Whether you're hiring new talent or upskilling your current team, understanding the level of English proficiency required for specific roles is crucial. In today's global business environment, effective communication is key to success, and that's where the Global Scale of English (GSE) comes into play.
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The GSE is a simple, yet powerful tool designed to assess reading, writing, listening and speaking skills with precision and accuracy. Backed by extensive research and development, the GSE provides HR managers with a reliable standard for measuring English proficiency across the globe. This standardized scale enables employers to set clear benchmarks for specific roles, gain insights into employee skills and foster professional growth through personalized learning pathways.
The development and validation of the GSE involved input from language experts and was supported by in-depth research, ensuring its relevance and applicability in the corporate world. By fast-tracking progress and building confidence, the GSE is an invaluable asset for any organization looking to optimize language skills within their workforce.
When it comes to determining the appropriate level of English proficiency for your employees, GSE Job Profiles are an essential resource. This tool maps English skills to over 1300 roles, helping you to:
With the GSE Job Profiles, you can confidently establish the English proficiency needed for your organization's success.
Assessing the English proficiency of your employees is a critical step in managing your team's skillset. Using a test like Versant by ɫèAV, you can measure individual proficiency levels with ease and accuracy. Versant by ɫèAV tests are designed to provide detailed insights into an individual's language abilities, enabling you to make informed decisions about hiring and training.
To effectively interpret the results of English proficiency tests, it's essential to be familiar with general adult descriptors. These descriptors offer a framework for understanding the different levels of proficiency, helping you align scores with the communication needs of your organization.
The following table breaks down the GSE levels:
GSE Score |
GSE Level |
You can... |
| GSE 10-19 | Starter | You can use and understand a small number of words and phrases related to the workplace.​ For example, you can greet customers and introduce yourself. |
| GSE 20-29 | Beginner | You can ask and answer simple questions, write short sentences and share simple workplace information. For example, you can follow simple instructions to carry out a work-related task. |
| GSE 30-39 | Pre-intermediate | You can talk about everyday workplace topics and understand the main information in conversations. For example, you can make simple work-related calls. |
| GSE 40-49 | Intermediate | You can share your opinions, explain your reasoning and write longer texts, such as short business reports. You can also write a CV/resume. |
| GSE 50-59 | High-intermediate | You can lead and participate in conversations and give presentations on familiar and unfamiliar topics, and write documents expressing opinion or fact, such as project reports and articles.​ |
| GSE 60-69 | Pre-Advanced | You're beginning to speak more fluently about a broad range of work-related topics and share your detailed ideas and explanations in professional written communications.​ For example, you can talk about your professional background. |
| GSE 70-79 | Advanced | You can speak fluently in personal, professional and academic contexts and understand unfamiliar topics, even colloquialisms. For example, you can use motivational language to encourage other employees. |
| GSE 80-90 | Expert | You can talk spontaneously, fluently and precisely, read and write documents with ease and understand spoken English in all contexts, including leading technical discussions and complex negotations. |
Once you've assessed proficiency levels, the next step is to enhance your employees' English skills. is a leading language learning platform that offers interactive courses tailored to meet diverse learning needs. Your team can improve their language abilities at their own pace, building confidence and enhancing their overall communication skills.
Ready to optimize your team's English proficiency? Explore our GSE Job Profiles and discover how the GSE, Versant by ɫèAV and Mondly by ɫèAV can transform your organization's communication capabilities. Together, we can develop a strategy to elevate your workforce and ensure your company's success in the global market.
Read our posts 'Target employees’ English language upskilling with the GSE Job Profiles' and 'Craft the perfect job description: Ensure your candidates have the right English proficiency' to learn more about GSE Job Profiles can help your organization.
As demographic shifts and technological advancements reshape the global workforce, the gap between the skills people have and the skills they need continues to widen. This "skills chasm" is particularly evident in language learning, where traditional education systems often fail to keep pace with the demands of the modern economy.
Engaging in conversations, especially in a language that isn't your first, can sometimes be daunting. Whether English isn’t your first language or you’re just looking to improve your conversational skills, having a few handy phrases up your sleeve can make a world of difference. Here are seven essential phrases that can help you navigate conversations in English with greater ease and confidence.
Grammar is one of the core areas of language teaching. Often, new teachers are nervous about teaching it, but sooner or later, all English teachers will have to get to grips with it. Whether you love or hate teaching grammar to your students, the makes planning a successful grammar lesson easier than ever.Ìý
When it comes to planning a grammar-focused lesson, there are two main strategies to choose from: a communicative approach or a focus-on-form approach. The communicative approach is more commonly used.Ìý
So, let’s have a look at how the GSE Teacher Toolkit can help you plan a communicative grammar lesson that is effective and engaging for your students.Ìý
When you’re planning a grammar lesson, you want to be sure there is a reason for students to use the grammar point that you’re going to teach. That way, your students will be more motivated to learn the form and practise using it correctly.Ìý
Using and applying grammar generally requires producing something. That’s why grammar, as an enabling skill, is often aligned to speaking and writing, the productive skills. When you want your students to use or produce a particular grammar form, you can begin by looking for the associated skills in speaking and writing.Ìý
Imagine that you have a class that is learning at an A2 level (35 - 40 on the GSE range). You’ll want to help them work towards A2+/B1. So, it’s a good idea to plan lessons around skills that are in your target GSE range to push their progress.Ìý
In order to plan an A2+ range speaking class, you can filter the GSE Teacher Toolkit to look in your target learning range for specific skills to teach:Ìý
