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Every competency level for Grades 6 to 11 in one place, for lesson plans, term plans and SBA tools.
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Where these come from
The competencies and competency levels below are taken from the NIE English Language Teachers' Guides for each grade. Each grade keeps its own guide's numbering and wording, because the guides do not always number the same level in the same way. Always check against the Teachers' Guide your school is using.
Not included yet: the primary grades, Grades 12 and 13 (A/L General English) and English Literature, because we do not have those Teachers' Guides. The new 2026 Grade 6 syllabus uses a different set of competencies; the Grade 6 table here follows the earlier syllabus.
The eight competencies (Grades 6 to 11)
| Competency | Description |
|---|---|
| Competency 1 | Identifies the sounds of English Language |
| Competency 2 | Uses mechanics of writing with understanding |
| Competency 3 | Engages in active listening and responds appropriately |
| Competency 4 | Builds up vocabulary using words appropriately and accurately to convey precise meaning |
| Competency 5 | Extracts necessary information from various types of texts |
| Competency 6 | Uses English grammar for the purpose of accurate and effective communication |
| Competency 7 | Uses English creatively and innovatively in written communication |
| Competency 8 | Communicates clearly, fluently and concisely |
Grade 6 competency levels
Source: Grade 6 Teachers' Guide (edition implemented from 2015). 47 competency levels.
This is the Grade 6 syllabus that the 2014 to 2019 Pupil's Book follows. The new 2026 Grade 6 syllabus uses a different set of competencies; schools following it should use the new Teachers' Guide.
| Competency | Level | Competency level |
|---|---|---|
| Competency 1 | 1.1 | Pronounces English words properly |
| Competency 1 | 1.2 | Reads aloud different types of texts accurately and meaningfully |
| Competency 2 | 2.1 | Uses capital and simple letters appropriately |
| Competency 2 | 2.2 | Uses full stop appropriately |
| Competency 2 | 2.3 | Uses question mark appropriately |
| Competency 3 | 3.1 | Responds to simple announcements |
| Competency 3 | 3.2 | Listens and follows instructions and responds to requests |
| Competency 3 | 3.3 | Listens to a simple text for specific information |
| Competency 4 | 4.1 | Uses masculine and feminine forms of nouns appropriately |
| Competency 4 | 4.2 | Uses terms referring to young ones of animals appropriately |
| Competency 4 | 4.3 | Finds synonyms and antonyms for given words |
| Competency 4 | 4.4 | Uses affixes to change the word class and the meaning of words |
| Competency 4 | 4.5 | Forms the plurals of nouns |
| Competency 5 | 5.1 | Uses visual clues to derive the meaning of the text |
| Competency 5 | 5.2 | Extracts specific information from various types of simple texts |
| Competency 5 | 5.3 | Transfers information into other forms |
| Competency 5 | 5.4 | Reads and responds to simple poems |
| Competency 5 | 5.5 | Reads and understands simple folk stories |
| Competency 5 | 5.6 | Extracts the general idea of a text |
| Competency 6 | 6.1 | Constructs simple sentences |
| Competency 6 | 6.2 | Uses pronouns appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.3 | Uses modals meaningfully |
| Competency 6 | 6.4 | Uses determiners |
| Competency 6 | 6.5 | Uses contracted form |
| Competency 6 | 6.6 | Uses adjectives |
| Competency 6 | 6.7 | Uses prepositions appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.8 | Uses conjunctions |
| Competency 6 | 6.9 | Uses adverbs appropriately |
| Competency 7 | 7.1 | Writes descriptions of people, animals, places and things |
| Competency 7 | 7.2 | Describes pictures |
| Competency 7 | 7.3 | Writes for personal purposes |
| Competency 7 | 7.4 | Writes instructions |
| Competency 7 | 7.5 | Writes simple compositions on different types of topics |
| Competency 7 | 7.6 | Writes poems and stories |
| Competency 8 | 8.1 | Introduces oneself to others |
| Competency 8 | 8.2 | Uses simple expressions in greeting, thanking, affirming, denying |
| Competency 8 | 8.3 | Describes objects, animals, people using simple sentence patterns |
| Competency 8 | 8.4 | Speaks on familiar topics |
| Competency 8 | 8.5 | Describes things in the immediate surrounding using adjectives |
| Competency 8 | 8.6 | Uses simple structures to show ability and possession |
| Competency 8 | 8.7 | Asks and gets personal information from others |
| Competency 8 | 8.8 | Describes the position of things |
| Competency 8 | 8.9 | Describes pictures |
| Competency 8 | 8.10 | Speaks about daily actions |
| Competency 8 | 8.11 | Describes past events and actions |
| Competency 8 | 8.12 | Uses question words to get information |
| Competency 8 | 8.13 | Uses language in variety of contexts |
Grade 7 competency levels
Source: Grade 7 Teachers' Guide. The competency levels are listed as the guide presents them.
