Test takers who receive a score at the INTERMEDIATE level, as you did, typically understand academic texts in English that require a wide range of reading abilities, although their understanding of certain parts of the texts is limited.

Test takers who receive a score at the INTERMEDIATE level typically:
have a good command of common academic vocabulary, but still have some difficulty with high-level vocabulary; have a very good understanding of grammatical structure; can understand and connect information, make appropriate inferences, and synthesize information in a range of texts, but have more difficulty when the vocabulary is high level and the text is conceptually dense; can recognize the expository organization of a text and the role that specific information serves within a larger text, but have some difficulty when these are not explicit or easy to infer from the text; and can abstract major ideas from a text, but have more difficulty doing so when the text is conceptually dense.

Read as much and as often as possible. Study the organization of academic texts and overall structure of reading passages. Read an entire passage from beginning to end.
Pay attention to the relationship between the main ideas and the supporting details.
Outline the text to test your understanding of the structure of the reading passage.
Write a summary of the entire passage. If the text is a comparison, be sure that your summary reflects that. If the text argues two points of view, be sure both points of view are reflected in your summary. Continually expand your vocabulary by developing a system for recording unfamiliar words.
Group words according to topic or meaning and study the words as a list of related words.
Study roots, prefixes, and suffixes; study word families.
Use available vocabulary resources, such as a good thesaurus or a dictionary of collocations (words commonly used together)

Test takers who receive a score at the pre-intermediate level, as you did, typically understand
some of the information presented in academic texts in English that require a
wide range of reading abilities, but their understanding is limited.

Test takers who receive a score at the pre-intermediate level typically:
have a command of basic academic vocabulary, but their understanding of less common vocabulary is inconsistent; have limited ability to understand and connect information, have difficulty recognizing paraphrases of text information, and often rely on particular words and phrases rather than a complete understanding of the text; have difficulty identifying the author’s purpose, except when that purpose is explicitly stated in the text or easy to infer from the text; and can sometimes recognize major ideas from a text when the information is clearly presented, memorable or illustrated by examples, but have difficulty doing so when the text is more demanding.

Read as much and as often as possible. Develop a system for recording unfamiliar words.
Group words into lists according to topic or meaning and review and study the words on a regular basis so that you remember them.
Increase your vocabulary by analyzing word parts; study roots, prefixes, and suffixes; study word families. Study the organization of academic texts and overall structure of a reading passage. Read an entire passage from beginning to end.
Look at connections between sentences; look at how the end of one sentence relates to the beginning of the next sentence.Look for the main ideas and supporting details and pay attention to the relationship between them.
Outline a text to test your understanding of the structure of a reading passage.
Begin by grouping paragraphs that address the same concept.
Write one sentence summarizing the paragraphs that discuss the same idea.
Write a summary of the entire passage.

Test takers who receive a score at the elementary level can understand familiar names, words and very simple sentences, for example on notices and posters or in catalogues.

Test takers who receive a score at the elementary level typically: Can understand very short, simple texts a single phrase at a time, picking up familiar names, words and basic phrases and rereading as required.
Can understand short, simple messages on postcards
Can recognize familiar names, words and very basic phrases on simple notices in the most common everyday situations.
Can get an idea of the content of simpler informational material and short simple descriptions, especially if there is visual support.
Can follow short, simple written directions (e.g., to go from X to Y)

Read as much and as often as possible. Develop a system for recording unfamiliar words.
Group words into lists according to topic or meaning and review and study the words on a regular basis so that you remember them.
Increase your vocabulary by analyzing word parts; study roots, prefixes, and suffixes; study word families. Read an entire passage from beginning to end.
Look at connections between sentences; look at how the end of one sentence relates to the beginning of the next sentence. Look for the main ideas and supporting details and pay attention to the relationship between them.

Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a view point on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst traveling in an area where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics, which are familiar, or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes & ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g.very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.

Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

Test takers who receive a score at the upper-intermediate level, as you did, typically understand conversations and lectures in English that present a wide range of listening demands. These demands can include difficult vocabulary, complex grammatical structures, abstract or complex ideas. Can understand extended speech and follow even complex lines of argument provided the topic is reasonably familiar. Can understand most TV news and current affairs programs. Can understand the majority of films in standard dialect.

When listening to lectures and conversations like these, test takers at the upper-intermediate level typically can:
understand main ideas and important details, whether they are stated or implied; distinguish more important ideas from less important ones; understand how information is being used (for example, to provide evidence for a claim or describe a step in a complex process); recognize how pieces of information are connected (for example, in a cause-and-effect relationship); understand many different ways that speakers use language for purposes other than to give information (for example, to emphasize a point, express agreement or disagreement, or convey intentions indirectly); and synthesize information, even when it is not presented in sequence, and make correct inferences on the basis of that information.

Further, develop your listening ability with daily practice in listening in English
and by challenging yourself with increasingly lengthy listening selections and
more complex listening material.
Listen to different kinds of materials on a variety of topics:
Focus on topics that are new to you.
Listen to academic lectures and public talks.
Listen to audio and video material on TV, radio and the Internet.
Listen to programs with academic content, such as NOVA, BBC and NPR broadcasts.
Listen to conversations, phone calls and phone recordings.
Take live and audio-recorded tours (e.g., of museums).
Listen actively:
Take notes as you listen for main ideas and important details.
Make predictions about what you will hear next.
Summarize.
Write down new words and expressions. For the more difficult material you have chosen to listen to, listen several
times:
1. First listen for the main ideas and key details;
2. Then listen again to fill in gaps in your understanding; to understand the connections between ideas, the structure of the talk and the speakers’ attitude; and to distinguish fact from opinion.

