How to get from B2 to C1 – What’s the difference in vocabulary?

What vocabulary does a learner need to know at C1 level? How many words do they need to know? What’s a lemma? Does it matter?

A lot of students worry about which vocabulary, and the amount of vocabulary, they should know at each level of English, especially when they’re getting to higher levels such as B2 and C1. I’d like to highlight a few key tips for learning vocabulary when moving from B2 to C1 level.

Here’s the million dollar question in terms of exam preparation. Is it more important to learn all the words that correspond to C1 level, or to be able to use fewer words and expressions more accurately?

Let’s rewind a little. I did a blog just before Easter asking the Easter bunny for three gifts to help with exam preparation. One of them was about how to structure a vocabulary notebook. I wrote that it should be based on collocations, with example sentences, and be organised by theme, part of exam or some other personal system.

You’ll notice there was no mention of a number of words that should be learned. I’d like to expand on this now by commenting on the differences in vocabulary between B2 and C1 level because it can really affect performance in exams such as IELTS, TOEFL iBT or Cambridge C1 Advanced. I did a short video on this subject a while ago. It’s embedded here.

My argument in the video is that when writing and speaking at C1 level in exams, not only is a lot of good language needed but also a high level of accuracy. Candidates should only use idioms and expressions they’ve learned if they’re sure they’re accurate and appropriate. I maintain that this is good advice. Why? Here are the 3 relevant descriptors from the Common European Framework:

1155 Has a good command of common idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms; can play with words/signs fairly well.

1180 Uses less common vocabulary idiomatically and appropriately.

1181 Occasional minor slips, but no significant vocabulary errors.

To summarise the descriptors we can say that candidates need to demonstrate a wide range of vocabulary, idioms and expressions, but they need to be accurately and appropriately used.

However, using idioms and expressions accurately isn’t always so easy; at least not for me in learning Spanish, French and German! Leaving to one side the possibility that I’m not very bright, I’d suggest we all find it quite tough to incorporate new idioms and expressions into our language learning. They often have small grammar words linking them together and are loaded with cultural knowledge and information we don’t have easy access to as non-natives.

Apart from this, they are often collocations. These words have grown together organically over time and we need to learn them as chunks. Why use “fast car” instead of “rapid car”, or “quick car”. It is what it is.

But what about word numbers for different levels? Isn’t this important too? I think we can get bogged down with this. How do you count words? Take a headword, such as “break”. This is a lemma in case you’re interested. “Break” is just one word but it also represents “breaks”, “broke”, “broken” and “breaking”. That’s five words in total. So do we count one or five?

Here's an example of an English idiom: “You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs”. If a candidate uses “broke eggs” instead of “breaking eggs” in a C1 exam it’s an accuracy error. So when you see websites which claim that just 3000 words are used in 95% of all discourse, be afraid. Be very afraid. Why?

The risk is of learning a lot of great vocabulary, but that it’s passive, not active. Vocabulary is passive when we’re able to understand it when we see it or hear it, but we’re unsure of how to use it when writing or speaking. Vocabulary is active when we can remember and accurately use it when writing and speaking. Our passive vocabulary will easily be double our active vocabulary. This is the same for native speakers and language learners. Obviously, for writing and speaking in a C1 exam the vocabulary used needs to be active.

In passing, here are some examples of word numbers to give an idea. An empirical study found that C1 level requires about 3750-4500 lemma. The English Profile has 4164 words for B2 and 6574 words for C1. Other estimates say 8000 words for C1, or 5000 active and 10000 passive words. However, there are so many combinations of words and structures it can become meaningless. Think of a four digit PIN. There are only 10 numbers to choose from but there are thousands of possible combinations. It’s not the same as it’s random, but you get the idea.

CEFR levels are not defined by the number of words we know but how we use them. The emphasis is on communication skills. These depend on what we can do with the vocabulary and grammatical structures we have acquired.

Let’s restate my advice for learners:

• Structure vocabulary notebooks effectively, as described in paragraph four
• In the exam, use a wide range of active vocabulary but don’t take risks if unsure
• Don’t just rote learn lists of words. Effective communication is the aim.

Finally, I'd like to point out that the Cambridgeonline dictionary is a great resource. It gives the level of a word, B2 or C1, for example. It also provides examples from the corpora. If the level is not specified then the word is unclassified.

PASS courses are currently available for both B2 and C1 levels. Bye for now!

Sources and research:

https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Frequency_lists#English

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312063998_Vocabulary_size_and_the_common_European_framework_of_reference_for_languages

https://www.englishprofile.org/images/pdf/GuideToCEFR.pdf

https://www.englishprofile.org/

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/