Language proficiency is the ability of an individual to use language with a level of accuracy that transfers meaning in production and comprehension. There is no singular definition of language proficiency: while certain groups limit its scope to speaking ability, others extend it to cover both productive and receptive language skills and their effective application in varying practical contexts. However, this diversity has implications for its application in other language domains such as literacy, testing, endangered languages, language impairment, etc. There is little consistency as to how different organizations classify it. Native-level fluency is estimated to require a lexicon between 20,000 and 40,000 words, but basic conversational fluency might require as few as 3,000 words.
Developing language proficiency
Developing proficiency in any language begins with word learning. By the time they are 12 months old, children learn their first words and by the time they are 36 months old, they may know well over 900 words with their utterances intelligible to the people who interact with them the most.
Developing language proficiency improves an individual’s capacity to communicate. Over time through interaction and through exposure to new forms of language in use, an individual learns new words, sentence structures, and meanings, thereby increasing their command of using accurate forms of the target language.
Issues in defining language proficiency
Languages that are considered endangered are undergoing efforts to revitalize them. Some of these languages have few speakers, while some have none. The learners of these languages are engaged in using documented resources (i.e. word lists, hymnals, bibles) to relearn their languages. Language proficiency in these cases of endangerment is being determined by how much language is learned in these communities through these efforts; proficient speakers are being determined by these communities.
Organizations
ACTFL
The
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) is an organization aiming to improve and expand the teaching and learning of all languages at all levels of instruction. ACTFL is an individual membership organization of more than 13 ...
(ACTFL) distinguishes between proficiency and performance. In part, ACTFL's definition of proficiency is derived from mandates issued by the U.S. government, declaring that a
limited English proficient student is one who comes from a non-English background and "who has sufficient difficulty speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language and whose difficulties may deny such an individual the opportunity to learn successfully in classrooms where the language of instruction is English or to participate fully in our society".
ACTFL views "performance" as being the combined effect of all three modes of communication: interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational.
Proficiency frameworks
Note that test scores may not correlate reliably, as different understandings of proficiency lead to different types of assessment:
*FSI Test (
Foreign Service Institute) Scores range from 0 to 5.
''(deprecated)''
*
Interagency Language Roundtable
The Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) is an unfunded organization comprising various agencies of the United States federal government with the purpose of coordinating and sharing information on foreign language activities at the federal level ...
Scores range from 0 to 5.
''(evolved from FSI)''
*
Language Proficiency Index
*
ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines ACTFL recognises ten different levels of proficiency: "novice", "intermediate", "advanced", and "superior", of which the first three are each subdivided into "low", "mid", and "high".
*
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages CEFR recognises six levels: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2.
Proficiency tests
Online language proficiency test ( Level4, Level5, Level6 ) for pilots in english or germanAvant STAMP (STAndards-based Measurement of Proficiency)ref>
*
Cambridge English Language Assessment
Cambridge Assessment English or Cambridge English develops and produces Cambridge English Qualifications and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The organisation contributed to the development of the Common European Frame ...
tests
*
CaMLA (Cambridge Michigan Language Assessments)
*
CELI
The ''Certificato di Conoscenza della Lingua Italiana'' (Certificate of Knowledge of Italian Language), or CELI, is an internationally recognized qualification of the Italian language destined for foreigners wanting to validate their relative Ita ...
(Certificato di Conoscenza della Lingua Italiana)
*
CELPE-Bras
CELPE-Bras ( pt, Certificado de Proficiência em Língua Portuguesa para Estrangeiros, "Certificate of Proficiency in Portuguese for Foreigners") is the only certificate of proficiency in Brazilian Portuguese as a second language officially recogni ...
(Certificate of Proficiency in Portuguese for Foreigners)
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CILS (Certificazione di Italiano come Lingua Straniera)
*
DALF
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Defense Language Proficiency Tests
The Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) is a battery of foreign language tests produced by the Defense Language Institute and used by the United States Department of Defense (DoD). They are intended to assess the general language proficienc ...
*
DELF (Diplôme d'études en langue française)
*
DELE (Diplomas of Spanish as Foreign Language)
*
Examination for Japanese University Admission
The , more commonly referred to as simply the Examination for Japanese University Admission (EJU), is a standardized test which non-Japanese students hoping to attend undergraduate or graduate university programs in Japan are required to take and ...
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General English Proficiency Test
The General English Proficiency Test (GEPT; , or for short) is a test of English language proficiency that was commissioned by Taiwan's Ministry of Education in 1999. The GEPT was developed by the Language Training and Testing Center in Taipei, ...
*
GOETHE
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...
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HSK (汉语水平考试 Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì)
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IELTS
The International English Language Testing System (IELTS ), is an international standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers. It is jointly managed by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia a ...
