The ILR Scale Explained: Levels 0–5 and What FSI Aims For

Every FSI hour figure (552 for Italian, 1,012 for Russian, 2,200 for Japanese) is an estimate of the time to reach one level on one scale: Level 3 on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale. If you've only met the CEFR's A1–C2, the ILR scale looks unfamiliar. Here's how it works, what each level means, and how you can estimate your own level without a government test.

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Where the ILR scale comes from

The Interagency Language Roundtable is a group of U.S. federal agencies that work with foreign languages. According to the ILR's own history, the scale started in the 1950s, when the government realised it had no reliable way to know which employees could actually use a foreign language. An interagency committee led by the Foreign Service Institute's dean devised a single 1-to-6 scale for "language". FSI kept refining it, split it into separate scales for each skill, and standardised it on six base levels from 0 to 5. By 1985 the descriptions had been revised under the ILR to include full descriptions of the "plus" levels, and they've been known as the ILR scale since.

The six base levels

The official names and the opening line of each speaking description, from the ILR skill level descriptions for speaking:

Two things stand out. First, the top of the scale is a highly educated native speaker, not an average one, so Level 5 is rare even among people who have lived abroad for decades. Second, the jump between levels gets bigger as you go up. Going from 0 to 1 might take a few months; going from 3 to 4 can take years of professional use.

Plus levels

Between the base levels there are plus levels: 0+, 1+, 2+, 3+ and 4+. The ILR assigns one "when proficiency substantially exceeds one base skill level and does not fully meet the criteria for the next base level." So a 2+ can do a lot of Level 3 work, but not consistently. That gives eleven possible ratings in all, from 0 to 5.

Separate skills, separate scores

Unlike a single CEFR certificate, ILR ratings are given per skill. There are descriptions for speaking, listening, reading and writing, and the ILR also publishes scales for translation, interpretation and intercultural communication. A rating is often written as a pair or a set, such as "S-3/R-3" for speaking 3 and reading 3. Uneven profiles are normal: someone who learned by reading may be R-3 and S-2.

What FSI targets, and why

The State Department says its timelines are the time usually expected for a student to reach "an integrated score of 3 (Speaking + Listening)". Level 3 is the point at which a diplomat can do the job in the language: hold formal and informal conversations, follow discussions on professional topics, and get the point across without the listener having to make allowances.

That's why the FSI hours look high to casual learners. They aren't hours to "get by on holiday" (closer to Level 1) or to "hold a conversation" (around Level 2). They're hours to professional working proficiency, the level most people would call fluent in practice. If you want to compare with the CEFR, see our post on FSI hours vs CEFR levels: there's no official conversion, and published mappings put ILR 3 anywhere from B2 to C1 or above.

Which languages fall where is in the full FSI list.

How to estimate your own ILR level

You can't take an official ILR test unless an agency sends you, but the ILR publishes free self-assessments for speaking, listening and reading. They're lists of can-do statements by level. You start at Level 1, answer yes or no to each statement, and move up while you can say yes to all of them. A mix of yes and no at the next level suggests a plus level.

They're informal guides for people who haven't taken a government test, so be honest and conservative. A useful habit is to redo one every few hundred hours of study and note the date and your logged total. Over a year or two that gives you something no generic estimate can: your own hours per level.

Using the scale to plan

• Level 1 is a realistic first goal for any language, including Category IV ones.
• Level 2 is where a language becomes useful at work for routine tasks. For most learners it's a better medium-term goal than "fluency".
• Level 3 is the FSI benchmark. Use its hours to judge the size of the project, then check your pace against it.

Track the hours that get you between levels. LangTrack logs every session by language and activity, which turns "I think I'm about a 2" into "I was a 2 at 400 hours, so 3 is probably another few hundred away".

FAQ

What is the ILR scale?

The Interagency Language Roundtable scale is the U.S. government's language proficiency scale. It has six base levels from 0 (no proficiency) to 5 (functionally native proficiency), plus intermediate “plus” levels, and it rates speaking, listening, reading and writing separately.

What does ILR Level 3 mean?

Level 3 is “general professional proficiency”. In speaking, it describes someone able to use the language with enough accuracy and vocabulary to take part effectively in most formal and informal conversations. It's the level FSI's hour estimates aim for.

What is the ILR level for fluent?

The ILR doesn't use the word fluent as a level. What most people mean by fluent in a work setting is close to Level 3 (general professional proficiency). Level 4 is advanced professional proficiency, and Level 5 is equivalent to a highly articulate, well-educated native speaker.

How do I find my ILR level?

Official ILR ratings come from government tests. For a rough estimate, the ILR publishes free self-assessments for speaking, listening and reading on govtilr.org, where you work up the levels answering can-do statements.

Related reading: FSI Language List: Hours to Learn Every Language · FSI Hours vs CEFR Levels · The Hardest Languages for English Speakers