The Grade 7 guide lists 8.18 with the same wording as 8.13. It is shown here as printed.
| Competency | Level | Competency level |
|---|---|---|
| Competency 1 | 1.1 | Pronounces English words properly |
| Competency 1 | 1.2 | Reads aloud different types of texts accurately and meaningfully |
| Competency 2 | 2.4 | Uses apostrophe appropriately |
| Competency 3 | 3.3 | Listens and responds to different types of simple texts |
| Competency 4 | 4.3 | Finds synonyms and antonyms for given words |
| Competency 4 | 4.4 | Uses affixes to change the word class and the meaning of words |
| Competency 4 | 4.5 | Forms the plurals of nouns |
| Competency 4 | 4.6 | Identifies collective nouns and compound nouns |
| Competency 5 | 5.1 | Uses visual clues to derive the meaning of the text |
| Competency 5 | 5.2 | Extracts specific information from various types of simple texts |
| Competency 5 | 5.3 | Transfers information into other forms |
| Competency 5 | 5.4 | Reads and responds to simple poems |
| Competency 5 | 5.5 | Reads and understands simple folk stories |
| Competency 5 | 5.6 | Extracts the general idea of a text |
| Competency 6 | 6.1 | Constructs simple sentences |
| Competency 6 | 6.2 | Uses pronouns appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.3 | Uses modals meaningfully |
| Competency 6 | 6.4 | Uses determiners appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.5 | Uses contracted form |
| Competency 6 | 6.6 | Uses adjectives appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.7 | Uses prepositions appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.8 | Uses conjunctions appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.9 | Uses adverbs appropriately |
| Competency 7 | 7.1 | Writes descriptions of people, animals, places and things |
| Competency 7 | 7.2 | Describes pictures |
| Competency 7 | 7.3 | Writes for personal purposes |
| Competency 7 | 7.4 | Writes instructions |
| Competency 7 | 7.5 | Writes simple compositions on different types of topics |
| Competency 7 | 7.6 | Writes poems and stories |
| Competency 8 | 8.3 | Describes objects, animals, people using simple sentence patterns |
| Competency 8 | 8.4 | Speaks on familiar topics |
| Competency 8 | 8.6 | Uses modals can, would, must and should |
| Competency 8 | 8.8 | Describes the position of things |
| Competency 8 | 8.9 | Describes pictures |
| Competency 8 | 8.13 | Uses language in variety of contexts |
| Competency 8 | 8.17 | Describes continuing actions |
| Competency 8 | 8.18 | Uses language in variety of contexts |
Grade 8 competency levels
Source: Grade 8 Teachers' Guide. 36 competency levels.
