Grade 2 (2級) | STEP EIKEN

Level comparison

EIKEN	CEFR	TOEFL^® score
EIKEN	CEFR	PBT	iBT
Grade 2A	B1+	500	61
Grade 2	B1	450	45

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Level description

Can understand and use English at a level sufficient to allow him/her to take part in social, professional, and educational situations.

Overview of test structure

Grade 2

First stage	Skill area	Task	Format		Items	Response type	Time allotted	Notes
	Reading	Sentence completion	20 short texts (one or two sentences/dialogues) from which one word or phrase has been omitted		20	Multiple-choice (Four printed options)	75 minutes	Weighting Items are worth 1 point each.
		Gap fill (passages)	2 passages from which several words or phrases have been omitted		8			Pass/fail cutoff Approximately 60% of total possible test score
		Q&A based on passages	3 passages followed by questions		12
	Writing	Word reordering	A five-word section of a short text is removed. The words are arranged below the text in a scrambled order.		5	After putting words into correct order, examinees indicate which words should appear in 2nd and 4th positions.		Topics School, work, hobbies, travel, shopping, sports, movies, music, food, weather, giving directions, foreign cultures, history, education, sciences, nature, environment, medicine, technology, business, etc.
	Listening	Q&A based on dialogues	15 recorded conversations/discussions followed by questions		15	Multiple-choice (Four printed options)	25 minutes
		Q&A based on monologues	5 recorded announcements, advertisements, news stories, or short lectures followed by questions		15
Second stage	Skill area	Task	Format				Time allotted	Notes
	Speaking	Oral reading	Preparation		Examinee reads passage on question card silently		20 seconds	Evaluation Criteria Examinees are evaluated on their responses to each of the tasks and for their attitude toward actively engaging in communication. The following categories are also taken into account: pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. No. of Examiners: 1 Download a sample Topic Card
			Reading aloud		Examinee reads passage aloud
		Q&A	No. 1		Examiner asks question based on content of passage
		Narration	No. 2	Preparation	Examinee reads card silently and prepares to narrate three-panel illustration shown on card		20 seconds
				Narration	Examinee gives narration of illustration
		Q&A	No. 3		Examiner asks question to elicit examinee’s opinion about trends, ideas, and issues broadly related to topic of passage
			No. 4		Examiner asks question to elicit examinee’s opinion about topic related to everyday life (may not be related to topic of passage)

Summary of Can-do statements

Below are summaries of the main features of the tasks and activities that typical Grade 2 certificate holders feel confident about performing in English in real-life language-use situations.

Reading	Can understand lengthy expository texts and find necessary information in texts of a practical nature.
Listening	Can understand information and explanations relevant to everyday life and understand the content of extended speech.
Speaking	Can describe everyday experiences and convey his/her needs and requirements.
Writing	Can write texts at some length about topics from everyday life.

Download the complete EIKEN Can-do List in English or Japanese

Examinee statistics