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Which type of testing is right for your organization? What level of language skill do your employees need? ALTA can help you answer these important questions through its Language Job Analysis Services.
By defining the language requirements for a job in quantifiable terms, an organization can then use language testing results as part of the selection process. It also provides a defensible basis for where the pass-fail line is placed when testing is done, and ensures that the results you receive are meaningful to you. This allows your organization to meet the EEOC requirement for testing in employee job selection (U.S. Government’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC] Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection [Section 1607.15, B., 4]).
ALTA will meet with you to identify where non-primary languages are used in your organization. This language needs assessment includes a review of the communications with your customers, employees, suppliers and other organizations that impact your business (e.g. government). The analysis focuses on all of the types of communication that takes place. The output is an identification of the specific jobs that require language skills and which languages are required. For example, a telephone sales clerk in the domestic sales department may require both Spanish and English language skills.
Each job requiring non-primary language skills will be analyzed to determine the type of language skills required (speaking, listening, writing and reading). The analysis is based on the types of communication that the job requires. The output is a language skill requirement for each job. For example, a telephone sales clerk in the domestic sales department may require both Spanish and English language skills, but only for listening and speaking. No reading or writing in Spanish is required.
Each job requiring non-primary language skills will be analyzed to determine the level of capability necessary for each type of skill. Defining the level of capability for a job is done by combining two sources of information. First, an analysis is done of the actual communication (oral and written) that occurs on the job. This may involve reviewing recorded tapes, correspondence or whatever information is available that demonstrates the actual communication that takes place. This analysis identifies the level of capability needed in listening, speaking, reading and writing in quantitative terms.
In conjunction with the above analysis, interviews are conducted with employees and supervisors who actually perform the work. This provides for a realistic view of the language capabilities. When combined, the two sources of information provide a powerful analysis that quantifies the level of the language capabilities necessary for the job. For more information, or to contact ALTA regarding your testing requirements, please visit the Language Testing homepage.
This means that the organization has a need for people who have some degree of capability in two languages. There are many examples of a need for bilingual employees.
Defining what languages are needed within the organization is the first step and ALTA provides assistance in this identification process as part of its Language Review Services.
For safety and customer service reasons an airline needs to staff international flights with personnel who can speak both the language where the flight originates and the language of destination. For example, a flight from New York to Tokyo needs in-flight personnel who speak both English and Japanese.
An American company’s call center provides customer service by telephone to all of North America requiring English-Spanish and English-French speakers.
An urban hospital provides medical care to patients some of whom speak only Spanish, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Hmong or Korean. The hospital staff uses English.
An international company moves employees from one country to another. Since the transferred employees must work with customers and workers at the new location, the company wanted to set a language qualification as one of the criteria to become a transfer candidate.
An international company needs a sales representative for Latin America. Since the market area includes Spanish and Portuguese-speaking areas and the company language is English, a trilingual person is needed.
A recruiting company that focuses on identifying, recruiting and placing persons in the accounting field receives client requests for bilingual candidates. The recruiting company must be sure that the candidates it provides meet the clients’ specifications.
A company receives orders from Spanish and English-speaking customers. These calls are taken by a sales assistant who takes the specific information by telephone.
A university teaches in English and requires its students to have proficiency in English before admission.
A large museum offers guided group tours in English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.
Interested in our language testing? Complete the form to receive to contact an ALTA representative, or call us at 1-888-624-6165.
View our test prep materials or FAQ’s for common questions about taking a test.