What Is Language Proficiency? Definition and Levels - Indeed

Language proficiency is a term that refers to someone's ability to speak a language. There are levels to proficiency, and depending on your ... FindjobsCompanyreviewsSalaryguideUploadyourresumeSigninSigninEmployers/PostJobStartofmaincontent CareerGuideCoronavirusJobResourcesFindingaJobMoreResumes&CoverLettersInterviewingStartingaNewJobPay&SalaryCareerDevelopmentCoronavirusJobResourcesFindingaJobResumes&CoverLettersInterviewingStartingaNewJobMorePay&SalaryCareerDevelopmentResumes&CoverLettersWhatIsLanguageProficiency?DefinitionandLevelsWhatIsLanguageProficiency?DefinitionandLevelsByIndeedEditorialTeam14October2021TwitterLinkedInFacebookEmailCopytoClipboardLanguageproficiencyisatermthatreferstosomeone'sabilitytospeakalanguage.Therearelevelstoproficiency,anddependingonyourfluency,speakingasecondorthirdlanguageproficientlymayincreaseyourprospectsasajobcandidate.Ifyouarestudyinganewlanguageorapplyingtopositionswithmultilingualrequirements,learningmoreboutproficiencyandhowitworkscanbebeneficial.Inthisarticle,weanswerthequestion,'Whatislanguageproficiency?'andweexplainwhyit'simportantandhowtoincludeproficiencyinyourapplicationmaterials.Related:HowToIncludeaLanguageOnaResume(With5Examples)Whatislanguageproficiency?Languageproficiencyisanindicatorofyourabilitytospeakalanguage.Beingfluentinseverallanguagescanbebeneficialforprofessionals,asitmaymakepotentialemployersmoreinterestedinyouasacandidate.Candidateswhospeakmultiplelanguagesmayprovidemorevaluethanthosewhodon't,astheycancommunicatewithabroaderrangeofclientsandactastranslatorswhenneeded.Therearesixlevelstoproficiency,includingthefollowing:Notproficient:Atthislevel,youmayknowafewwordsinthelanguage,butyoucan'tspeakinfullsentencesorconversationally.Ifyouhavethislevelofproficiencyinalanguage,itmaynotbehelpfultoincludeitinyourapplicationmaterials.Elementaryproficiency:Apersonwithelementaryproficiencymayhavejuststartedstudyingandlearningthelanguage.Theymayformsomesentencesandcommunicatebasicsubjects.Limitedproficiency:Limitedproficiencymeansyouunderstandfundamentalvocabularyandsocialphrases.Youcantakepartinsomeconversationsandunderstandbasicinformation.Professionalproficiency:Forprofessionalproficiency,youcanfunctionprofessionallybycommunicatingwithclients,speakingatanormalpaceandunderstandingspecificphrasesandidioms.Dependingontheposition,thislevelofproficiencymaybesufficientforsomepotentialemployers.Fullyproficient:Whenyouarefullyproficientinalanguage,youcantakepartinorleadadvancedconversationsaboutspecificsubjectslikecurrenteventsandindustrystandards.Ifyouhavethislevelofproficiency,youmayoccasionallymakepronunciationmistakesormakeminorerrorswhenspeaking,andmanyemployersconsiderthisleveltobeacceptable.Fluent:Whenyou'refluentinalanguage,youcanspeakitwithclosetoorthesameexpertiseasanativespeaker.Thismeansyouhavelittleornoaccentandquicklyadapttochangesinthelanguage,withanabilitytoexplorespecificandnuancedvocabulary.Related:15WaysonHowToCommunicateEffectivelyattheWorkplaceWhyislanguageproficiencyimportant?Therearemanyreasonsandsituationswhenyoucanincludelanguagelevelsonyourresume.Hereareafewcircumstancesthatmaycompelyoutoputthiselementonyourresume:MultilingualpositionCompaniesmaybeincountrieswheretheircitizensarefluentinmultiplelanguages.Forexample,Switzerland'scitizensspeakfourdifferentlanguages,French,German,ItalianandRomanish.Thus,ifyou'reaSingaporeancitizenthatisfluentintwooftheselanguagesandexpressesadesiretoworkoverseas,yourproficiencycanbeacatalystingettinganinterview.Employersathomeandabroadmayseeyourproficiencyandworldviewasanadvantage.Related:HowToImproveCommunicationSkills(WithDefinitionandExamples)CompanylocationIfyou'rebilingual,butajobopensupinthecountrythatyou'reproficientin,thenthisisanotherincentivetoapply.Duringtheinterview,theinterviewermaytestyourlanguageskillsbyengaginginnuanceddialogue.Yourabilitytospeaktotheinterviewerinyournon-nativelanguagecanstandoutmorethanotherpositionslistedonyourresume.GrowthmindsetIfacompanythatisfromyournativecountryoperatesinanothernation,yourlanguageskillscanindicateyourdesiretogrow.Communicatingthisonyourresumeandduringyourinterviewcandisplayanalignmentbetweenyourcorevaluesandthecompanyyou'reinterviewingwith.Duringinterviewsorinyourcoverletter,youcanexplainyourmotivationtolearnnewlanguagesandhowitcanbringvaluetoyourpotentialemployer.DiversityIfyoudecidetoworkinyournativecountry,yourlanguageskillsarestillanassetinworkingwithclientsanddrivinginnewbusinessfromoverseas.Youcanalsohelpyourcoworkerslearnanewlanguage,whichcanbebeneficialininteractingintheofficeorwithclients.Communicatingyourabilitytoexpandtheworkplaceandincreasediversitywithyourlanguageskillsmayalsobehelpful.Related:WhatIsCorporateCommunicationsandItsPrimaryFunctions?HowtoincludelanguageproficiencyinapplicationmaterialsYoucanfollowthesestepstoincludeyourlanguageskillsinapplicationmaterialslikeyourresumeandcoverletter:1.TestyourproficiencyFindouthowproficientyouareinthelanguagesthatyouspeak.Seeifthecompanywhereyou'reapplyinghasalanguagescaleofitsownforworkersthataren'tnativetothecountry.Thewayyoutestyourproficiencyservesasameasuretoseehowyouspeaktopeopleinconversation.Testingcanallowyoutoassessyourskillsanddeterminehowtoexpressyourfluencyinyourapplicationmaterials.Herearesomeexamplesofproficiencytestsyoucantakedependingonthelanguageyouspeak:TestofEnglishasaForeignLanguage(TOEFL):Youcompletethistestonacomputerandspeakintoamic,soyoumayneedatleasthavebasiccomputerskills.Therearenofailorpassscores;instead,youreceiveascorethatrangesbetween0to120points.CambridgeEnglishQualifications:Organisationsvaluethisqualificationgloballyandit'smorecomprehensivethantheTestofEnglishasaForeignLanguage.It'simportanttostudyandpractiseforthistest,asyoucanfailaCambridgecertification.DiplomasdeEspañolcomoLenguaExtranjera(DELE):TheDELEexamisthemosthighlyratedandwidelyacceptedSpanishcertification.ChineseProficiencyTest(HSK):HSKisChina'sonlyofficialMandarinChineseproficiencyexamandconsistsofHSK-Level1toHSK-Level6.Theseexamsarebothpaper-basedandinternet-basedandalsofeatureanoralcomponent.JapaneseLanguageProficiencyTest(JLPT):TheJLPTisthemostwidelyrecognisedJapaneselanguagetestandisavailablein62countries.CandidatesearnascoreonascaleofN1toN5,withN5beingthemostadvancedlevel.Diplômed'étudesenlanguefrançaise,andDiplômeapprofondidelanguefrançaise(DELFandDALF):StudentswhopassDELFandDALFexamsreceivecertificationsbytheFrenchMinistryofEducation.TheDELFcertificationisforbasicandintermediatestudents,whereastheDALFcertificationisforproficientusers.Goethe-ZertificatDeutsch:ThisGermancertificateexamreceivesglobalrecognitionandisavailableattestcentresallaroundtheworld.2.UseaclearandmeasurablescaleAftertestingyourproficiency,youcanusetheresultstocommunicateyourfluencyineachlanguage.Yourpotentialemployermayaskyouaboutyourfluencyandhowyoutested,soit'simportanttokeeparecordofyourtestresults.Youcanusethescalefromnotproficienttofluenttocommunicateyourabilitytospeakthelanguageinaworkenvironment.3.Includelanguagesinwhichyou'remostskilledIfyouareproficientinseverallanguages,itmaybebesttoincludethosethatyouarefluentormostskilledin.Thiscancommunicatecompetencyandvaluetothehiringmanager.Itmaynotbeeffectivetoincludelanguagesinwhichyouonlyhaveanelementaryunderstandingorcanonlyspeakafewwords.Related:WhatIsNonverbalCommunication(WithBenefitsandTypes)4.EmphasiseproficiencyinyourresumeIfspeakingmultiplelanguagesisauniqueandvaluablefeatureforyouasacandidate,considerincludingasectioninyourresumethatshowsyourproficiency.Consideralsothepositionyou'reapplyingfor,becauseifthepositiondoesn'tplacemuchemphasisonfluency,itmaybemoreeffectivetoincludeotherinformation.Iffluencyisn'tveryrelevanttotheposition,considerincludingitinyourskillsoreducationsection.5.HighlightlanguagesskillsinyourcoverletterYourcoverletteroffersyouanopportunitytoexplainyourproficiencyandhighlighthowitcanprovidevaluetothecompany.Dependingonthepositionyou'reapplyingtoandthelanguagesyouspeak,youmayfocusoninternationalrelationshipsandhowyoucanfacilitatethem.Bespecificaboutyourskilllevelandwhichspecificdialectsyouunderstand.PleasenotethatnoneofthecompaniesmentionedinthisarticleareaffiliatedwithIndeed.RelatedArticlesExperienceLetterSample:Definition,TipsandTemplateHowtoCreateaSalesmanResume(WithTemplateandExample)HowtoWriteaDataAnalystCoverLetter(PlusExample)