The term "false beginner" has become reasonably common in ELT circles. It is generally used to describe a learner who - based on their apparent inability to do or respond to anything with the language - appears to be a beginner, but in fact isn't. A standardised test focusing on things like vocabulary and grammar awareness, and perhaps also reading and listening comprehension, reveals the learner does actually know a bit about English and might be able to understand some of it in a receptive capacity. The poor person just can't say or write anything very meaningful or practical at all in real-time situations.
I've often argued that the "false" label isn't exclusive to beginner levels. In fact, I've seen for myself more than my fair share of learners who could potentially qualify as "false elementary", "false intermediate", and yes - even "false advanced"!
This idea of levels in English being fake or to some degree hollow ought not to suprise us that much.
After all, if the materials we use to teach learners are essentially fake, and all the opportunities to use and respond to the language in the classroom are also to a greater degree contrived and/or pseudo-like, and all our tests target only receptive and analytical abilities, it is rather little wonder that our learners emerge from months or years of language "learning" with essentially false levels of proficiency.
We reap what we sow.
:-)
