Minimum proficiency level of language

General discussion about learning languages
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Jean-Luc
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Re: Minimum proficiency level of language

Postby Jean-Luc » Tue Jan 11, 2022 12:15 pm

Don't forget that a very low level is still an opening door in non-English speaking countries and is always the first stage of a journey to proficiency ;)
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Re: Minimum proficiency level of language

Postby jeff_lindqvist » Tue Jan 11, 2022 2:59 pm

firewheel wrote:For most language courses, there are levels like Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced etc.

If a person is applying for a job which requires to be proficient in a certain language, what is the minimum proficiency level of language that is required


It's difficult to say without any information about the job tasks (or your target group), the language and even the country.

In Sweden, some proficiency in English is assumed. Perhaps B1. Even lower. I just had a look at a job ad where it actually said something like "good Swedish and English skills (both verbal and written)". Even for this particular position, this can mean anything, but perhaps around B1. Nobody applying will be asked for a certificate in English, nor to conduct the interview in English. It doesn't have to be perfect. If your native language is English (or other), then it's assumed that you're able do your job in Swedish, and the interview will still be conducted in Swedish. It doesn't have to be perfect, just good enough. You're not the Prime Minister's official spokesperson.

In the rare case that they ask for some other language proficiency, then it's probably more important.

Does this help?
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Re: Minimum proficiency level of language

Postby IronMike » Wed Jan 12, 2022 12:29 am

I think A1 is fine. :lol:

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Re: Minimum proficiency level of language

Postby firewheel » Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:48 am

Thank you for your replies friends :)
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Re: Minimum proficiency level of language

Postby firewheel » Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:51 am

reineke wrote:What you didn't tell us is that you want to watch TV and read books in Korean. "Language A," right?


Yes you are right. You caught me haha. :D

jeff_lindqvist wrote:
Does this help?


Oh yes your reply was helpful. Thank you. :)

IronMike wrote:I think A1 is fine. :lol:



Nice and funny clip haha :D
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Re: Minimum proficiency level of language

Postby Xenops » Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:14 pm

Indeed, without more information, it is difficult to give advice on what level is needed. Realistically, you would reach out either to people already working in the field in Korea (I’ll make this assumption), or maybe look at job postings there, or maybe even universities in target country. They can give you specific info on what language skills are needed for a job.

I have sometimes researched the language requirements for working in the medical field in Japan: even at the “international” hospitals, the highest language level is expected, and certification is often required. Granted, hospitals have life-and-death situations, and you really need to express and understand everything.

So it really depends on your goals: if you can be content serving coffee in target country, then higher language skills aren’t needed. If you want to work as a professional, expect to reach the highest levels.
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Re: Minimum proficiency level of language

Postby kelvin921019 » Fri Jan 14, 2022 5:09 pm

Also, if a person wants to watch shows or read books in that language, what is the minimum proficiency level of language that is required?


Some say starting from B you can read books and watch shows. Technically yes, but to me reading books and watching shows at B level requires so much concentration that it pretty much stripes away a big part of the enjoyment (unless your enjoy learning a bunch of new words and training on your listening skills).

I say from C level you can start to enjoy watching shows and reading books. In fact, I would say that if you can start enjoying watching shows and reading books (enjoying means you can just relax and the process doesn't require much concentration) in your TL, you are pretty much C level.
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Re: Minimum proficiency level of language

Postby sirgregory » Sun Jan 16, 2022 5:00 pm

Some jobs might require you to work mostly with written texts. Emails, documents, etc. If you are drafting important documents, certainly you need to be advanced. If you only need passive understanding, then intermediate might be sufficient. Although if you are spending most of your time working in the foreign language then efficiency becomes important. That is, if it's a bilingual position and you only get a few emails a week in the language, you can probably take your time with them. But if that's all you do, then you don't want to be spending hours on something a native could do in twenty minutes. You need to be fluent enough to keep up.

If the job involves meetings and phone calls and things like that, then listening comprehension becomes very important. In particular, I would note that often you use a foreign language on the job over the phone which is more challenging than face-to-face communication. Generally I find in-person easier than phone, one person easier than several, and talking to people you know is easier than talking to strangers. So probably the hardest would be an audio-only conference call with multiple strangers over a bad connection. And often the subject matter itself is inherently complex further adding to the difficulty. At any rate, you will want to have very good listening comprehension for this (again, it depends on how much you have to do it). For speaking, you probably don't need to be elegant, but you need to be able to get your points across effectively.

All of this is highly situational of course. Employers ultimately have to hire whoever is available on the market and in some cases requiring advanced language skills in addition to the other job requirements might not be realistic. For technical or specialized work, other skills will be more important and they might have to settle for "good enough" language skills. With "good enough" skills you can still be effective I think but it's a good idea to swallow your pride and ask for clarification when needed. I don't think it's wise to try to "bluff" and give the impression that you understand when you don't.

One saving grace is that jobs usually have domain-specific vocabulary, and you can often learn that surprisingly easily if you have a basic fluency in the language. I once did some medical and dental interpreting (volunteer, not professional) and at the time I had only been speaking Spanish for a few months. I looked up a lot of the terms I thought I would need the night before and it was actually much easier than I expected. I only remember getting stuck on "pap smear," (it's "papanicolaou" if anyone's curious :D )
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