In this episode, you will learn your English level.
Beginner, elementary, intermediate, upper intermediate, advanced or expert.
You don't need a test.
You don't need a teacher.
You just need your ears and a little focus.
You will listen to six short stories, one for each level.
If one story feels easy and the next one feels difficult, that's perfect.
That's how you find your level.
The first level is A1 or beginner.
In this level, English is simple and clear.
The sentences are short.
The words are common and easy.
If you can understand this easily, you are at least A1.
My name is Anna.
I am 26 years old.
I live with my parents.
We have a small dog.
His name is Max.
I like my dog very much.
We live in a small house.
The house has three rooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bedroom.
Our house is clean and quiet.
There is a park near the house.
I go to the park every evening.
I walk with my dog.
He runs and plays with other dogs.
I sit on a bench and watch him.
The park is green and beautiful.
Every morning, I wake up at 7 o'clock.
I get up.
I eat breakfast in the kitchen.
I drink tea.
After breakfast I brush my teeth.
Then I go to work.
I work in a small shop.
It is near my home.
I walk to work.
I walk to work.
It takes 10 minutes.
In the shop I sell food and drinks, I help customers.
I take money and give change.
My boss is kind.
My work is easy.
At 12 o'clock I eat lunch.
I eat rice or a sandwich.
Sometimes I drink coffee.
At five o'clock, I finish work.
I go home.
I am tired but happy.
I cook dinner for my parents.
We eat together.
We talk and laugh.
After dinner I wash the dishes.
In the evening I watch TV.
Sometimes I listen to music, Sometimes I read a small book.
At 10 o'clock I go to bed.
I am sleepy.
My dog sleeps next to me.
Before I sleep, I think about my day.
I feel good.
My life is simple but I am happy every day.
Alright, if you understood this story easily, congratulations!
Your English is at least A1.
You can understand short sentences and familiar topics.
Now let's move on to A2. elementary level.
Here English becomes a little richer and more connected.
Sentences are longer and you will hear more about routines, plans and daily activities.
If you can understand this story without much effort, you are at least A2 level.
My name is Mark.
I live in a small apartment near the city.
It is not big, but it's comfortable for me.
There is a small kitchen, a bedroom and a living room.
From my window I can see a park and some tall trees.
In the morning I often hear birds singing.
I work in an office not far from home.
I usually walk to work because it only takes 10 minutes.
When the weather is bad I take the bus.
I start work at 8.30 and finish at 5.
I answer phone calls, send emails, and help my manager with small jobs.
My colleagues are friendly.
We often talk during our lunch break.
At lunchtime, I go to a small cafe with two co-workers.
We sit near the window and talk about our families or our weekend plans.
Sometimes we laugh a lot because one of my coworkers tells funny stories.
After work...
I don't go home right away.
I usually go to the gym for one hour.
I do some exercise and listen to music on my phone.
When I finish I feel tired but good.
Exercise helps me relax after a long day.
At around 7 o'clock I go home.
Before dinner, I take a shower and change my clothes.
Then, I cook something simple.
Sometimes I eat while watching my favorite TV show.
On weekends, my routine is different.
I meet my friends in the city center.
We go for coffee, walk around and sometimes watch a movie.
If the weather is nice, we sit in the park and talk for hours.
Okay, well done.
If this story felt easy to follow, your English is a 2 or higher.
You can understand short, connected sentences about real life, work, and free time.
Now get ready for B1, intermediate level.
If you can follow the whole story and understand the message, You're around B1 or higher.
My name is Liam and I work as a computer technician.
I fix laptops, install new programs, and help people when their devices don't work.
I've done this job for almost six years now, and I still enjoy it.
I like my job because it's a mix of logic and creativity.
Every problem is different, and finding the right solution feels like solving a puzzle.
I start work at 8 o'clock in the morning.
When I arrive, I make a cup of coffee and check the list of repairs for the day.
Sometimes the problems are small, a keyboard that doesn't work, or a slow system.
