Language Proficiency Exams

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Walinator
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Language Proficiency Exams

Postby Walinator » Tue Jun 29, 2021 12:37 pm

I've noticed that people often mention a number of different types of tests and exams that judge the proficiency of a certain language. Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about any of these. :lol: Could someone possibly explain the difference between being 1+ or B1 in a language or what the difference is between the CELF, the DELF, and all the other tests mentioned on the forum? Also, is there a text out there that determines one's proficiency in Persian? Lastly, why do people aim to complete these tests?
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Re: Language Proficiency Exams

Postby DaveAgain » Tue Jun 29, 2021 12:50 pm

1. 1+ ( Interagency Language Roundtable scale) / B1 (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) are different scales for measuring language skills.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Eu ... ral_scales

2. DELF/CELF are names of particular language exams.

3. Motivations for taking the exams vary.
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Re: Language Proficiency Exams

Postby rdearman » Tue Jun 29, 2021 1:47 pm

I will try to expand a little on DaveAgain's post. Let's start with the scales.

1+, 2, 2+ etc are rankings based on the IRL scale: The Interagency Language Roundtable scale is a set of descriptions of abilities to communicate in a language. It is the standard grading scale for language proficiency in the United States's Federal-level service.

A1, B2, C1, etc are from the CEFR scale: The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment, abbreviated in English as CEFR or CEF or CEFRL, is a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and, increasingly, in other countries.

There are numerous examinations which will grade you on all these various languages and give you an officially recognized score based on the scale. The difficulty and format of each exam varies, and some languages have more than one official certification, for example Italian has CILS, CELI & other Certificates.

Reasons why you might want to do this includes:
  • Require a score to immigrate to a country. For example: The French government has now made it mandatory for anyone wishing to acquire the French nationality to have at least a level B1 in French. (Or so the Internet tells me.)
  • Require a minimum score in order to work in a particular job. E.g. working for the U.S. Department of State as a diplomat means you have to learn another language within 5 years of joining. (Or so the Internet tells me.)

There is Oxford Persian Test (OXPET) to test Persian it seems. There are probably others.
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Re: Language Proficiency Exams

Postby s_allard » Sat Jul 03, 2021 12:00 pm

rdearman wrote:...

Reasons why you might want to do this includes:
  • Require a score to immigrate to a country. For example: The French government has now made it mandatory for anyone wishing to acquire the French nationality to have at least a level B1 in French. (Or so the Internet tells me.)
  • Require a minimum score in order to work in a particular job. E.g. working for the U.S. Department of State as a diplomat means you have to learn another language within 5 years of joining. (Or so the Internet tells me.)

There is Oxford Persian Test (OXPET) to test Persian it seems. There are probably others.


Expanding on rdearman's list of reasons for taking a language proficiency test, I would add the following that may apply to many of us here:

First, there is nothing like a test to make you get off your butt and work on your target language. Usually, you have to pay a significant amount of money to take the test and nobody wants to fail. The test date is a deadline that gets closer day by day, your level of anxiety goes up and inevitably you study more and more seriously. Whatever the test results, your proficiency improves. You can't ask for anything better.

Second, there is the test experience itself. I generally don't like taking tests myself but a language test is a rather interesting experience because it is all about expressing oneself. There's something about sitting across from one or two examiners for ten minutes and having to actually speak the language as best as you can. Does it start well? Maybe there's a question you don't understand. You're nervous and you start stammering. Or maybe you feel comfortable and you relax because things are going well. Or, in the worst case scenario, you just clam up because you get stuck searching for a word.

Third, there is the sense of accomplishment when you get positive results. Whether it's a B1 or a C2, it's a great feeling to get that e-mail saying that you've passed. And a few weeks later, you get an impressive-looking piece of paper that you can look at proudly
or even show to friends. I don't suggest that it's a reason to brag but one can rightfully feel proud of having reached a milestone in one's language learning journey.

But you shouldn't let this go to your head because passing a test and proficiency in the real world are two different things. But that's another story.