| Competency | Level | Competency level |
|---|---|---|
| Competency 1 | 1.1 | Pronounces English words properly |
| Competency 1 | 1.2 | Reads aloud different types of texts accurately and meaningfully |
| Competency 2 | 2.5 | Uses inverted commas appropriately |
| Competency 3 | 3.2 | Listens and follows instructions and responds to requests |
| Competency 3 | 3.3 | Listens and responds to different types of simple texts |
| Competency 3 | 3.4 | Listens and transfers information to other forms |
| Competency 4 | 4.3 | Finds synonyms and antonyms for given words |
| Competency 4 | 4.4 | Uses affixes to change the word class and the meaning of words |
| Competency 4 | 4.5 | Forms the plurals of nouns |
| Competency 4 | 4.7 | Uses collective nouns and compound nouns |
| Competency 5 | 5.1 | Uses visual and contextual clues to derive the meaning of the text |
| Competency 5 | 5.2 | Extracts specific information from various types of simple texts |
| Competency 5 | 5.3 | Transfers information into other forms |
| Competency 5 | 5.4 | Reads and responds to simple poems |
| Competency 5 | 5.5 | Reads and responds to simple folk stories / stories |
| Competency 5 | 5.6 | Extracts the general idea of a text |
| Competency 6 | 6.1 | Constructs simple sentences |
| Competency 6 | 6.2 | Uses pronouns appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.3 | Uses modals meaningfully |
| Competency 6 | 6.5 | Uses contracted forms |
| Competency 6 | 6.6 | Uses adjectives appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.7 | Uses prepositions appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.8 | Uses conjunctions appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.9 | Uses adverbs appropriately |
| Competency 7 | 7.1 | Writes descriptions of things, places and people |
| Competency 7 | 7.2 | Describes pictures |
| Competency 7 | 7.3 | Writes for personal purposes |
| Competency 7 | 7.4 | Writes instructions |
| Competency 7 | 7.5 | Writes simple compositions on different types of topics |
| Competency 7 | 7.6 | Writes poems and stories |
| Competency 8 | 8.3 | Describes objects, animals, people using simple sentence patterns |
| Competency 8 | 8.4 | Speaks on familiar topics |
| Competency 8 | 8.6 | Uses modals must, should, have to |
| Competency 8 | 8.8 | Describes the position |
| Competency 8 | 8.9 | Describes pictures |
| Competency 8 | 8.13 | Uses language in a variety of contexts |
Grade 9 competency levels
Source: Grade 9 Teachers' Guide. 45 competency levels.
| Competency | Level | Competency level |
|---|---|---|
| Competency 1 | 1.1 | Pronounces English words properly |
| Competency 1 | 1.2 | Reads aloud different types of texts accurately and meaningfully |
| Competency 1 | 1.3 | Pronounces English words and phrases properly |
| Competency 2 | 2.6 | Uses commas with understanding |
| Competency 3 | 3.3 | Listens to a simple text for specific information |
| Competency 3 | 3.4 | Listens and transfers information to other forms |
| Competency 3 | 3.5 | Identifies different intonation patterns and uses of word stress |
| Competency 4 | 4.3 | Finds synonyms and antonyms for given words |
| Competency 4 | 4.4 | Uses affixes to change the word class and the meaning of words |
| Competency 4 | 4.5 | Forms the plurals of nouns |
| Competency 4 | 4.7 | Uses nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs appropriately |
| Competency 4 | 4.8 | Uses collective nouns and compound nouns properly |
| Competency 5 | 5.1 | Uses visual clues to derive the meaning of texts |
| Competency 5 | 5.2 | Extracts specific information from various types of simple texts |
| Competency 5 | 5.3 | Transfers information into other forms |
| Competency 5 | 5.4 | Reads and responds to simple poems |
| Competency 5 | 5.5 | Reads and responds to simple folk tales |
| Competency 5 | 5.6 | Extracts the general idea of a text |
| Competency 5 | 5.7 | Infers ellipted information |
| Competency 5 | 5.8 | Infers implied information |
| Competency 5 | 5.9 | Recognizes the organization of a text |
| Competency 6 | 6.1 | Constructs simple sentences |
| Competency 6 | 6.2 | Uses pronouns appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.6 | Uses adjectives properly |
| Competency 6 | 6.7 | Uses prepositions appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.8 | Uses conjunctions appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.9 | Uses adverbs appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.10 | Uses the conditional clauses appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.11 | Uses reported speech accurately |
| Competency 7 | 7.1 | Writes descriptions of people, animals, places and things |
| Competency 7 | 7.2 | Describes pictures |
| Competency 7 | 7.3 | Writes for personal purposes |
| Competency 7 | 7.4 | Writes instructions |
| Competency 7 | 7.5 | Writes simple compositions on different types of topics |
| Competency 7 | 7.6 | Writes poems and stories |
| Competency 7 | 7.7 | Writes for official purposes |
| Competency 8 | 8.3 | Describes people, animals and objects using simple sentence patterns |
| Competency 8 | 8.4 | Speaks on familiar topics |
| Competency 8 | 8.8 | Describes the position of things accurately |
| Competency 8 | 8.9 | Describes pictures |
| Competency 8 | 8.11 | Describes past events and actions properly |
| Competency 8 | 8.12 | Uses question words to get information |
| Competency 8 | 8.13 | Uses language in a variety of contexts |
| Competency 8 | 8.14 | Describes future events |
| Competency 8 | 8.15 | Engages in telephone conversations |
Grade 10 competency levels
Source: Grade 10 Teachers' Guide. 49 competency levels.