Test takers who receive a score at the INTERMEDIATE level, as you did, typically understand conversations and lectures in English that present a wide range of listening demands. These demands can include difficult vocabulary (uncommon terms or colloquial or figurative language), complex grammatical structures and/ or abstract or complex ideas. However, lectures and conversations that require the listener to make sense of unexpected or seemingly contradictory information may present some difficulty.

When listening to conversations and lectures like these, test takers at the INTERMEDIATE level typically can:
understand explicitly stated main ideas and important details, especially if they are reinforced, but may have difficulty understanding main ideas that must be inferred or important details that are not reinforced; understand how information is being used (for example, to provide support or describe a step in a complex process); recognize how pieces of information are connected (for example, in a cause-and-effect relationship); understand, though perhaps not consistently, ways that speakers use language for purposes other than to give information (for example, to emphasize a point, express agreement or disagreement, or convey intentions indirectly); and synthesize information from adjacent parts of a lecture or conversation and make correct inferences on the basis of that information, but may have difficulty synthesizing information from separate parts of a lecture or conversation.

Practice listening in English daily. Gradually increase the amount of time that you spend listening, the length of the listening selections and the difficulty of the material.
Listen to different kinds of materials on a variety of topics:
Start with familiar topics; then move to topics that are new to you.
Listen to audio and video material on tape/DVD or recorded from TV, radio and the Internet.
Listen to programs with academic content, such as NOVA, BBC and NPR broadcasts.
Listen to conversations and phone recordings.
Listen actively:
- take notes as you listen for main ideas and important details.
- Ask yourself about basic information (Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?).
- Make predictions about what you will hear next.
- Summarize.
- Write down new words and expressions.
For more difficult material, listen several times:
1. First listen with English subtitles, if they are available;
2. Then, without subtitles, listen for the main ideas and key details;
3. Then listen again to fill in gaps in your basic understanding and to understand the connections

Test takers who receive a score at the pre-intermediate level, as you did, typically understand the main idea and some important details of conversations. However, test takers at the low level may have difficulty understanding lectures and conversations in English that involve abstract or complex ideas and recognizing the relationship between those ideas. Test takers at this level also may not understand sections of lectures and conversations that contain difficult vocabulary or complex grammatical structures.

Test takers at the pre-intermediate level typically can:
understand main ideas when they are stated explicitly or marked as important, but may have difficulty understanding main ideas if they are not stated explicitly; understand important details when they are stated explicitly or marked as important, but may have difficulty understanding details if they are not repeated or clearly marked as important, or if they are conveyed over several exchanges among different speakers; understand ways that speakers use language to emphasize a point or to indicate agreement or disagreement, but generally only when the information is related to a central theme or is clearly marked as important; and make connections between the key ideas in a conversation, particularly if the ideas are related to a central theme or are repeated.

Practice listening in English daily. Gradually increase the amount of time that you spend listening, as well as the length of the individual listening selections.
Listen to different kinds of materials on a variety of topics:
Listen to recordings on topics that are familiar to you.
Listen to recordings of English lessons.
Listen to audio and video material on tape/DVD or recorded from TV.
Listen to short programs with some academic content.
Listen to conversations.
Listen actively:
- Take notes as you listen for main ideas and important details.
- Ask yourself about basic information (Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?).
- Make predictions about what you will hear next.
- Summarize.
- Write down new words and expressions.- Listen several times to each recording:
1. First listen with English subtitles, if they are available;
2. Then, without subtitles, listen for the main ideas and key details;
3. Then listen again to fill in gaps in your basic understanding and to understand the connections between ideas.

Test takers who receive a score at the elementary level can recognise familiar words and very basic phrases concerning them, their family and immediate concrete surroundings when people speak slowly and clearly.

Test takers at the elementary level typically can:
Can follow speech that is very slow and carefully articulated, with long pauses for him/her to assimilate meaning.
Can generally identify the topic of discussion around her that is conducted slowly and clearly.
Can understand instructions addressed carefully and slowly to him/her and follow short, simple directions.
Can follow changes of topic of factual TV news items, and form an idea of the main content.

Practice listening in English daily. Gradually increase the amount of time that you spend listening, as well as the length of the individual listening selections.
Listen to different kinds of materials on a variety of topics:
Listen to recordings on topics that are familiar to you.
Listen to recordings of English lessons.
Listen to audio and video material on tape/DVD or recorded from TV.
Listen to short programs with some academic content.
Listen to conversations.
Listen actively:
- Take notes as you listen for main ideas and important details.
- Ask yourself about basic information (Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?).
- Make predictions about what you will hear next.
- Summarize.
- Write down new words and expressions.- Listen several times to each recording:
1. First listen with English subtitles, if they are available;
2. Then, without subtitles, listen for the main ideas and key details;
3. Then listen again to fill in gaps in your basic understanding and to understand the connections between ideas.