Finally, in our little society of language enthusiasts and hobbyists where people make all kinds of claims about their levels of proficiency or worse, fluency, it's nice to see from time to time objective benchmarks. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying tests are necessary or that a piece of paper is proof of real-world proficiency. After all, most languages in this world don't have testing systems. But I have to say there is a warm feeling about being able to say "See, I did it."

Edit: removed two extraneous words
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Re: Language Proficiency Exams

Postby iguanamon » Sat Jul 03, 2021 4:13 pm

My biggest problem with proficiency tests is due to expense. I live far from any major metropolitan area. I would have to fly somewhere, pay for lodging and food in addition to the exam cost. It would be a big help to those of us who live in more isolated areas for test centers to allow for proctored exams online. The technology exists and the safeguards of proctored exams would prevent most cheating.
onlineexambuilder.com wrote:What is a proctored exam/test?
The meaning is actually not that complicated. A “proctor” is a supervisor, or a person who monitors students during an examination. It can also refer to an officer who has disciplinary functions in certain universities. So, a proctored exam is an exam given when someone is watching you.

For example: I looked at the French DALF exam. They're offered at Alliance Francaise locations... even here in the Caribbean. The problem is with travel. There is no AF in my Territory. The population of my home island is 50,000. We have flights to St Thomas; Puerto Rico ($200-$350 rt); Miami, Florida- $300-$500 rt. The Caribbean is not as interconnected as one would think. The phrase "you can't get there from here" fits well. It's hard to next to impossible to get a flight to the neighboring islands because our islands have low populations and there just isn't enough demand. You have to fly to San Juan or Miami to get a connecting flight. It would be cheaper for me to fly to Miami, Florida in the states than to almost any other Caribbean island.

Anywhere I would go I'd have to pay for local transport- uber, rental car; hotel, airbnb; food; plus time off work Since I am self-employed, I'd not be getting paid leave. I'd be looking at between 2,000 to $3,000 if I add in lost time from work.

The expense is not one I can justify for what is essentially a hobby. If I could take a proctored exam locally, then that would be different. Hopefully language centers will change their policies at some point in the future to allow for local proctored exams. There's no reason why everything can't be done online.
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Re: Language Proficiency Exams

Postby gsbod » Sat Jul 03, 2021 5:39 pm

I sat the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) at level N3 and then N2 about a decade ago. I think at the time I was motivated to do it after getting encouragement from the tutor of a class I took and some of my fellow classmates who were also preparing for the exam at N4 level. It was also quite nice after putting so much time into learning the language to have a tangible record of my achievement in the form of an exam certificate. I sat both exams in London, and rolled it into a weekend away in the capital with my husband, to make the travel and accomodation expenses more worthwhile.

It is interesting looking back ten years later. On the whole it was a positive experience at the time, so no regrets there, but in the long term it is kind of meaningless. At the time I passed N2, I suffered a massive case of imposter syndrome, which I since understand to be completely misplaced (basically, I thought N2 required a more advanced level of Japanese than it does in reality). Despite the tangibility of a real certificate, the only people who really know what it means in terms of your achievement are those involved in Japanese teaching and learning. Some friends and colleagues were impressed by it, but they were equally impressed by the fact of me being able to read certain Japanese books, which I didn't need any formal certificate to do. Furthermore, I haven't maintained my Japanese skills over the intervening decade, so if you were to judge my ability based on my N2 certificate and then see me try to do Japanese in real life, I think you may be disappointed.

I have given a lot of thought to whether or not to sit the C1 Goethe Zertifikat. A few years ago I was seriously considering moving to Germany, in which case it would have been a worthwhile investment to help with immigration and job hunting, however I think that moment has now passed, and with it the imperative to sit the exam. I'm comfortable with my level, I've got enough insight to understand where my strengths and weaknesses are, and I really don't have anything to prove any more. I couldn't care less if some random person on the internet doubts my ability. In fact, I couldn't really care less whether I am actually C1 or not any more, as long as I can use German for what I want/need it for.

Still, I do like it when people share their exam successes here. Although I have mixed feelings about the importance of formal language exams, it's still nice to celebrate the success of others.
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Re: Language Proficiency Exams

Postby Hieronymus » Sun Jul 04, 2021 10:46 pm

Wikipedia has a list of language proficiency tests, albeit not a very good one.