But sometimes, they're bigger and I have to spend hours testing every part of a computer.
It can be frustrating, but when I finally fix something, I feel proud and satisfied.
My colleagues are friendly we often help each other when someone has a difficult case.
I think teamwork is one of the most important parts of any job.
You can learn a lot from people who think differently from you.
After work, I like to clean my head.
I don't go home right away.
Instead, I walk to the park near my office.
I listen to music or just enjoy the quiet.
When I get home I cook dinner and watch something online, usually a documentary or a short film in English.
In the evenings I study online.
I take a course about new computer systems because I want to open my own business in the future.
It's a lot of work, but I believe it's worth it.
I want to be independent and help people in my own way.
On weekends, I usually relax.
Sometimes I meet friends or I go hiking in the countryside.
All right, if this story made sense and felt natural to you, congratulations.
Your English is at least B1.
Now let's move forward to B2, upper intermediate level.
At this stage, you can understand longer stories and detailed ideas.
The speaker sounds more fluent and confident.
You will hear natural expressions, comparisons and reflections about life and work.
My name is Nina and I'm a freelance graphic designer.
For several years, I worked in a big company, creating logos and advertisements for clients.
The job was safe, the people were kind, and the salary was good.
But after a while, I began to feel bored and stuck.
Every day looked exactly the same.
The same office, the same projects, the same conversations.
I started to realize that, even though everything looked fine from the outside, something important was missing.
I wasn't growing.
I wanted more freedom, more creativity, and more control over my time.
So, two years ago, I made one of the biggest decisions of my life.
I left my job and decided to work for myself.
I remember my last day in the office very clearly.
People brought me flowers and said kind things.
But inside, I was both excited and terrified.
I had no plan, no clients and no idea how to start, but I knew that if I didn't try, I would always wonder what could have happened.
At first, life as a freelancer was really hard.
I woke up early every morning, opened my laptop and tried to find work online.
I sent messages to small businesses, emailed old contacts and made a portfolio website to show my designs.
Some days, nobody replied.
Other days, a client would ask me for a project but offer to pay very little money.
It was difficult to stay motivated.
There were days when I worked ten hours and earned almost nothing.
I cried a few times and thought about going back to my old job.
But deep down, I knew I had to give it time.
I told myself that every small step, every email, every design, every new skill would lead somewhere.
To improve, I started learning again.
I watched free courses online, joined webinars about design and read articles about marketing and freelancing.
I realised that being a freelancer isn't only about talent.
It's also about communication and organisation.
You have to learn how to explain your ideas clearly, how to manage your time and how to deal with different types of clients.
Little by little, things started to change.
My designs got better, my confidence grew, and new clients started to contact me.
Some of them came from recommendations.
People who liked my work told their friends about me.
That was the moment I knew I was moving in the right direction.
Now my life looks very different.
I usually start my mornings around eight.
I make coffee, check my emails, and write down a list of things I need to do.
My living room is also my office.
It's small but comfortable.
There's a big window with lots of light, and I've decorated it with some plants and art prints.
I like working there because it feels calm and personal, not like the old office with grey walls and noisy phones.
When I have a busy day, I can spend hours in front of the screen completely focused, but I always try to take short breaks every couple of hours.
I stretch, drink tea or water my plants.
Sometimes I step outside for 10 minutes just to breathe some fresh air.
When the weather is nice, I bring my laptop to a cafe nearby and work from there for a few hours.
Hearing the sound of people talking and cups clinking helps me feel less alone.
The best part of being a freelancer is the freedom it gives me.
I can choose which projects I want to do and how I want to do them.
If I want to take a few days off, I can.
If I want to work late at night, nobody stops me.
This flexibility is something I never had before, and it makes a huge difference in how I feel about my work.
I can plan my schedule around my energy, not just around office hours.
That's a kind of freedom I really value.
But of course, it's not always easy.
There are challenges that people don't see.
Working alone means there's no one to give you feedback or to tell you you're doing a good job.
