Cultura THE ENGLISH CORNER Departamento de Idiomas de la Escuela de Guerra (Zaragoza) Are you functional? Do you feel functional in English? Do you know what “being functional” involves? Were you surprised by the questions or by the results of the last test you took? Are you able to assess your own level and to identify your strengths and weaknesses? Let’s have a look through our own particular Guidebook, the STANAG 6001, to see what is expected from you when taking a functional level test. The purpose of this article is to avoid unpleasant surprises on the D-Day -that is, the day you will take your SLP exam-, as well as to provide a guide to prepare your test, either on your own or with a teacher. First of all, we should definitely forget about the old-fashioned idea that just being familiar with English and being able to speak translating from Spanish into English was a level 2. That is long past. Do not be misled: Level 2 involves more than that, and definitely it is a good level. How would functional level be best described? Well, the name tells us that functional English allows us “to function”, that is to say, to perform well in a normal, familiar environment. One can understand that this means going beyond just “surviving”. In terms of linguistic skills, functioning involves the ability to understand most common topics, not only those about our close, immediate world or needs, but also about general matters of interest, such as work, current events, society, etc., and to follow real conversations or texts on these TOPICS. Consequently, we are expected to accomplish certain TASKS at this level. And we are also requested to do so with a certain degree of ACCURACY (the precision, quality and acceptability in the use of language). Of course, mistakes are expected, but note that the higher the level, the less mistakes you are allowed. Let’s go over some tips about the tasks, the topics and the accuracy. TASKS The concept of task responds to the question “what is a person able to do with the language?” Each level has its own characteristic tasks. Functional level candidates, should at least, be able to: Narrate or understand narration about past, present or future events. Describe in detail, people, places and things. 59
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