Arabic Language Proficiency Tests

Arabic is among the most spoken languages in the world, with 200 million native speakers and 400 million total speakers. It is one of the United Nations' six official languages, making it an important language in world affairs and international business. According to the 2019 Making Languages Our Business report, 11% of U.S. employers affirm that Arabic is their most in-demand second language. Meanwhile, findings from that same report show that 15% of U.S. employers say Arabic language skills are in short supply, and 20% report Arabic speakers are challenging to recruit due to shortages.

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In the academic world, Arabic is on the rise. The Modern Language Association affirmed that 51.5% of higher education Arabic programs reported stable or growing enrollments between 2013 and 2016. The number of institutions that granted bachelor's degrees in Arabic also rose by 27.3% during that time. Between 2009 and 2016, completed bachelor’s degrees in Arabic doubled, according to the MLA’s report.

Language Testing International^® delivers ACTFL assessments that provide Arabic language certificates online for both organizations and individuals. The tests offered by LTI^® are developed by ACTFL, one of the world's leading authorities on language learning and education. By certifying your Arabic skills, you can gain many advantages. Organizations can hire with confidence while academic institutions can access the data they need to improve their curricula. Bilingual professionals stand out in the workplace, and students with passing scores can often earn college credit for their Arabic abilities.

ACTFL Arabic Testing

The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines were created by ACTFL, an organization of language educators, administrators, and professionals in all sectors of the United States. The organization defines proficiency across all languages in terms of what a language user can do in the language in real world communicative scenarios. The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines do not prescribe a specific method of learning or curriculum but instead measure a language user's real-world language abilities. Language proficiency is assessed through several tests that evaluate one's speaking, writing, reading, and listening skills.

ACTFL testing scores a user's language abilities using four major proficiency levels — Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Superior. The first three levels — Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced — each encompass three sublevels: Low, Mid, and High.

Arabic language proficiency assessments available through LTI include:

Writing

The ACTFL Writing Proficiency Test (WPT) is an internet-based test that elicits a ratable sample of the test taker’s writing ability in a language. During the 20- to 80-minute test, the test-taker must answer four to five writing prompts spanning practical, social, and professional topics and subjects that have general or cultural relevance. The prompts require both formal and informal contexts.The American Council on Education reviewed the Arabic WPT favorably for reliability and validity in 2012 and has continued to recommend credit for the test since.

Listening

The ACTFL Listening Proficiency Test assesses a language user's ability to understand spoken language in any of its forms. During this online test, which can take 50 to 125 minutes, the listener hears several audio samples and answers multiple-choice questions about them.

ACTFL's listening proficiency guidelines for Arabic state that test candidates should comprehend spoken MSA in at least one Arabic dialect or a mix of dialects, depending on the context. Listeners do not need equal mastery of all forms of spoken Arabic to perform well.

Reading

The ACTFL Reading Proficiency Test (RPT) is a carefully constructed assessment that evaluates reading ability according to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines - 2012. The online ACTFL Reading Proficiency Test presents the test-taker with reading passages and related multiple-choice questions. It takes 50 to 125 minutes and is auto-scored, giving the test-taker results almost immediately upon submitting.

Arabic test-takers must demonstrate two reading skills — recognizing linguistic symbols (like letters, words, connectors, and punctuation) and comprehending the meaning of the texts.

Speaking

ACTFL offers two tests to evaluate speaking abilities: the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and Oral Proficiency Interview by Computer (OPIc). These tests follow a specific structure to obtain a speech sample that a Rater can use to determine the speaker's maximum sustained proficiency level. Examinees complete the OPI via a live telephone interview; the OPIc has a computer avatar interviewer.

ACTFL standards for Arabic speaking tests and ratings consider Arabic one language, with a continuum that ranges from colloquial forms to the MSA form.

