The CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) is an international system that classifies levels of proficiency in foreign languages and divides language levels into six categories: A1 (beginner), A2 (upper beginner), B1 (intermediate), B2 (upper intermediate), C1 (advanced) and C2 (near-native).
Here’s a description of Finnish at A2 (upper beginner) level according to the University of Helsinki:
Speaking
You can communicate in routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar topics and activities, asking and answering questions. You can use a series of phrases and sentences to describe in simple terms yourself, your family and other people, living conditions and your job. Your pronunciation is not necessarily very good, and you do not have enough vocabulary to handle a variety of situations.
Listening
You can understand many expressions and words about things that are familiar, e.g. basic personal and family information, shopping and your job. You can get the main points in short, clear and simple messages. You can generally understand what people are talking about if their speech is clear and slow.
Reading
You can understand the main points in short, simple texts. You can find specific information you are looking for in simple everyday texts such as leaflets and timetables and you can understand short, simple personal letters and emails on familiar topics.
Writing
You can write short, simple notes and messages about everyday matters and everyday needs. You can describe yourself, your family, your living conditions and your job. You can also describe past actions. You can write a very simple personal letter. You know the basic structures of the language.
According to Chris Elliott (The International Language Institute of Massachusetts), reaching A2 level in a difficult language like Finnish takes 300–400 hours of study on average. Finnish is classified as ‘difficult’ due to the significant linguistic differences from English. Of course, if your native language is Estonian, Finnish might not be so difficult for you! But for the majority of learners, Finnish probably feels harder than many other European languages.
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