Proficiency Levels

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Based on the variety of studies to date, multilingual people may have an advantage over their monolingual counterparts in cognitive skills, learning, and memory among others. --World Language Framework Chapter 9 Proficiency levels.

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) has developed quite possibly the most widely used model for determining language proficiency. That proficiency model is far and wide considered the Gold Standard and continues to be in use today. Typically it is represented with an inverted pyramid and includes four specific ranges and  and three phases within each range. The four ranges are 1. Novice 2. Intermediate 3. Advanced and 4. Superior. The phases within each range are A. Low, B. Mid, C. High.

1. NoviceProficiency Levels Pyramid

A. Low
B. Mid
C. High

2. Intermediate

D. Low
E. Mid
F. High 

3. Advanced

G. Low
H. Mid
I. High

 4. Superior

J. Low
K. Mid
L. High

These twelve categories are then expanded to include four modes of communication - Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening. So invariably, when you are measuring a proficiency level, people will have variation throughout their learning profile. Invariably you would see proficiency scales that would ultimately look like.

 Reading  Writing  Speaking  Listening
 Novice Low  Novice Low  Novice Low  Novice Low
 Novice Mild  Novice Mild  Novice Mild  Novice Mild
 Novice High  Novice High  Novice High  Novice High
 Intermediate Low  Intermediate Low  Intermediate Low  Intermediate Low
 Intermediate Med  Intermediate Med  Intermediate Med  Intermediate Med 
 Intermediate High  Intermediate High  Intermediate High  Intermediate High
 Advanced Low  Advanced Low  Advanced Low  Advanced Low
 Advanced Med  Advanced Med   Advanced Med  Advanced Med
 Advance High  Advance High  Advance High  Advance High
 Superior Low  Superior Low  Superior Low   Superior Low
 Superior Med  Superior Med  Superior Med  Superior Med 
 Superior High  Superior High  Superior High  Superior High

 

Framework and standards directly related to proficiency Levels:

Additional related materials for proficiency levels: 

Proficiency Level Bar Graph

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