| Competency | Level | Competency level |
|---|---|---|
| Competency 1 | 1.2 | Reads aloud different types of texts accurately and meaningfully |
| Competency 1 | 1.4 | Pronounces English words with different spellings |
| Competency 1 | 1.5 | Pronounces English sentences properly |
| Competency 2 | 2.7 | Uses exclamation mark appropriately |
| Competency 3 | 3.3 | Listens to a simple text for specific information |
| Competency 3 | 3.4 | Listens to and transfers information to other forms |
| Competency 3 | 3.5 | Identifies different intonation patterns and uses of word stress |
| Competency 3 | 3.6 | Listens to and reports information |
| Competency 3 | 3.7 | Recognizes discourse markers |
| Competency 3 | 3.8 | Takes notes from oral presentations |
| Competency 4 | 4.3 | Finds synonyms and antonyms for given words |
| Competency 4 | 4.4 | Uses affixes to change the word class and the meaning of words |
| Competency 4 | 4.5 | Forms the plurals of nouns |
| Competency 4 | 4.7 | Uses nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs appropriately |
| Competency 4 | 4.8 | Uses collective nouns and compound nouns |
| Competency 5 | 5.1 | Uses visual and contextual clues to derive the meaning of the text |
| Competency 5 | 5.2 | Extracts specific information from various types of simple texts |
| Competency 5 | 5.3 | Transfers information into other forms |
| Competency 5 | 5.4 | Reads and responds to simple poems |
| Competency 5 | 5.5 | Reads and responds to simple folk stories |
| Competency 5 | 5.6 | Extracts the general idea of a text |
| Competency 5 | 5.7 | Infers ellipted information |
| Competency 5 | 5.8 | Infers implied information |
| Competency 5 | 5.9 | Recognizes the organization of a text |
| Competency 6 | 6.1 | Constructs simple sentences |
| Competency 6 | 6.2 | Uses pronouns appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.3 | Uses modals meaningfully |
| Competency 6 | 6.6 | Uses adjectives appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.7 | Uses prepositions appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.8 | Uses conjunctions appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.9 | Uses adverbs appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.10 | Identifies 'If' type 3 |
| Competency 6 | 6.11 | Uses reported speech |
| Competency 7 | 7.1 | Writes descriptions of people, animals, places and things |
| Competency 7 | 7.2 | Describes pictures |
| Competency 7 | 7.3 | Writes for personal purposes |
| Competency 7 | 7.4 | Writes instructions |
| Competency 7 | 7.6 | Writes poems and stories |
| Competency 7 | 7.7 | Writes for official purposes |
| Competency 7 | 7.9 | Writes compositions |
| Competency 8 | 8.3 | Describes objects, animals and people using simple sentence patterns |
| Competency 8 | 8.4 | Speaks on familiar topics |
| Competency 8 | 8.9 | Describes pictures |
| Competency 8 | 8.11 | Describes past events and actions |
| Competency 8 | 8.12 | Uses question words to get information |
| Competency 8 | 8.13 | Uses language in a variety of contexts |
| Competency 8 | 8.14 | Describes future events and actions |
| Competency 8 | 8.15 | Engages in telephone conversations |
| Competency 8 | 8.16 | Engages in debates |
Grade 11 competency levels
Source: Grade 11 Teachers' Guide. The guide introduces no new competency levels for Grade 11: it brings together the levels of Grades 6 to 10 so that students can master them before the O/L examination.
The Grade 11 guide numbers some levels differently from the Grade 10 guide (for example, Writes compositions is 7.9 in Grade 10 and 7.8 here; Engages in debates is 8.16 in Grade 10 and 8.18 here). The Grade 11 numbering is shown as printed.