It might be useful for somebody here to go separate the wheat from chafe here, list only the important ones with perhaps a few details or two.
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Re: Language Proficiency Exams

Postby Ug_Caveman » Mon Jul 05, 2021 12:35 am

s_allard wrote:Second, there is the test experience itself. I generally don't like taking tests myself but a language test is a rather interesting experience because it is all about expressing oneself. There's something about sitting across from one or two examiners for ten minutes and having to actually speak the language as best as you can. Does it start well? Maybe there's a question you don't understand. You're nervous and you start stammering. Or maybe you feel comfortable and you relax because things are going well. Or, in the worst case scenario, you just clam up because you get stuck searching for a word.

Third, there is the sense of accomplishment when you get positive results. Whether it's a B1 or a C2, it's a great feeling to get that e-mail saying that you've passed. And a few weeks later, you get an impressive-looking piece of paper that you can look at proudly
or even show to friends. I don't suggest that it's a reason to brag but one can rightfully feel proud of having reached a milestone in one's language learning journey.


I'd like to expand on these points - I was very on the fence about signing up for a language proficiency exam (and bear in mind I was signing up for the lowest level possible.)

A friend of mine pointed out that even if you take the exam and fail, you can request (or may be given by default) feedback. Sometimes you don't have native speakers around to tell you what would really kick you up to that next level - such feedback can definitely help fill such a gap.

Before taking my exam I had *extremely* limited speaking practise beyond Michel Thomas and some Assimil repetition - the exam itself gave me my first ever non-scripted conversation with a native speaker beyond ordering food. Even if I fail, to me that is a valuable experience - and the responses from my examiners facial expressions and body language made me feel much more confident as it became clear what I was saying at least made some sense (they were rather shocked to find out I'd sat the exam with zero formal preparation - in [what appeared to be] a good way.)

Even if I find out (anytime now...) that I failed the exam, I'd still have called it a successful day.

(NB: This is a wholly language related POV. I know Dutch exams are far cheaper (>£100) than some other languages and I was in a position where I could afford the expense - as a comparative example I believe Swedish exams cost several hundred pounds to sit in the UK. I know not everyone else can afford to do a language exam and use it as an experience from a financial POV.)
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Re: Language Proficiency Exams

Postby jeffers » Mon Jul 05, 2021 8:53 am

Regarding remote testing, there are options and it looks like more are on the way. This video from Didier (publisher of revision materials for DELF/DALF) explains the changes coming in the DELF/DALF exams. https://youtu.be/rlFa14N-MXE It mentions that one reason for the change is a possible shift to online testing in the future.

When looking at the wikipedia page about CEFR I found a French certification that can be done remotely, from a company called Frantastique https://www.gymglish.com/en/frantastique/portfolio-diploma. There is no actual examination as far as I can tell, but instead they are levelling you as you go. After six months of their daily lessons you get a CEFR levelled certificate which they claim is recognized by the French state. To be certified, you need to use the pro version of their lessons, "From €42 per month", and continue with them for six months. The downside to this is that there is no oral assessment as far as I can tell. One thing that would help keep people on track is that the certificate gives you a mark for your level of participation as well as progress. I would rather sit a "proper" exam since I'm looking for certification simply for my own benefit, but if someone needed a certification for a job, immigration or for further study, this could be a viable option.


EDIT: I just looked at the payment options for Frantastique. €42 per month is the price for 36 months, the cost for the minimum timeframe of six months is exactly double.
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Re: Language Proficiency Exams

Postby IronMike » Mon Jul 05, 2021 11:44 pm

Walinator wrote:I've noticed that people often mention a number of different types of tests and exams that judge the proficiency of a certain language. Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about any of these. :lol: Could someone possibly explain the difference between being 1+ or B1 in a language or what the difference is between the CELF, the DELF, and all the other tests mentioned on the forum? Also, is there a text out there that determines one's proficiency in Persian? Lastly, why do people aim to complete these tests?

You might be interested in this thread I started a few years ago. One stop shop was my initial goal. Language Tests: List, Advice, Feedback

Also check out the link in my sig block below, but N.b., those equivalencies are very fuzzy.
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