Testing your language proficiency

You can set up tests for yourself to help you gauge your language proficiency more realistically. You can also ask a consultant or fellow-learner to set up such a test for you. You can base these tests on the kinds of tasks a learner can typically perform at a given level according to the ACTFL guidelines.

• Decide on the skill you want to test yourself in: listening, speaking, reading, or writing.
• Look at the list of tasks representative of that level under What you can do at different proficiency levels.

• Choose a task representative of a level that might describe you.

  Example:

  If you have been Intermediate for awhile and think you might have reached Advanced, choose a task under Advanced.

• Do not just ask yourself if you can perform the language task; actually do the work.

• Do not rehearse the specific task ahead of time.

  Reason:

  In that way your performance will more accurately reflect your actual overall ability.

• Record yourself doing each speaking task, and listen to the tape later.
• After you do the task, read the ACTFL guidelines descriptions of the skill you are testing.
• Decide which level describes you most accurately.

• Test your listening proficiency.
• Test your speaking proficiency.
• Test your reading proficiency.
• Test your writing proficiency.

• Task module: Testing your language proficiency
• In task module: Checking your progress
• In task module: How to manage your language learning program
• In modular book: Managing Your Language Learning Program, by Carol J. Orwig
• In bookshelf: Language Learning

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 3.5, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 21 March 1999

© 1999 SIL International