Helping students of Arabic understand, self-assess, and improve their oral proficiency
5a. What do students have to say about their oral proficiency?
You may be curious how a certain level of oral proficiency translates to a person's actual ability to communicate in an Arabic-speaking country. On this page, you can listen to testimonials from four university students who had their oral proficiency assessed and then experienced what that rating meant on the ground as they studied and worked abroad.
Meet Kim
Kim studied Arabic at an intensive level
and was rated Novice High after one year. She spent six weeks working in Jerusalem the summer after her second year and was rated Advanced Mid at the end of her third year.
Benefits of oral proficiency assessment
Parallels between assessment and life abroad
How to improve your oral proficiency
Meet Aileen
Aileen studied Arabic at an intensive level
and was rated Intermediate High after two years. She then studied abroad in Egypt for six months and was rated Advanced Mid at the end of her third intensive year.
Benefits of oral proficiency assessment
How to build and maintain vocabulary
How to improve your oral proficiency
Meet David
David studied Arabic for four years at different levels of intensity. He studied and lived abroad in Jordan for nine months and progressed from a rating of Advanced Low to Advanced High after a semester studying abroad in Syria.
Areas to work on
How to improve your oral proficiency in the U.S.
How to improve your oral proficiency while abroad
Meet Hassan
Hassan is a heritage learner of Arabic from Africa who studied Arabic formally for over four years in the U.S. He then studied abroad for a year in Syria and progressed from Advanced to a rating of Superior after his return.
Gaining confidence in oral proficiency while abroad
How to improve your oral proficiency
How to reach your Arabic proficiency goals
