Language teachingLesson 1 of 1 in the course Language assessment

Language Proficiency: Skills, Development, and Assessment

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Language proficiency describes how effectively a person uses a language to communicate and understand meaning. In this lesson, you will explore how proficiency is defined, how it develops, why it matters in endangered-language revitalization, and how frameworks, tests, and organizations assess it.

Language proficiency is an individual's ability to use language with enough accuracy to convey meaning in production and comprehension. Production includes creating language, such as speaking and writing. Comprehension includes understanding language, such as listening and reading.

All flashcards

What is language proficiency?
The ability to use language accurately to convey meaning and understand it, including in practical contexts.
How does language proficiency develop?
It develops through word learning, interaction, and exposure to language forms and meanings in use.
What are the CEFR levels?
The six levels are A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2.
Who determines proficiency in some endangered-language revitalization efforts?
The language community may decide who it recognizes as proficient, in light of its own revitalization efforts.
How does ACTFL distinguish proficiency from performance?
ACTFL distinguishes language ability from performance, which combines interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational communication.

Quiz questions

  1. Why is vocabulary size an incomplete measure of language proficiency?Answer: It indicates some language knowledge but does not capture every aspect of using and understanding language.
  2. Which description applies to the FSI proficiency framework?Answer: It is a deprecated framework that used scores from 0 to 5.
  3. How is the ILR scale related to the FSI system?Answer: The ILR scale evolved from the FSI system and uses levels from 0 to 5.
  4. How many proficiency levels do the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines recognize?Answer: Ten levels, including subdivisions of novice, intermediate, and advanced.
  5. How should a language-test score be interpreted when comparing different assessment systems?Answer: In light of the framework and skills measured, rather than as automatically interchangeable.

Based on the Wikipedia article Language proficiency, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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