On speaking tests, ACTFL-certified Raters can provide scores for Arabic language produced anywhere along this continuum. However, as in all languages, at the Superior level, speakers must demonstrate the ability to negotiate both informal and formal contexts while speaking abstractly, supporting opinions, and navigating extended discourse.

OPI and OPIc Arabic Tests

The OPI and OPIc are two of ACTFL's most requested language proficiency assessments.

ACE's review of the ACTFL OPI and OPIc in Arabic concluded that they are a reliable assessments of oral proficiency. These tests resemble an impromptu conversation while retaining a highly standardized structure.

The OPI is a structured conversation between an ACTFL-certified Tester and the examinee. This is the basic structure of the interview.

Introduction: First, the OPI Tester confirms the speaker's identity and reads an English statement describing the interview process.
Warm-up: The interviewer proceeds to discuss a few general topics in Arabic to gain an impression of the test-taker's ability.
Interview: Over the course of the interview, a ratable speech sample is elicited for which the Tester and subsequent Raters can assign a proficiency score. It features two types of questions — level checks and probes. Level checks explore the speaker's Arabic proficiency, increasing in complexity as the interview progresses to determine a speaker's maximum sustainable speaking abilities. Probes are questions one level above the level check to gather evidence of when the speaker can no longer sustain Arabic speaking performance. The interviewer moves between level checks and probes until the speaker shows signs of linguistic breakdown.
Cool-down: To end the interview, the Tester asks the speaker a few more questions requiring communication tasks the test-taker is familiar with and can perform easily.

Most forms of the OPIc begin with a background survey and self-evaluation section to determine the proficiency levels the test should target and adapt the interview questions to the individual test-taker's interests and experiences.

CEFR Arabic Scale and Levels

Organizations, students, and professionals may request an Arabic proficiency test scored according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This scoring system is prevalent in Europe, where it originated, and offers advantages to organizations and individuals with international ties. Upon request, ACTFL Arabic proficiency assessments can yield a score according to the CEFR scale.

Arabic tests scored on the CEFR scale use six common reference levels. A1 and A2 scores correspond with Basic Users. Levels B1 and B2 represent Independent Users, while scores of C1 and C2 equate to Proficient Users. CEFR defines each level in terms of "can-do" descriptors. An Arabic user receives a score based on the CEFR level for which they can accomplish all the required language tasks.

The CEFR framework categorizes language into three dimensions — language activities, their domains, and the competencies required to perform them. The language activities dimension includes the following.

Reception (reading and listening)
Production and interaction (speaking and writing)
Mediating (translating and interpreting)

The four domains established by the CEFR and associated with language activities include public, personal, educational, and professional. Each contains specific locations, institutions, persons, events, operations, objects, and texts. LTI can issue CEFR scores for ACTFL assessments in Arabic, including the OPI, OPIc, WPT, RPT, and LPT.

ILR Arabic Testing

The United States government established the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) framework to standardize its evaluation of language proficiency across departments and languages. The ACTFL framework builds on the ILR framework.

ILR test scoring is useful to government clients and can be provided to individuals with ILR requirements upon request. Government agencies often request ILR-scored proficiency tests for current or future employees to assess their Arabic abilities. LTI makes this process easier by offering pre-negotiated General Services Agency (GSA) rates for qualified government entities. ILR scoring is available for the OPI, OPIc, WPT, LPT, and RPT.

If you or your organization requests ILR ratings, your assessment will result in a score ranging from 0 to 5, with possible plus-level designations for levels 0 to 4. Plus-level designations indicate that a test-taker exceeds the qualifications for one ILR level without achieving the criteria for the next. While a score of 0 means no proficiency, a score of 0+ indicates memorized proficiency. The highest possible ILR score of 5 represents a test-taker with functionally native proficiency.

Arabic Testing for Organizations

Organizations that work with Arabic-speaking countries or serve Arabic language users domestically or internationally need employees with reliable Arabic skills. Government agencies often need Arabic language speakers. They may therefore implement Arabic language testing for prospective or current employees. Corporate organizations may likewise need to test employees or job applicants in their real-world Arabic skills.

