Barton Vocabulary Quiz – Check Your English Level

This vocabulary quiz was designed for ESL students (not native speakers of English). The quiz will determine your English level based on your vocabulary knowledge. The difficulty of each word has been determined by the English Vocabulary Profile (EVP) and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA).

Description of English Levels

Elementary (A2) (15 questions)

  • This level is designed to match CEFR A2 level (TOEIC:225, IELTS: 3).
  • Sample vocabulary from this level: fast, earn, write.

Intermediate (B1) (31 questions)

  • This level is designed to match CEFR B1 level (TOEFL iBT:42, TOEIC:550, IELTS:4.5).
  • Sample vocabulary from this level: suggest, doubt, interview.

Upper-Intermediate (B2) (48 questions)

  • This level is designed to match CEFR B2 level (TOEFL iBT:72, IELTS:6, FCE).
  • Sample vocabulary from this level: threaten, reliable, adjust.

Advanced (C1) (79 questions)

  • This level is designed to match CEFR C1 level (TOEFL iBT:95, TOEIC:945, IELTS:7.5, CAE).
  • Sample vocabulary from this level: gossip, eligible, optimistic.

Proficient (C2) (125 questions)

  • This level is designed to match CEFR C2 level (TOEFL iBT: 114, IELTS:9, CPE).
  • Sample vocabulary from this level: align, spontaneous, forfeit.

Native English Speaker (10 questions)

  • This level is reserved for words that are beyond the difficulty of C2, i.e. with roughly two or fewer occurrences per million words in the Corpus of Contemporary American English.

 

You will start off at the intermediate (B1) level. Scroll down to begin.

How to Play

  • Select the best word to complete the sentence.
  • If you make three mistakes, you die.
  • If you get three questions correct in a row, you can advance a level.

The Barton Vocabulary Quiz

Level:  / Lives:  

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Note: If you'd like to try this vocabulary test in a different format so you can do more questions, you can do so here.

- Vocabulary quiz and questions copyright Matthew Barton of Englishcurrent.com

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21 comments on “Barton Vocabulary Quiz – Check Your English Level

  1. Bin Wu (Posted on 6-22-2017 at 16:28) Reply

    How can I get the Native English Speaker (8 questions)
    This level is reserved for words that are beyond the difficulty of C2, i.e. with roughly two or fewer occurrences per million words in the Corpus of Contemporary American English.

    1. mb Post author (Posted on 7-5-2017 at 03:33) Reply

      Hello Bin. You have to get three answers correct in a row four times (12 correct answers in a row would do this). Slowly, you will move up levels until you reach Native English speaker.

      1. Maysam from Iran (Posted on 4-7-2022 at 03:02) Reply

        Thank you so much for this amazing test.

  2. Frans Ootjers (Posted on 8-22-2017 at 15:34) Reply

    I scored native. What’s the validity of this score?

    1. MB (Posted on 8-22-2017 at 23:04) Reply

      Well, there’s so much more to communication than vocabulary, so essentially, the score doesn’t mean you are a native English speaker. It merely means you have a vocabulary that is comparable to native English speakers.

      1. Ola (Posted on 4-20-2018 at 14:21) Reply

        Well, a non-native speaker of English can be proud of themselves anyway :) I am indeed :))

        1. Lucy Elep (Posted on 8-16-2021 at 10:33) Reply

          .the test was so refreshing,I love it so much

  3. B.K.Sinha (Posted on 4-16-2019 at 03:46) Reply

    Excellent collection of words…..

  4. Jamal Alzobaidi (Posted on 5-5-2020 at 13:36) Reply

    I think it is one of the most helpful sites. Thank you for your hard efforts.

  5. Elena (Posted on 6-2-2020 at 08:49) Reply

    Level: Native / Lives: Congratulations you erudite scholar! You’ve attained the highest level. Your vocabulary knowledge is far beyond that of an English-language learner. To wit, your work on this webpage is done. Go celebrate!

  6. Gurmani (Posted on 7-19-2021 at 00:59) Reply

    I am a Ph.D. Scholar and my major is CEFR Vocabulary Wordlist available on EVP. I have three questions?
    1. is any pdf file of the vocabulary tests?
    2. Are there any Published research Articles on this site and the use of these tests?
    3. Would you like me to reach you via email to use and contribute to vocabulary testing?

    1. mb Post author (Posted on 7-19-2021 at 14:59) Reply

      Hello. Regarding the PDF, yes, you can access it here: https://www.englishcurrent.com/free-vocabulary-test-pdf/ . This site has no published research articles related to vocabulary. At the moment, we aren’t in need of any contributions for vocabulary testing. All the best.
      MB

  7. Julyni (Posted on 10-1-2021 at 21:40) Reply

    The experience was great I would like to try again.

  8. Michelle (Posted on 10-23-2021 at 08:12) Reply

    it is very helpful especially for those who are not fond of paper and pencil test. :)

  9. Nadir Mokhtari (Posted on 1-9-2022 at 13:17) Reply

    Thanks a million!Your tests are excellent.

  10. Boltaboyeva Risolat (Posted on 2-28-2022 at 01:21) Reply

    good luck to everyone

  11. Diana (Posted on 4-13-2022 at 00:07) Reply

    Hello sir/ma’am,
    Where can I get the validity and reliability data of these tests? Has it been investigated?
    I am a research scholar doing a comparitive study on different placement tests and n3d the data. Request you to kindly help me with this.

  12. Maicon (Posted on 2-22-2024 at 10:05) Reply

    Level: C2 / Lives: Congratulations you erudite scholar! You’ve attained the highest level. Your vocabulary knowledge is far beyond that of an English-language learner. To wit, your work on this webpage is done. Go celebrate!

  13. Maicon PDS - BRAZIL (Posted on 2-22-2024 at 10:05) Reply

    I got this result:
    Level: C2 / Lives: Congratulations you erudite scholar! You’ve attained the highest level. Your vocabulary knowledge is far beyond that of an English-language learner. To wit, your work on this webpage is done. Go celebrate!

  14. Jane - UK (Posted on 2-22-2024 at 10:45) Reply

    WOW!!! Awesome!!!

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