Understanding Your Levels of Fluency and How To Include ...

The term "levels of fluency" refers to predetermined levels of language skills that correlate with a person's proficiency when speaking, writing ... FindjobsCompanyreviewsFindsalariesUploadyourresumeSigninSigninEmployers/PostJobStartofmaincontent CareerGuideCoronavirusJobResourcesFindingaJobMoreResumes&CoverLettersInterviewingStartingaNewJobResumeSamplesPay&SalaryCareerDevelopmentCareerPathsCoverLetterSamplesCoronavirusJobResourcesFindingaJobResumes&CoverLettersInterviewingStartingaNewJobMoreResumeSamplesPay&SalaryCareerDevelopmentCareerPathsCoverLetterSamplesResumes&CoverLettersUnderstandingYourLevelsofFluencyandHowToIncludeThemonaResumeUnderstandingYourLevelsofFluencyandHowToIncludeThemonaResumeByIndeedEditorialTeamMarch3,2021TwitterLinkedInFacebookEmailCopytoClipboardTherearethousandsoflanguagesthroughouttheworldspokenbypeopleofvaryingbackgrounds.Ifyou'velearnedanotherlanguageormultiplelanguagesthroughoutyourlifetime,youmaywonderhowtoassessyourlanguageskillsandaccuratelylistthemonaresume.Inthisarticle,wewilldefinelevelsoffluency,howtoincludethemonaresumeandtipsforlistinglanguageskills.Whatarelevelsoffluency?Theterm"levelsoffluency"referstopredeterminedlevelsoflanguageskillsthatcorrelatewithaperson'sproficiencywhenspeaking,writingandreadingaforeignlanguage.Yourleveloffluencyonaresumehelpspotentialemployersdecidewhetherornotyou'requalifiedforaspecificjobposition.Toassessyourleveloffluency,youmayrefertoonlinetestsandguidesthathelpyouunderstandyourleveloffluencyinaforeignlanguage.InAmerica,therearetwocommonlyusedproficiencyframeworks.TheyareknownastheInteragencyLanguageRoundtable(ILR)scaleandtheAmericanCouncilontheTeachingofForeignLanguages(ACTFL).TheILRscaleincludessixlevels:0-Noproficiency.Thismeansthatknowledgeofthelanguageisnonexistentorlimitedtoafewwords.1-Elementaryproficiency.Demonstratingthisleveloffluencymeansyouknowhowtostructurebasicsentences,whichmayincludecommonsquestionsandanswerstypicallyusedbytourists.2-Limitedworkingproficiency.Leveltwomeansyou'reabletohavelimitedsocialconversationsandunderstandbasiccommands.3-Professionalworkingproficiency.Levelthreemeansyouunderstandthelanguagewellenoughtocontributegreatlyintheworkplace,thoughyoumayexhibitanobviousaccentandneedhelpwithadvancedterminology.4-Fullprofessionalproficiency.HavinglevelfourskillsontheILRscaleiswhatmostemployerswanttoseeonaresume.Itmeansthatyoucanhaveconversationsatanadvancedlevelandhaveafirmunderstandingofthelanguage,thoughyoumayhavesomemisunderstandingsoroccasionalmistakes.5-Primaryfluency/bilingualproficiency.Levelfivemeansyouareentirelyfluentinalanguage.Youwereraisedspeakingthelanguageorhavespokenitlongenoughtobecomeproficientinit.Youraccentiseithernonexistentorbarelyrecognizable.TheACTFLscaleconsistsoffivemainfluencylevelsknownasNovice,Intermediate,Advanced,SuperiorandDistinguished.Theselevelsincludesublevelsofproficiencyknownaslow,mediumorhigh.Hereisavisualtoseehowthelevelsofthesetwoscalescompare: ACTFL ILR Novice(Low/Mid/High) 0/0+/1 Intermediate(Low/Mid/High) 1+ AdvancedLow 2 AdvancedMid 2+ AdvancedHigh 3/3+ Superior 4+ Whenwritingyourresume,youshouldpayspecialattentiontohowyouclassifyyourleveloffluencytoavoidanyconfusion.Ifyou'renotsurewhichlevelyou'reat,youcansearcheachscale'sofficialwebsitesforhelpfulPDFsandguidelines.Ifyou'drathernottaketheapproachofself-assessment,youcanpayforanonlinetestthatprovidesyourofficiallanguagescore.Related:EffectiveLanguageSkillsintheWorkplaceHowtoincludelanguagefluencyonaresumeIfyou'rebilingual,youshoulddefinitelyhighlightthisfactonyourresume.Notonlyisbeingbilingualahighlydesirableskilltohave,butitmayalsosetyouapartfromotherjobcandidates.Often,itisnotenoughtosaythatyou'reproficientinspeakingalanguage.It'simportanttostructureyourresumeinawaythathelpsyourlanguageskillsstandoutandidentifiesthemproperly.Followthesestepswhendecidinghowtoincludeyourbilingualskillsonaresume:1.Highlightmultiplelanguageskillsinaspecialsection.Whenyou'reapplyingtoajobthatrequiresproficiencyinaforeignlanguage,you'llwanttoensurethatyoudisplayyourbilingualskillsprominently.Ratherthanlistitinyourskillssectionwhereitcaneasilybeoverlooked,you'llwanttocreateaspecialsectionthatdescribesyourleveloffluency.Ifyouonlyspeakoneforeignlanguage,theskillssectionisthebestplacetolistit.Butformanywhowanttoemphasizetheirskills,aspecialsectionisbest.2.Displaythelanguageskillsaftercoresections.Themainpartsofaresumeincludetheheading,professionalskills,workexperience,andeducation.Insertyourlanguagesectionfollowingtheeducationsection,unlessyouhappentohaveanothercoresectionattheend.Thisway,thesectionismuchmorevisibletothehiringmanagerasitfollowsalongwiththenaturalflowoftheresume.3.Listlanguagesshowingproficiency.Nowthatyou'velocatedtheperfectspottoincludeyourlanguageabilities,you'rereadytolistthemusingonelanguageframework.Therearemanylanguageframeworksorguidesavailablethatrankyourlevelofproficiencyinaforeignlanguage.However,youshouldonlyuseoneofthosescalesforconsistencywhenproclaimingyourabilities.4.Beginwithyourmostproficientlanguage.Perhapsyouspeakmultiplelanguages.Youlikelyhavealevelofproficiencythatdiffersfromlanguagetolanguage.Onyourresume,itisbesttolistthemostproficientlanguagefirst,thenfollowtherestindescendingorder.Nomatterwhichframeworkyouchoose,it'sworthnotingthatlowerlevelsoffluencybeneaththeintermediatelevelarenotworthincluding.Related:HowToAddLanguageProficiencyLevelsToYourResumeTipsforlistinglanguagesonaresumeNowthatyou'velearnedhowtolistyourlevelsoflanguagefluencyonaresume,we'regoingtodiscussafewtipstoensureyou'verepresentedyourskillsmostaccurately.Remembertheimportanceofbeinghonestinyourabilities.Ifyou'redoubtinganyofthethingsyou'reabouttowriteorinclude,it'sprobablybesttoleavethemoff.Herearethemostimportanttipsforlistinglanguagesonaresume:Don'toverstateyourskillsThisisabadideaformanyreasons.Whenyoutellyouremployerthatyouhaveskillsthatexceedyouractualskills,you'regivingafalserepresentationofyourabilities.Atsomepoint,you'llhavetodemonstratehowwellyouknowthelanguage,whichcanbeembarrassingifyou'renotasgoodasyouonceproclaimed.Also,youdon'twanttomaketheimpressionthatyou'vebeenlying.Whenindoubt,it'sagoodideatounderestimateyourlanguageskillsratherthanoverestimatethem.IncludeyourprimarylanguageoffluencyIfyouwerebornandraisedinanEnglish-speakinghousehold,it'ssmarttolistEnglishasyournative/primaryfluentlanguagewhenyou'relistingmultiplelanguagesonaresume.Leavingthisdetailoffyourresumeinvitesthepossibilityofconfusion.Don'tassumethatemployersknowyouspeakEnglish,thoughsubmittingyourresumeinEnglishshouldgivethemtheidea.LeaveextinctlanguagesoffresumesThoughitmaybetemptingtolistLatinonyourresumebecauseyouuseitofteninyourlineofwork,it'sbettertoleaveitoff.Theremaybespecialcircumstanceswhereyou'dwanttoincludeitifyouwereapplyingtoaLatin-basedjob,butotherwise,itisnotnecessary.AvoidusingyearswhenreferencingfluencyItisbesttoavoidtheterm'years'whenexplainingyourlanguageskills.That'sbecause"years"doesnotdetermineyourlevelofproficiencyinalanguage.YoumayhavetakenFrenchforfouryearsinhighschool,butthatdoesnotmeanyoupossessthesameskillsassomeonewiththeLevel4(IRL)distinction.Statethatyou'rebilingualinyoursummaryInadditiontocreatingaspeciallanguagesectiononyourresume,youshouldalsoleadyoursummarywiththefactthatyou'rebilingual.Havingthistermimmediatelyknownpreparesthehiringmanagerforupcominginformationaboutyourlanguageskills,foundfurtherdowntheresume.ConsiderremovinglanguagesifirrelevanttothejobThemostcommonresumesareone-pagers.Ifyou'rerunningoutofspaceandifbeingbilingualisnotacrucialrequirementforthejobposition,considerremovingthelanguagesectionaltogether.Youcanalwaysmentionitagaininthecoverletterorduringtheinterview,ifnecessary.Readmore:**HowtoIncludeLanguageSkillsonYourResume(WithExamples)ExamplesIfyou'rereadytoincludeyourlanguageskillsonyourresume,youmaybelookingforsomeexamplestoreference.Hereareafewexamplesofhowyou'dincludeyourlevelsoffluencyonyourresume:Ifyouonlyspeakoneforeignlanguage,youmaylistthiswithotheritemsunderan'AdditionalSkills'sectionwiththefollowingbulletpoint:Level3(ILR)inSpanishIfyouhavemultiplelanguagestolist,youmaychoosetowriteyourlanguageskillslikethisunderthelanguageskillssection:AmericanEnglish-Level5(ILR)Spanish-Level3+(ILR)French-Level3(ILR)ReadMoreHowToCreateaDayTraderResume(WithTemplateandExample)HowtoWriteaProfessionalStudentCV(WithTemplateandExamples)HowToWriteaDentistResumeObjective(Plus10Examples)RelatedArticlesBestResumeTemplatesandTypes10ResumeTipsforOlderProfessionals(WithTemplateandExample)WhentoUseEachTypeofResume