Pre-Employment Arabic Testing

LTI can assist government and commercial organizations with pre-employment testing in Arabic. Our team will work with your organization to identify the best testing options for your intended purposes. LTI will also work with your organization to analyze the tasks required for various roles and help you set an appropriate score according to the ACTFL, ILR, or CEFR scale, as appropriate.

LTI also offers pre-employment testing for individuals. Job applicants can use an Arabic language certification from an Official Arabic proficiency test to stand out on resumes. ACTFL testing through LTI also provides certifications for professionals with ILR requirements for government positions. If you're an educator interested in teaching Arabic as a second language, you can become certified through many states and programs using ACTFL assessments.

Academic Arabic Testing

As Arabic becomes an increasingly in-demand world language, more K-12 and higher education schools are introducing Arabic classes. These institutions often need to benchmark their students or assign incoming Arabic learners to an appropriate class level. K-12 schools may order annual or biannual Arabic testing for their learners for benchmarking and setting learning objectives.

Colleges and universities may implement Arabic testing to place incoming students in an appropriate course. Individual students may also use ACTFL Arabic tests, which ACE has reviewed favorably for college credit, to place out of lower-level Arabic coursework.

AAPPL Arabic Test

The ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL) is an Arabic test for students in grades 5 through 12. It tests Arabic abilities using real-world tasks and assesses Interpersonal Listening/Speaking (ILS), Presentational Writing (PW), and Interpretive Reading (IR) and Listening (IL) in an internet-based test.

This test is based on the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages and is scored according to the ACTFL Performance Scale, which corresponds to the ACTFL scale while offering additional insights for educators. For example, four AAPPL scores — N-1, N-2, N-3, and N-4 — compare to the three Novice-level distinctions available on ACTFL tests. Within the Intermediate-range, AAPPL test-takers may earn scores ranging from I-1 to I-5. The highest AAPPL score corresponds with the ACTFL scale score of Advanced Low. This scoring system lets educators track improvements within an individual ACTFL rating, helping them set learning objectives for their students.

Arabic Testing for College Students

Universities that offer Arabic classes can use ACTFL proficiency tests to place incoming students with previous Arabic coursework in an appropriate Arabic course level. They can also offer ACTFL Arabic testing to students who wish to receive credit by examination for Arabic skills learned through non-traditional means.

Many ACTFL tests are offered in Arabic and have been reviewed favorably by ACE for college credit. Those assessments include:

WPT
RPT
LPT
OPI
OPIc

Individual students who have Arabic skills can also use Arabic proficiency tests to obtain credit by examination. They might also use these test scores to bolster an application for a study abroad program in an Arabic-speaking country or their resumes as they prepare to enter the professional world.

Credly Digital Badges for Language Skills

ACTFL and LTI test-takers can showcase their language skills by displaying Credly digital badges on their social media sites, digital signatures, and resumes. Credly badges are available for each of the four communication skills — speaking, writing, reading, and listening. They display the proficiency level the earner has certified for each skill. People who certify their proficiency can share these badges via links or through integrations on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Schedule Arabic Language Proficiency Testing

LTI, the exclusive licensee of ACTFL, offers Arabic language testing and certifications for organizations and individuals. ACTFL tests are proven valid and reliable by third-party studies, and have been administered in over 60 countries worldwide.

If you represent an academic institution, corporation, or government agency requiring Arabic testing for verification of language skills, please contact us by emailing customercare@languagetesting.com today. We'll be happy to help you determine what tests make sense for your students or prospective employees and what minimum scores to set for your organization's needs.

If you're a bilingual professional ready to give your resume a boost or a student looking to earn credit for Arabic coursework, schedule your Arabic test online today. If you need an official Arabic proficiency test with a certificate, please review our Arabic certification testing options.