While applying for Permanent residency in Canada, we often do not give emphasis on our CLB score and lose a certain amount of points which could have increased our possibilities to get selected as a PR in first hand. So there remains the question,” What is actually CLB, or What is its function?”
CLB is the short form of Canadian Language Benchmarks.
It is the national standard for measuring and recognizing the English Language proficiency of both adult and prospective immigrants. There are four language skills that determine the CLB level, those are reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Among these four, listening holds the most importance.
There are 12 benchmarks that evaluate and summarize the total CLB score. There are three stages in CLB score which are primary, intermediate, and advanced. The basic concept of CLB is it does not highlight how much vocabulary or grammar you know rather it put emphasis on how you can exchange your thoughts, understand other individuals and use your knowledge of English in practical day-to-day activities.
We all know that there are certain standard English proficiency tests out there in the International field giving recognition of our understanding of English as a second language. But to apply as a PR one needs to convert those test scores into the Canadian Language Benchmarks scale.
International English Language Testing System (IELTS) – General Training – Test score equivalency chart
Here, I again want to put your eyes on the fact that Listening is a very crucial fact for the CLB level. For example, if you want to get CLB 9 you must have to acquire 8 in the listening. It will not be counted as CLB 9 even though you get more than 7 in other language skills such as writing, speaking, or reading. It is safe to score a minimum of 7 in CLB to be counted as a prospective candidate.
If the score becomes less than 7 and one doesn’t have any relatives in that particular province he is applying to, it will be really tough to get the Permanents Residency. To summarize, it is understandable that CLB score is an important aspect for immigrating to Canada and the aspirants for PR should put a good amount of emphasis on it.