Sometimes I miss having colleagues to laugh with or someone to ask for quick advice, and the money isn't always stable.
One month can be amazing, full of projects and good payments, and the next can be very quiet.
That's stressful, especially when you have bills to pay.
But I've learned to plan ahead.
When I earn more, I save part of it for slower months.
Freelancing has taught me to be responsible and to think long-term.
I've also learned how to manage clients and how not to take things personally.
In the beginning I felt bad when someone didn't like my design.
Now I understand that every person sees things differently.
Good communication is everything.
If you listen carefully and ask the right questions, you can usually find a way to make everyone happy.
Another big lesson is about believing in yourself.
When you work alone, no one is there to motivate you.
You have to build that energy from inside.
I remind myself that every project, big or small, is a chance to learn and improve.
If something goes wrong, I try to see it as part of the process, not as a failure.
In the evenings, I like to disconnect from work completely.
I close my laptop, put away my phone and do something that helps me relax.
Sometimes I go for a run, sometimes I meet friends for dinner and sometimes I just listen to calm music while cooking.
I also like drawing, not for clients, but for myself.
When I draw for fun, I feel like a child again.
There's no pressure, no deadlines, no one watching.
It reminds me why I became a designer in the first place, because I love creating things from nothing.
When I finish a small drawing that I actually like, I feel free.
That simple joy is exactly what I was looking for when I decided to leave my old job.
Looking back now, I'm proud of the risk I took.
It wasn't easy.
In fact, it was one of the hardest things I've done.
But it changed me in ways I didn't expect.
I've become more organised, more patient, and much more confident.
Most importantly, I've learned that independence doesn't mean being alone.
It means taking responsibility for your choices and trusting yourself enough to build your own path.
You have to be patient.
You have to walk slowly, step by step, and believe that the road you're on will take you somewhere meaningful and it has.
I may not earn as much as before and I don't have a big team around me, but I wake up every morning feeling proud of what I do.
I've created a life that feels like mine, and every time I finish a project or hear that a client is happy with my work, I smile and think yes, this is exactly where I'm meant to be.
If you understood this story easily, great job.
Your English is upper intermediate or higher.
Now you're ready for more advanced English that includes deeper thinking and reflection.
Let's move to C1, advanced level.
Now English becomes truly natural and expressive.
You will hear more abstract ideas, longer sentences, and deeper reflections about work and life.
Listen for how ideas connect and how emotions are expressed through rhythm and choice of words.
My name is David and I work as a project manager for a technology company.
I've been in this field for nearly 10 years and during that time I've realized something interesting.
Managing people is often more complex than managing projects.
Projects have timelines, budgets and measurable results.
People, on the other hand, have emotions, ideas and completely different ways of seeing the same situation.
Balancing both is what makes my job so fascinating and, at times, so challenging.
A typical day for me starts early.
I like to arrive before everyone else while the office is still quiet.
That first hour sets the tone for the rest of the day.
I make a coffee, open my laptop and check the list of ongoing projects.
I read messages from clients, go through updates from the team and try to predict where potential problems might appear.
That's my time to think, plan and prepare before the energy of the day begins.
When the team arrives, the office atmosphere changes.
There's movement, conversation and a sense of purpose.
Every project is different.
Sometimes we're developing a new app.
Other times we're improving an existing system.
Each task requires coordination between developers, designers and clients.
My role isn't to do the technical work myself.
It's to make sure everyone has what they need to do their best.
I connect people, remove obstacles and keep everyone aligned.
In a way, my job is like being a bridge linking different parts of the process so that communication flows smoothly.
When someone on the team feels lost or stressed my instinct is to listen first, not to give orders.
It took me years to learn that leadership doesn't mean having all the answers.
It means creating an environment where people feel safe to ask questions and share ideas.
Most problems at work don't come from lack of skill.
They come from lack of understanding or poor communication.
If you can help people feel heard, they usually find their own solutions.
I've also learned that good leadership is not about control.
It's about trust.
When your team trusts you, they'll tell you the truth.
