Bilingual Language Certification for Professionals
Employees with proficiency in multiple languages are an invaluable asset. Whether you're currently part of a global organization, looking to expand, or encountering various languages as part of doing business locally, bilingual employees can significantly benefit your company, broadening horizons and spearheading effective communications with a diverse client base.
The principal challenge for organizations bringing on bilingual employees is determining whether they are as proficient as they claim. Without a thorough and rigorous testing process, purported bilingual employees could cause more harm than good. With the proper assessment, however, bilingual team members are a genuine asset to your organization.
Language Testing International® (LTI) is a leader in language proficiency testing for more than 120 languages in over 60 countries. As the exclusive licensee of ACTFL, a leader in proficiency-based teaching and testing since 1967, we deliver accredited ACTFL assessments accepted by major organizations worldwide. Our commitment to innovation and improving language testing experiences has resulted in developing an online proctoring platform, allowing our commercial clients to assess their teams from anywhere at any time.
The ACTFL assessments offer many advantages, making them the primary option for verifying your bilingual workforce's language skills and determining potential hires' language legitimacy.
The Growing Need for Bilingual Teams in the Workplace
The ability to connect instantly with new customers, freelancers, and employees worldwide has brought the need to hire workers who can communicate in various languages. Bilingual and multilingual employees push businesses across geographical boundaries while better serving local clients and customers who use multiple languages.
Any business looking to remain competitive in a changing market and open up diverse revenue streams needs bilingual employees they can trust to be successful in their jobs. Top talent with the correct language skills fosters more innovative and diverse business, bringing many tangible benefits to your internal and client-facing operations.
What Is Bilingual Certification?
A bilingual certification proves a current or prospective employee's language ability, setting them apart and giving you confidence that your team can complete their tasks. It gives you insight into someone's specific level of proficiency and provides them with an official language credential. You can test employees' reading, writing, listening, and speaking proficiency.
ACTFL tests are the gold standard in language proficiency testing. Employers can trust ACTFL tests to accurately and defensibly measure a candidate's language ability. These assessments are available in more than 120 languages in different formats, including phone and computer delivery. When you're confident your employees are genuinely bilingual, your organization can enjoy benefits such as improved team dynamics and enhanced customer relations as you grow globally.
The Benefits of Bilingual Certification for Your Employees
Finding the perfect bilingual candidate can be a challenge, and making the right hire for your business can be time-consuming. Bilingual testing through LTI® can streamline the hiring process and give you confidence that you have the best team onboard. Some of the many benefits of bilingual certifications include:
Maintaining a Competitive Edge
Whether your company operates locally or internationally, you likely have clients who use various world languages. Your organization can stay ahead of the competitive curve. Bilingual certification proves to you and your clients that your employees can communicate with them in various languages, which makes doing business with you more pleasant and straightforward.
Boosting Personal and Professional Development
Your employees are your most valuable resource. According to a 2022 report from the Conference Board, an average of 58% of people will likely leave their company without professional development opportunities. Providing your teams with bilingual language certification shows them you care about their development. You give them recognized and diverse skills they can use to advance their careers for years to come.
Saving Time and Costs
Bilingual certifications save you the time and money to set up complex internal language tests. You can trust testing professionals to assess your employees' language proficiency using predefined standards, saving time and valuable resources.
Deepening Cultural Understanding and Global Competence
Employing workers with ACTFL bilingual language certification shows that your business appreciates different cultures and can compete in a global market. Employees who have certificates prove they can communicate effectively in another language, allowing them to build rapport with stakeholders of varying linguistic backgrounds.
Enhancing Your Reputation
Hiring people with certified language proficiency demonstrates your dedication to recruiting, developing and retaining talented individuals with diverse skills. Positioning your organization as an inclusive, growth-centered company can improve your reputation and brand image, attracting new candidates drawn to businesses supporting these values.
Increasing Your Confidence in Your Employees
When your organization has a measurable way to determine your team's language proficiency, you can accurately assign them roles where they can bring the most value. Language testing assesses their ability in all facets of the language, eliminating bias and subjectivity when assigning roles and responsibilities.
Avoiding Business Risk
Giving your team bilingual roles without verifying their language proficiency can lead to miscommunications, which carries additional risks like loss of credibility and legal issues. ACTFL language tests help you mitigate risks, maintain compliance, and grow your revenue through expansion into diverse markets.
How the Certification Process Works
ACTFL tests measure proficiency — a person's ability to use a language for real-world purposes. Proficiency test scores reflect the level at which they can communicate in a particular language, and the tests assess the candidate's language skills in several ways.
An ACTFL Rater or Tester evaluates the candidate's speaking or writing skills through the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview-Computer (OPIc), Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), or Writing Proficiency Test (WPT). They test reading or listening skills through multiple choice Reading Proficiency Test (RPT) and Listening Proficiency Test (LPT). All tests are scored based on proficiency scales, including the ACTFL, ILR, and CEFR.
Depending on your needs and the skill being tested, LTI can deliver ACTFL tests in several formats, including telephonic, online, and in-person. Each assessment focuses on a language proficiency skill — speaking, reading, writing, or listening. Assessments allow candidates to demonstrate their language abilities through carefully constructed prompts and take each candidate's background into account. Once they've completed the tests, test-takers receive a rating based on the ACTFL scale.
Trust LTI for Your Professional Bilingual Certification Needs
Any business looking to grow in today's connected landscape must be sure it's recruiting and retaining the right teams for the job. Language proficiency tests and bilingual certifications for current and potential employees can help you choose and develop ideal candidates for roles across your organization.
When you can determine which candidates can handle real-life business scenarios, you can expand your business with a powerful, bilingual team at your side. Let LTI accurately evaluate your team and award bilingual certifications to the relevant candidates, allowing them to bring more value to your operations. Contact us to learn more about our testing and certification today!