Canadian Language Benchmarks, or CLBs, are a standard used in Canadian immigration applications to describe 12 levels of language ability in Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. They are used in many contexts, including immigration to Canada, and studying in Canada.
CLB represents the Canadian Language Benchmarks. It is the national standard in Canada for depicting, estimating and perceiving the English language capability of adult immigrants and prospective immigrants for living and working in Canada.
CLB benchmarks are coordinated in three phases and 12 levels. These portray errands that individuals can do in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Lower level benchmarks depict individuals who might be new to English (CLB 1 to 4), while the more significant levels mean more prominent capability in the language-dependent on errands that they can do.
CLB is utilized in Canada to instruct and test language learning for adults. It is significant for you to comprehend the CLB on the off chance that you intend to go to English class, train, search for work or study at a school or college.
The CLBs are not a test themselves – they are ways of describing the results you would get on a language test such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or Test d’évaluation du français (TEF) test. So there is no such thing as a CLB test, but you can use your language test results to determine your language level according to the CLBs.
So, what’s my CLB Level?
As mentioned earlier, CLB is not a test. If you take a language test such as IELTS, you won’t see your CLBs on the results certificate. You can use the tables below to find your CLBs based on the scores you received on your test. Below are CLB levels for the four language tests used in Canada’s popular Express Entry immigration system.
IELTS: CLB Levels
The IELTS General Training is one of the approved language tests for demonstrating English-language proficiency in the Express Entry system. Below are the CLB equivalencies for test scores received on the IELTS General Training:
|
International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
Language Test Equivalencies |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLB Level | Reading | Writing | Listening | Speaking |
| 10 and above | 8 | 7.5 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 |
| 8 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 6.5 |
| 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 6 | 5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 4 | 3.5 | 4 | 4.5 | 4 |
CELPIP: CLB Levels
The CELPIP General is one of the approved language tests for demonstrating English-language proficiency in the Express Entry system. Below are the CLB equivalencies for test scores received on the CELPIP General:
|
Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP)
Language Test Equivalencies |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLB Level | Reading | Writing | Listening | Speaking |
| 10 and above | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
TEF Canada: CLB Levels
TEF Canada is one of the approved language tests for demonstrating French-language proficiency in the Express Entry system. Below are the CLB equivalencies for test scores received on the TEF Canada:
|
Test d’évaluation de français pour le Canada (TEF Canada)
Language Test Equivalencies |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLB Level | Reading | Writing | Listening | Speaking |
| 10 and above | 263-277 | 393-415 | 316-333 | 393-415 |
| 9 | 248-262 | 371-392 | 298-315 | 371-392 |
| 8 | 233-247 | 349-370 | 280-297 | 349-370 |
| 7 | 207-232 | 310-348 | 249-279 | 310-348 |
| 6 | 181-206 | 271-309 | 217-248 | 271-309 |
| 5 | 151-180 | 226-270 | 181-216 | 226-270 |
| 4 | 121-150 | 181-225 | 145-180 | 181-225 |