They'll admit mistakes, share feedback and take responsibility.
But trust doesn't appear overnight.
It's something you build, slowly, through consistency, fairness and respect.
You can't just demand it, you have to earn it.
In my team I try to be transparent about decisions.
If something goes wrong we talk about it openly.
I'd rather have uncomfortable honesty than quiet frustration.
People respect clarity even when it's not easy to hear.
When the team understands the why behind a decision, they accept it more easily, even if they don't fully agree.
And when things go well, I always try to celebrate it, even in small ways.
A message of appreciation, a quick team lunch or a few words of recognition.
It costs nothing but it matters.
Of course things don't always go perfectly.
Sometimes deadlines move, clients change their minds or unexpected technical problems appear.
In those moments my job is to keep everyone calm and focused.
If I panic, the team will panic too.
So I try to stay grounded and remind everyone that mistakes are part of the process, not signs of failure.
We talk about what happened, fix it together and move on.
Blaming people doesn't help.
Learning does.
It's about turning setbacks into lessons.
One project I'll never forget was a big software launch two years ago.
Everything was ready, or so we thought.
Two days before the release, the system crashed during testing.
The entire team stayed late trying to find the issue.
Everyone was tired and frustrated.
Instead of pushing harder, I asked everyone to take a short break.
We ordered food, stepped outside and talked.
Not about work, but about anything else.
An hour later, one developer suddenly realized where the bug was.
It took just 10 minutes to fix.
That moment taught me something valuable.
Sometimes progress happens when you stop forcing it.
Pressure can blind you.
Perspective brings clarity.
I often think about how much my job has taught me about life in general.
In work and in life everything comes down to communication.
When we speak clearly and listen carefully, problems become smaller.
When we ignore, assume or rush, small issues grow into big ones.
That's why I try to stay honest and calm, even under pressure.
I've learned that tone can be more powerful than words.
A kind voice can solve what a hundred emails cannot.
Another lesson I've learned is about resilience, the ability to recover after things go wrong.
Projects fail, clients leave, budgets change.
But if you keep your mindset steady, you can always rebuild.
I tell my team that resilience is like a muscle.
It grows each time you use it.
When something doesn't work, we don't see it as wasted time.
We see it as training for the next challenge.
After long days filled with meetings, screens and deadlines, I crave silence.
That's why I enjoy quiet activities like walking, reading or cooking.
Cooking for me is almost meditative.
It's one of the few things where I can focus on one simple task.
Chopping vegetables.
Mixing flavours.
Waiting for something to simmer.
It's a small reminder that not everything has to move fast to be meaningful.
I also love reading, especially biographies and psychology books.
They help me understand people better which in turn makes me a better manager.
Sometimes I see my own behaviour reflected in those stories and it pushes me to grow.
Learning, I've realised, doesn't stop when you leave school.
It continues, quietly, every day through the people you meet and the situations you face.
People often ask me if I ever feel bored doing such simple things after such a busy workday.
But I don't.
For me, peace is not something you find by escaping life.
It's something you build through how you respond to it.
It's a choice, a daily practice.
I've learned to separate what I can control from what I can't.
That, I think, is one of the hardest but most useful lessons of adulthood.
If there's one thing my career has taught me, it's that success isn't just about finishing projects or reaching goals.
It's about growing as a person while you do it.
Each challenge teaches me something new about patience, listening and empathy.
You don't learn leadership from books or titles.
You learn it from experience, from people, from mistakes.
You learn it from the moments when things fall apart and you're the one who has to hold them together, And in those moments you realise that leadership and life are not about control.
They're about connection.
The more you listen, the more people trust you.
The more you trust them, the better they perform.
And when the team succeeds, it doesn't feel like your success alone.
It feels shared.
That's the most rewarding part of my work.
Seeing people grow.
Seeing them become confident enough to lead others one day.
So yes, managing projects is complex.
But managing people, helping them believe in themselves, helping them find purpose.
That's the real challenge and also the real joy.