| Competency | Level | Competency level |
|---|---|---|
| Competency 1 | 1.1 | Pronounces English words properly |
| Competency 1 | 1.2 | Reads aloud different types of texts accurately and meaningfully |
| Competency 1 | 1.3 | Pronounces English words and phrases properly |
| Competency 1 | 1.4 | Pronounces English words with different spellings properly |
| Competency 2 | 2.1 | Uses capital and simple letters appropriately |
| Competency 2 | 2.2 | Uses full stop appropriately |
| Competency 2 | 2.3 | Uses question mark appropriately |
| Competency 2 | 2.4 | Uses apostrophes appropriately |
| Competency 2 | 2.5 | Uses inverted commas appropriately |
| Competency 2 | 2.6 | Uses commas with understanding |
| Competency 2 | 2.7 | Uses exclamation mark appropriately |
| Competency 3 | 3.1 | Responds to simple announcements |
| Competency 3 | 3.2 | Listens and follows instructions |
| Competency 3 | 3.3 | Listens and responds to different types of simple texts |
| Competency 3 | 3.4 | Listens and transfers information to other forms |
| Competency 3 | 3.5 | Identifies different intonation patterns and uses of word stress |
| Competency 3 | 3.6 | Listens and reports information |
| Competency 3 | 3.7 | Recognizes discourse markers |
| Competency 3 | 3.8 | Takes notes from oral presentations |
| Competency 4 | 4.1 | Uses masculine and feminine forms of nouns appropriately |
| Competency 4 | 4.2 | Uses terms referring to young ones of animals appropriately |
| Competency 4 | 4.3 | Finds synonyms and antonyms for given words |
| Competency 4 | 4.4 | Uses affixes to change the word class and the meaning of words |
| Competency 4 | 4.5 | Forms the plurals of nouns |
| Competency 4 | 4.6 | Identifies collective nouns and compound nouns |
| Competency 4 | 4.7 | Uses nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs appropriately |
| Competency 4 | 4.8 | Uses collective nouns and compound nouns properly |
| Competency 5 | 5.1 | Uses visual clues to derive the meaning of texts |
| Competency 5 | 5.2 | Extracts specific information from various types of simple texts |
| Competency 5 | 5.3 | Transfers information into other forms |
| Competency 5 | 5.4 | Reads and responds to simple poems |
| Competency 5 | 5.5 | Reads and understands simple folk tales |
| Competency 5 | 5.6 | Extracts the general idea of a text |
| Competency 5 | 5.7 | Infers implied information |
| Competency 5 | 5.8 | Recognizes the organization of a text |
| Competency 6 | 6.1 | Constructs simple sentences |
| Competency 6 | 6.2 | Uses pronouns appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.3 | Uses modals meaningfully |
| Competency 6 | 6.4 | Uses determiners properly |
| Competency 6 | 6.5 | Uses the contracted forms |
| Competency 6 | 6.6 | Uses adjectives properly |
| Competency 6 | 6.7 | Uses prepositions appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.8 | Uses conjunctions appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.9 | Uses adverbs appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.10 | Uses the conditional clauses appropriately |
| Competency 6 | 6.11 | Uses reported speech accurately |
| Competency 7 | 7.1 | Writes descriptions of people, animals, places and things |
| Competency 7 | 7.2 | Describes pictures |
| Competency 7 | 7.3 | Writes for personal purposes |
| Competency 7 | 7.4 | Writes instructions |
| Competency 7 | 7.5 | Writes simple compositions on different types of topics |
| Competency 7 | 7.6 | Writes poems and stories |
| Competency 7 | 7.7 | Writes for official purposes |
| Competency 7 | 7.8 | Writes compositions |
| Competency 8 | 8.1 | Introduces self |
| Competency 8 | 8.2 | Uses simple expressions appropriately in greeting, thanking, affirming, denying |
| Competency 8 | 8.3 | Describes people, animals, and objects using simple sentence patterns |
| Competency 8 | 8.4 | Speaks on familiar topics |
| Competency 8 | 8.5 | Describes things in the immediate surrounding using adjectives |
| Competency 8 | 8.6 | Uses simple structures to show ability and possibility |
| Competency 8 | 8.7 | Asks and gets personal information from others |
| Competency 8 | 8.8 | Describes the position of things |
| Competency 8 | 8.9 | Describes pictures |
| Competency 8 | 8.10 | Speaks about daily actions |
| Competency 8 | 8.11 | Describes past events and actions properly |
| Competency 8 | 8.12 | Uses question words to get information |
| Competency 8 | 8.13 | Uses language in a variety of contexts |
| Competency 8 | 8.14 | Describes continuing actions |
| Competency 8 | 8.15 | Uses perfect tense appropriately |
| Competency 8 | 8.16 | Describes future events and actions appropriately |
| Competency 8 | 8.17 | Engages in telephone conversations |
| Competency 8 | 8.18 | Engages in debates |
Complete lesson plan books are coming
These are simple sample plans. Complete lesson plan books for every grade will be part of RCF Premium Resources, which will be ready in the future. See RCF Premium Resources