I can speak Esperanto; the test says so! (original) (raw)

So, about three years ago, I took an Esperanto exam at level B2, and figured that would be the highest level I would take; partly since certification in Esperanto is pretty pointless anyway and partly because I didn’t think I’d ever get to C1, as I thought that’s basically native-speaker level.

But this year, I decided (more or less on a whim) to apply for the C1-level test held during SES 2014 in Slovakia, which I attended. I figured that not enough people would apply and that the test would get cancelled like it did last year.

But no, when I got there, I found that the test was actually scheduled, so I got to sit it. The spoken part was via Google Hangout with two teachers in different parts of Europe; the written part was the next day in a big room with all the other participants. (I sat next to a nun who was sitting the B1 level, if I remember correctly.)

It did take me nearly all the time scheduled, which surprised me a little; especially the essay tasks. (Plus I had to come up with an opinion on Google Glass and its influence on society, a topic I hadn’t given all that much specific thought to before.) And I was glad that I had borrowed a [monolingual Esperanto] dictionary from my teacher, since I referred to it fairly often during the test and did not have to share one of the few shared ones.

I got the scores for my individual spoken portion during the SES week, but was told that complete scores would have to wait until September.

Fast forward till today: my scores are now available in a password-protected area on the ITK website.

And I did fairly well, if I do say so myself: 84/90 spoken, 76/80 written. I was a little surprised that my “written self-expression” scored better than my “reading understanding”, but whatever.

So, in a few more weeks I should have a little bound diploma telling me that I can officially speak Esperanto at a C1 level; who would have thought that a couple of years ago!

Detailed results:

Spoken	Speaking ability	Communicative value	20/20 points
Vocabulary size	19/20 points
Correctness of language	18/20 points
Listening comprehension	Listening comprehension (sound recording)	27/30 points	Minimum number of points required: 12 points
Spoken portion:	84/90	required: at least 54 out of 90 points

Written	Language knowledge	19/20 points
Written commentary	20/20 points	Minimum number of points required: 16 points
Written self-expression	20/20 points
Reading comprehension	17/20 points	Minimum number of points required: 8 points
Written portion:	76/80	required: at least 48 out of 80 points

(My translation; the official result is in Esperanto.)