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Oral 

Survey for Analysis of Language Testing Level

ALTA Language Services has been asked by Wells Fargo to determine the language skills necessary to perform certain jobs. One of the jobs that we need to learn about is the one that you perform or you supervise

The way that we learn about the language requirements for a particular position is to gather information from people who are currently performing the job requirements. You know better than anyone about the ways you use language on the job. Often we focus on the use of a particular target language, such as Spanish or English. In order to collect information from you, we ask a specific set of questions designed to elicit information about language use.

We are not trying to make language experts of you; rather, we are trying to make use of your professional expertise and apply it to our existing process for determining language proficiency. We provide the questions in advance so that you can offer a thorough and considered answer. This is not a test; do not worry if some of the questions seem difficult to answer.

The answers you provide are combined with the answers of the other survey takers, and we analyze the group of responses to get a full picture of the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for completing the job tasks. With what we learn from you and others, we can define the level of language proficiency needed to perform the job.

For the purposes of this survey, “client” may refer to clients, customers, team members, or others with whom you interact in the target language.

Thank you in advance for your help.

6. Of the time spent using the target language, what percentage is: Responses must add up to 100%

Oral Skills

7. On a scale of 1 – 5, with 1 being “Not at all important” and 5 being “Absolutely essential,” how would you describe the importance of the accurate use of the spoken language in doing this job?
8. Who does most of the talking? What percentage of a conversation is your part, and what percentage is the part of the average client? Responses must add up to 100%
You ___%
Customer ___%
10. What type of conversation do you have with clients, and how often in a typical day do you use each type?
Interview (question and answer style conversation)
Providing Information
Convincing
Handling Difficult Situations

Listening - Comprehension

These questions refer specifically to what your clients are saying to you.

11. How often do you need to use slang, idioms, or cultural expressions when talking to clients?
12. How often do you hear your clients use industry-specific terminology?
15. Do your clients speak quickly, normally, or slowly?

Speaking - Communication

These questions refer to what you are saying to your clients in the course of your interactions with them.

16. What types of communication are you using when you speak to clients, and how often do you use each type?
Explaining
Convincing
Using a script or planned speech
Responding to many different situations
18. How often do you have to go beyond very simple grammar when speaking to clients?
19. On a scale of 1 – 5, with 1 being “Not at all important” and 5 being “Absolutely essential,” how important is it to speak with good grammar when speaking to a client?
20. How quickly do you need to speak when talking with clients?

Speaking - Grammar

21. On a scale of 1 – 5, with 1 being “Not at all important” and 5 being “Absolutely essential,” how important is it to speak with good grammar when speaking to a client?
24. Are nouns in your language gendered? If so, do errors in gender impact understanding?
25. On a scale of 1 – 5, with 1 being “Not at all important” and 5 being “Absolutely essential,” how important is the use of formal or informal forms of address?

Speaking - Vocabulary

26. On a scale of 1 – 5, with 1 being “Not at all important” and 5 being “Absolutely essential,” how important is the range of vocabulary used with clients?
27. How often do you need to use slang, idioms, or cultural expressions when talking to clients?
28. How often do you use industry-specific terminology when talking to clients?

Overall Oral

Level
General Description
1
A level 1 speaker has no ability whatsoever in the language. They cannot understand anything and can convey nothing.
2
A level 2 speaker can understand isolated words and simple expressions. They can convey isolated words or simple expressions and memorized sentences.
3
A level 3 person can understand and express simple sentences using subjects and verbs in the present tense. The range of vocabulary is limited to elementary needs and some basic courtesies.
4
The level 4 person can understand basic sentences around the immediate setting as well as basic questions. They can express simple ideas using the present tense and may occasionally use other simple tenses. They can convey basic information; they experience difficulty in basic conversations.
5
A person at a level 5 has the ability to participate in basic conversations. The subjects are routine in nature and tend to be repetitive (ex: weather). A level 5 speaker uses primarily the present tense and cannot use advanced tenses, and thus is restricted to expressing and understanding any subject other than what is most familiar to them. Speech is slow, and they require rephrasing and repetition to understand a native speaker.
6
A level 6 person can use and understand the present, past, and future tenses with some errors. They do not use advanced tenses. They can easily participate in a conversation on basic subjects like weather, but experience difficulty when trying to converse about a greater range of topics. They usually cannot understand normal native rates of speech.
7
A person at a level 7 cannot easily participate in general conversations. They can participate in conversations that are routine, or on topics that are well-known to the person. They have trouble with a native speaker's normal pace. They use simple tenses with a few errors but avoid advanced tenses. A language user at this level in a general conversation likely causes misunderstandings in conversation based on a lack of ability to clearly convey their message.
8
A person at level 8 can participate in general conversation on routine topics in most social and work-related settings. They have trouble with some normal-speed conversations, and with topics that are more advanced or specialized. They may lack the capability to speak at a normal speed, and either does not use advanced grammatical structures or use them with mistakes. A candidate at this level causes some misunderstandings in conversation based on some lack of ability to clearly convey their message.
9
A person at level 9 can successfully handle in-depth conversations in the target language, on a broad range of subjects, and at a normal rate of speech. They have difficulty understanding some idiomatic language and some advanced grammatical structures but can figure out what is said in the context of the discussion. A level 9 language user speaks about a broad range of topics at a normal speed. They may have a noticeable accent and may make some grammatical errors (in particular with advanced structures) but errors do not cause misunderstanding to a native speaker.
10
A person at level 10 can handle all of the tasks at level 9, with the addition of demonstrating skills such as selling and persuasion. They can handle in-depth client questions and do not require as much contextual support for comprehension of slang and idioms. A person at this level is able to select vocabulary that conveys a finer shade of meaning with more precision than a level 0 and can better support their opinions. Errors in speech are few, are limited to advanced grammatical structures, and do not affect understanding.
11
A person at level 11 is nearly fluent. They can handle a wide variety of communicative tasks with finesse. Their communication is close to that of a well-educated speaker, and they only encounter difficulty if speech is highly abstract. Errors in speech are very few, are limited to advanced grammatical structures, and do not affect understanding.
12
The level 12 oral skills are equivalent to well-educated native fluency. The person can understand everything said in the language and can speak with precision and finesse, using the full range of grammar and vocabulary. Deficiencies occasionally occur with the use of colloquial expressions or highly specialized terminology. A non-native or regional accent may be present.
12+
Level 12+ is a well-educated, distinguished speaker with superior native fluency. A person at this level not only speaks in a native-like manner and is perceived as native, but can make speeches and converse on nearly any subject.

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