Because at the end of every project, what stays with you isn't the report or the numbers.
It's the people, the lessons and the quiet satisfaction that in some small way, you made a difference.
Perfect!
If that story felt natural and clear, your English is at least C1.
Next, you will reach C2. the expert level.
Here language sounds effortless, elegant and emotional.
You will hear subtle ideas, rare words and gentle rhythm.
My name is Elena and over the years I've realized that the hardest part of life isn't making decisions, it's understanding what they mean.
When we're young, we imagine that every choice is a doorway to something better a better job, a better city, a better version of ourselves.
We walk through those doors one after another, rarely stopping to notice what we leave behind.
But eventually, you look back and see that every decision carries both gain and loss.
Something found, something left.
For a long time, I chased progress without direction.
I changed jobs, changed cities, changed dreams.
Always telling myself I was moving forward.
But sometimes I wasn't moving toward anything.
I was just running away from stillness.
There's a strange fear in stillness, as if silence might reveal what we've tried to hide from ourselves.
It took me years to understand that silence isn't empty.
It's full of resonance.
Quiet truths that only emerge when the noise finally fades.
These days I live differently.
My mornings are slow.
I make coffee, open the window and let the light spill across the floor.
That small moment, gentle, ephemeral, feels like the most honest part of my day.
I don't rush to check messages or plans.
I just sit there and listen.
To the hum of the world.
To my own thoughts.
To whatever speaks in the space between things.
I used to think meaning came from action.
Now I know it grows out of reflection.
I still work, I'm a consultant, but my relationship with work has changed.
What once felt like pressure now feels like practice.
Yes, it's technical and logical, but I try to find the human part inside all that structure.
Real progress, I think, isn't when systems become faster.
It's when people inside them begin to feel understood.
You can redesign a whole organization, but if you don't transform the metamorphosis within its people, how they see themselves, how they connect, then nothing truly changes.
Outside of work, I write.
Not for an audience, for awareness.
Writing is a mirror that doesn't flatter.
It tells the truth.
It shows me where my thoughts begin and where they resist ending.
Some days I write about the past, not to live there but to learn.
Other days I write about the future, not to predict but to make peace with not knowing.
Sometimes words bring a sense of ineffable clarity.
A feeling that can't be captured but can still be felt.
Lately, I've been thinking about time.
Not as something that passes, but as something we move through.
Some moments feel wide and endless.
Others disappear before we even notice.
I've realised that the quality of time depends less on what we do and more on how awake we are while we do it.
A single moment of presence can last longer than an entire day spent rushing.
I used to think growth meant collecting things. achievements, recognition, experience.
Now I see it differently.
Growth to me is subtraction, the art of letting go.
It's choosing what to release so that what matters has room to remain.
We live in a world that worships addition.
More goals, more motion, more noise.
But true wisdom lies in knowing when to stop.
When to rest.
When to say, this is enough.
Maybe that's what freedom really is. not doing whatever we want, but knowing we don't need to.
Freedom to me is the quiet equanimity that comes when you no longer measure life by how much you can hold, but by how much you can appreciate.
The older I get, the more I see that peace isn't something waiting at the end of the road.
It's something that walks beside us in the rhythm of our own footsteps, in the warmth of early sunlight.
In the silent certainty that life is happening right now.
And that right now is already enough.
Alright.
If you understood this story easily, congratulations.
Your English is near native level.
You can follow complex arguments and emotional expression with ease.
But remember, fluency isn't an ending.
Even at C2, there is always something new to explore, new stories to hear and new ways to express who you are.
And that brings us to the end of today's journey from A1 to C2.
You've listened, reflected and tested your understanding through six different levels of English.
Maybe you found one level easy and another a little challenging.
That's completely normal.
Language learning isn't a straight line.
It's a process of growth.
Thank you so much for listening to another episode of English Unleashed.
I'm Tom, and until next time, keep going, keep learning, and remember, fluency isn't a finish line.
It's a way of life.
Bye for now.