(International English Language Testing System)
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iTEP (International Test of English Proficiency)
*
Japanese Language Proficiency Test
The , or JLPT, is a standardized criterion-referenced test to evaluate and certify Japanese language proficiency for non-native speakers, covering language knowledge, reading ability, and listening ability. The test is held twice a year in Japan a ...
(日本語能力試験 Nihongo Nōryoku Shiken)
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Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers
The Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers (LPAT ; ) is an assessment examination for the language proficiency of teachers in Hong Kong. According to regulations, any teachers teaching English language or Putonghua (a.k.a. Mandarin Chinese) ...
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Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE-A)
PippletFluency Exam CEFR
oral and writing
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PLIDA PLIDA, or Progetto Lingua Italiana Dante Alighieri (Dante Alighieri Society Diplomas), are language diplomas issued by Dante Alighieri Society certifying the holder's proficiency in Italian language as a foreign language. The diplomas could only be ...
(Progetto Lingua Italiana Dante Alighieri)
*
The European Language Certificates
The European Language Certificates (TELC; also known as TELC language tests) are international standardised tests of ten languages.
telc GmbH is a non-profit language test, examination and certificate provider based in Frankfurt am Main. A subsid ...
(telc - language tests)
*
TOEFL
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL ) is a standardized test to measure the English language ability of non-native speakers wishing to enroll in English-speaking universities. The test is accepted by more than 11,000 universities a ...
(Test of English as a Foreign Language)
*
TOEIC
The Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) is an international standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native speakers. It is intentionally designed to measure the everyday English skills of people working in an ...
(Test of English for International Communication)
*
TOPIK
The Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) is a Korean language test for non-native speakers of Korean. The test is offered six times annually (Jan, Apr, May, Jul, Oct, Nov) within Korea and less often to people studying Korean in other countrie ...
(한국어능력시험 Test of Proficiency in Korean)
*
TEPS
The Test of English Proficiency developed by Seoul National University or TEPS is an English proficiency test created by Seoul National University's Language Education Institute to evaluate South Korean test takers' English language skills. TE ...
(Test of English Proficiency developed by Seoul National University)
*
Test of Russian as a Foreign Language The Test of Russian as a Foreign Language (TORFL) (russian: Тест по русскому языку как иностранному, translit=Test po russkomu yazyku kak inostrannomu or ) is a contemporary test of Russian language for foreign citi ...
*
Test de français international
*
Test de connaissance du français
*
TOCFL
The Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TOCFL) ( zh, t=, p=Huáyǔwén Nénglì Cèyàn) is the standardized test of Taiwanese Mandarin (a type of Mandarin Chinese) language proficiency of Taiwan for non-native speakers such as foreign stu ...
(華語文能力測驗 Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language)
*UBELT (
University of Bath
(Virgil, Georgics II)
, mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind
, established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...
English Language Test)
Language-related organizations
*
Alliance Française
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
*
AIL (Accademia Italiana di Lingua)
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American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) is an organization aiming to improve and expand the teaching and learning of all languages at all levels of instruction. ACTFL is an individual membership organization of more than 13 ...
*
Association of Language Testers in Europe The Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) is an association of language exam providers in Europe.
The ALTE (Association of Language Testers in Europe) "Can Do" project developed a simplified set of 400+ descriptors for language examinati ...
*
Confucius Institute
Confucius Institutes (CI; ) are public educational and cultural promotion programs funded and arranged currently by the , a government-organized non-governmental organization (GONGO) under the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic o ...
*
Foreign Service Institute
*
Goethe-Institut
*
Instituto Cervantes
Instituto Cervantes (the Cervantes Institute) is a worldwide nonprofit organization created by the Spanish government in 1991. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the author of ''Don Quixote'' and perhaps the most important figur ...
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Japan Foundation
*
Società Dante Alighieri
The Dante Alighieri Society (Italian: ''Società Dante Alighieri'') is a society that promotes Italian culture and language around the world. Today this society is present in more than 60 countries.
It was formed in Italy in July 1889. The so ...
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UCLES
University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) is a non-teaching department of the University of Cambridge, which operates under the brand name Cambridge Assessment, and is part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment. It provi ...
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UNIcert
The UNIcert is an international system of certification and accreditation for various languages learnt in a university context. The main goal of UNIcert is to support language education for universities and to provide an accepted certificate that ...
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UONEDU
See also
*
EF English Proficiency Index
The EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) attempts to rank countries by the equity of English language skills amongst those adults who took the EF test.
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Fluency
*
Vocabulary
A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the la ...
– The set of words in a given language that a speaker is familiar with, which can be subdivided into: a) words which are recognized upon hearing or reading; and b) words which a person feels comfortable using in speech.
Notes and references
{{Authority control
Language acquisition
Language education
Pedagogy