Course

Course Summary
Credit Type:
Exam
ACE ID:
NFSI-0076
Organization:
Foreign Service Institute
Dates Offered:
Credit Recommendation & Competencies
Credit recommendations are awarded per examinee's performance against the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) Skill Level Descriptions. No credit for Level 0. In the lower-division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 1 semester hour for Level 0+ and 1, 2 semester hours for Level 1+, 3 semester hours for Level 2, or 4 semester hours for Level 2+. Levels 3 and up would receive 3 semester hours at the lower-division and 3 semester hours at the upper-division for a total of 6 semester hours.
Description

Objective:

1.45 hours. Proficiency testing is a way of assessing how well an examinee performs in a language regardless of where or how the language was acquired. The FSI Language Proficiency Test is administered orally and lasts approximately two hours from beginning to end. The test is intended to elicit a sample of the ability to use the language in real-life communicative tasks. At the same time, the test is designed to produce a language sample that will elicit in a short time the best possible information about the examinee's abilities to speak and read the target language. The testing team uses the sample to match the examinee's performance against the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) Skill Level Descriptions. This is the rating scale used by all U.S. Government agencies.

Skills Measured:

Speaking and Reading proficiency.The purpose of the speaking test is to obtain a valid sample of the examinee's ability to communicate in face-to-face interaction in the language. It is subdivided into three parts: social conversation, work-related exchange, and interview.The reading test evaluates the examinee's ability to read in a foreign language by carrying out a series of tasks requiring the ability to locate, relate, and interpret ideas expressed in a variety of written materials. It is subdivided into two major parts: reading for gist and reading in depth.The two components of the FSI test are graded separately, resulting in two scores on the 0 to 5 Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale.Speaking Test Part 1: 13 minutes + instruction Part 2: 13 minutes + instruction Part 3: 13 minutes + instruction Reading Test Part 1: 15 minutes Part 2: 30 minutes.
Instruction & Assessment
Supplemental Materials