Helping students of Arabic understand, self-assess, and improve their oral proficiency
4a. What is my oral proficiency level?
Keep the following tips in mind when self-assessing your oral proficiency:
- Recognize that each ACTFL level includes all of the previous levels.
- E.g., in order to be rated at the Advanced level, you have to show that you can complete Novice and Intermediate tasks in addition to Advanced tasks.
- Remember that there is a range of performance within each level.
- E.g., not all Intermediate Mid performances sound alike.
- Compare yourself to the ACTFL level descriptions only—don't think about your grades or your classmates' proficiency.
- Select the description that represents your highest level of Arabic performance.
- Answer honestly and objectively.
Find the level below that best describes your speaking abilities in Arabic. Each is linked to a new page where you can listen to sample performances at that proficiency level.
Novice
| Count | I can count aloud to 20 in Arabic. |
| Greet | I can greet Arabic speakers appropriately, both formally and informally, with phrases such as مرحبا |
| Name | I can name everyday objects. |
| Tell | I can give basic personal information such as where I live, where I go to school, and how I learned to speak Arabic. |
Go to the Novice level description
Intermediate
| Ask | I can ask a native Arabic speaker simple questions to get information. |
| Describe | I can describe places or personal activities to an Arabic-speaking friend, for example, the places people my age usually go and the activities they do during their free time. |
| Direct | I can give an Arabic-speaking adult basic directions to a nearby place with which I am familiar. |
| Make plans | I can make plans for an activity with an Arabic-speaking friend, for example, meeting for lunch. |
Go to the Intermediate level description
Advanced
| Advise | I can give advice, if requested, to an Arabic-speaking friend about something I know, such as learning a foreign language. |
| Compare | I can state what I think are the various advantages and disadvantages of a situation (such as living in a large city) or a decision (such as working while going to school) to an adult Arabic speaker. |
| Explain | I can explain to a native Arabic speaker who is my age the steps involved in a process I am familiar with, such as registering for classes. |
| Narrate | I can narrate in past time, for example, recounting for an Arabic-speaking friend an interesting incident that happened to a friend last week, using correct verb forms and appropriate words to indicate this sequence of events. |
Go to the Advanced level description
Superior
| Defend | I can express my opinion to an Arabic-speaking adult about a controversial subject, such as drug legalization, explaining my feelings and giving support for my view. |
| Discuss | I can discuss current events at length with a native speaker of Arabic, for example, an upcoming election. |
| Hypothesize | I can describe at length to an Arabic-speaking adult what I think the possible consequences would be if a certain situation were to exist, for example, if all U.S. businesses were required to provide health insurance to their employees. |
| Persuade | I can attempt to persuade a native speaker of Arabic to take a particular course of action, for example, persuading an Arabic-speaking instructor to take my class to a museum instead of to the zoo. |
Go to the Superior level description
