SFI and CEFR levels

What Is equivalence of SFI in CEFR level?

One of the most frequent questions is What is my level? And how can I know my level?
Absolute beginner and beginners are in general A0. In other words candidates in these category should take A1 course. By the accomplishment of the course, the level becomes A1.

If you have studied Swedish somewhere, you should then tell us how long and where you have been studying Swedish. You can then do a test or visit our class for the most optimal diagnose of your level.

I have taken SFI course, so which course shall I take?
You shall not confuse SFI scale measurement with CEFR. SFI scale is completely different, you have to keep it in mind.

CEFR A1CEFR A2CEFR B1CEFR B2
SFI AA1-/A1
SFI BA1/A2
SFI CA2/A2+
SFI DB1/B1+

SFI vs CEFR

What is the difference between SFI and CEFR level?

SFI Swedish is divided into four courses/ levels: A, B, C, and D. Depending on your past academic background and personal circumstances, you will begin at one of these levels.

There are three tracks for the SFI courses.

So if we would try to compare somehow SFI and CEFR scale , it it would look like this more or less. The table below shows approximately the correspondence between SFI and CEFR scales, but it is not exact. The reason is that SFI scale is also a “track” that is described above. Let say that you are a beginner but you have been placed in SFI C course Track 3. Then it doesn’t mean that you have automatically A2 CEFR level. According CEFR you are A1.

The CEFR levelsSFI levelsYKI Finland levelsLevelEnglish language levels
A1SFI A, B1Basic userBEGINNER
A2SFI C2Basic userELEMENTARY
B1SFI D3Independent userINTERMEDIATE 
B2SVA grundläggande4Independent userUPPER-INTERMEDIATE 
B2SVA 15Independent userUPPER-INTERMEDIATE 
C1SVA 26Proficient userADVANCED
C1/C2SVA 36Proficient userADVANCED

CEFR - The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

CEFR is the abbreviation of The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and it is a language scale tool to measure and estimate one’s language ability. It is applied a bit differently depending on the grammatical complexity of the particular language, but overall it is a standard measurement of language scale.

Particularly for the Swedish language, the A2 level can be interpreted as an Intermediate level as well. One can also say that the Swedish language does not have a C2 level in that sense. Overall, one can rely on CEFR level descriptions that make it possible to compare proficiency in different languages, regardless of the school system or degree:

A1 and A2: Beginners level users

B1 and B2: independent language users

C1 and C2: Advanced language user

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