 1 to 4), intermediate (levels 5 to 8) and advanced (levels 9 to 12). It specifies what the individual is able to achieve in each of the four skills: oral comprehension, oral production, written comprehension and written production”.

What is the purpose of the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français?

The Échelle québécoise provides a common frame of reference for establishing the language profile of adults for whom French is not their first language. Although the Quebec scale is not an assessment tool, it can be used, among other things, to : 

• inform learners of their progress and the level of proficiency achieved
• serve as a reference for the development of pedagogical content for the teaching of French
• support employers and other labor market partners in setting up French language learning services in the workplace.

Equivalences between the CEFR and the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français

At Global Lingua, we assess your level against the European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Here are the equivalences between the CEFR and the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français.

Read our article to learn more about the CEFR levels, or European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Details about the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français

To establish a learner's level in French, the Échelle québécoise specifies a number of evaluation points, such as ease of communication, context, type of subject covered, content (factual, explicit, concrete) and linguistic components.

For a more precise definition of your level according to the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français, visit the Government of Quebec website.

If you don't know your level of French, or would like to take a course to improve your skills, Global Lingua offers conversation-based French courses, as well as corporate francization courses.