science

Language proficiency

Language proficiency is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Language proficiency rather than just read about it. In short: Language proficiency is the ability of an individual to use language with a level of accuracy which transfers meaning in production and comprehension. Definition There is no singular definition of language proficiency: while certain groups limit its scope to speaking ability, others extend it to cover both productive language and receptive language skills and their effective application in varying practical contexts.

Key takeaways

Language proficiency belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Language proficiency to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Language proficiency from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Language proficiency is the ability of an individual to use language with a level of accuracy which transfers meaning in production and comprehension.

Definition There is no singular definition of language proficiency: while certain groups limit its scope to speaking ability, others extend it to cover both productive language and receptive language skills and their effective application in varying practical contexts. However, this diversity has implications for its application in other language domains such as literacy, testing, endangered languages, language impairment. There is little consistency as to how different organizations classify it. As of 2014, native-level fluency was estimated to require a lexicon between 20,000 and 40,000 words, but basic conversational fluency might require as few as 3,000 words.

Development Developing proficiency in any language begins with word learning. By the time they are 12 months old, children learn their first words and by the time they are 36 months old, they may know well over 900 words with their utterances intelligible to the people who interact with them the most. Developing language proficiency improves an individual’s capacity to communicate. Over time through interaction and through exposure to new forms of language in use, an individual learns new words, sentence structures, and meanings, thereby increasing their command of using accurate forms of the target language.

Issues in endangered languages Endangered languages are undergoing efforts to revitalize them. Some of these languages have few to no speakers. The learners of these languages are engaged in using documented resources (i.e. word lists, hymnals, bibles) to relearn their languages. Language proficiency in these cases of endangerment is being determined by how much language is learned in these communities through these efforts; proficient speakers are being determined by these communities themselves.

Frameworks Note that test scores may not correlate reliably, as different understandings of proficiency lead to different types of assessment:

FSI Test (Foreign Service Institute) Scores range from 0 to 5. (deprecated) Interagency Language Roundtable Scores range from 0 to 5. (evolved from FSI) Language Proficiency Index ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines ACTFL recognises ten different levels of proficiency: "novice", "intermediate", "advanced", and "superior", of which the first three are each subdivided into "low", "mid", and "high". Common European Framework of Reference for Languages CEFR recognises six levels: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2.

Tests Cambridge English Language Assessment tests CaMLA (Cambridge Michigan Language Assessments) CELI (Certificato di Conoscenza della Lingua Italiana) CELPE-Bras (Certificate of Proficiency in Portuguese for Foreigners) CILS (Certificazione di Italiano come Lingua Straniera) DALF Defense Language Proficiency Tests DELF (Diplôme d'études en langue française) DELE (Diplomas of Spanish as Foreign Language) Examination for Japanese University Admission General English Proficiency Test GOETHE HSK (汉语水平考试 Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì) IELTS (International English Language Testing System) iTEP (International Test of English Proficiency) JLPT (日本語能力試験 Japanese-Language Proficiency Test) Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE-A) Pipplet Fluency Exam CEFR oral and writing PLIDA (Progetto Lingua Italiana Dante Alighieri) Seal of Biliteracy The European Language Certificates (telc - language tests) TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) TOPIK (한국어능력시험 Test of Proficiency in Korean) TEPS (Test of English Proficiency developed by Seoul National University) Test of Russian as a Foreign Language Test de français international Test de connaissance du français TOCFL (華語文能力測驗 Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language) UBELT (University of Bath English Language Test)

Organizations The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) distinguishes between proficiency and performance. In part, ACTFL's definition of proficiency is derived from mandates issued by the U.S. government, declaring that a limited English proficient student is one who comes from a non-English background and "who has sufficient difficulty speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language and whose difficulties may deny such an individual the opportunity to learn successfully in classrooms where the language of instruction is English or to participate fully in our society". ACTFL views "performance" as being the combined effect of all three modes of communication: interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational.

Alliance Française AIL (Accademia Italiana di Lingua) American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Association of Language Testers in Europe Confucius Institute Foreign Service Institute Goethe-Institut Instituto Cervantes Japan Foundation Società Dante Alighieri UCLES UNIcert UONEDU

See also EF English Proficiency Index Fluency Vocabulary – The set of words in a given language that a speaker is familiar with, which can be subdivided into: a) words which are recognized upon hearing or reading; and b) words which a person feels comfortable using in speech. List of language proficiency tests

Notes and references

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Language proficiency

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Language proficiency claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Language proficiency before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Language proficiency ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Language proficiency

In research: Language proficiency appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Language proficiency in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Language proficiency is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Language acquisition, Language education, Pedagogy, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Language proficiency outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Language proficiency in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Language proficiency means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Language proficiency out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Language proficiency in simple terms?

Language proficiency is the ability of an individual to use language with a level of accuracy which transfers meaning in production and comprehension. Definition There is no singular definition of language proficiency: while certain groups limit its scope to speaking ability, others extend it to co…

Why does Language proficiency matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Language proficiency?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Language proficiency.