Beyond Chatbots: Ethical Machine Scoring Innovation for the Spanish AAPPL PW

What is the difference between machine scoring systems and chatbots?

The term Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a buzzword used in various businesses, organizations, and media in general. Many have warned about the dangers of using such a phrase as a blanket term to describe technologies that are not truly AI, as it tends to mislead the public about what AI is and what their expectations should be (The AI Buzzword Trap, n.d.). In the same vein, there has been a trend to equate AI to chatbots like ChatGPT. This is not uncommon even among academics (Jordan, 2019). In a recent Applied Linguistics academic conference, there were a total of 40 presentations related to the search term “Artificial Intelligence” out of which about 31 were about generative AI or chatbots, like ChatGPT.

AI is much bigger than chatbots. In fact, AI encompasses a variety of technologies that enable machines to perform tasks requiring human-like intelligence. Self-driving cars are a real-world example of AI technology that is beyond chatbots. Just like when training a human to drive safely, the machine is trained to recognize traffic signs, avoid obstacles, make decisions at intersections, and overall follow the traffic regulations. With the help of (1) sensors that gather millions of data points on what is ahead, beside, or behind, (2) software that processes all these data points collected through the sensors, and (3) machine learning that recognizes patterns in the data points collected to support the machine in improving their driving,  a machine is able to perform the human-like task of driving a car in real traffic.

Likewise, ACTFL® and Language Testing International® (LTI) have leveraged state-of-the-art machine learning technologies to build a model that would provide scores to Spanish AAPPL PW (ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages Presentational Writing) responses just like ACTFL certified raters would do. Like with self-driving cars, the research team at ACTFL and LTI trained the machine to perform the task of a certified human rater by (1) compiling thousands of data points of actual test responses and rater scores, (2) using software to process these data, and (3) applying machine learning techniques to find patterns to optimize the machine scoring performance.

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Language Is a Business Asset: Why HR and Talent Acquisition Teams Are Integrating Language Proficiency Testing – LTI Blog

HR language screening tools

In today’s competitive talent landscape, language is more than a communication skill, it’s a business asset that directly impacts hiring quality, employee performance, and organizational risk. As HR and Talent Acquisition professionals face growing demands for stronger communication standards across industries, the need to verify bilingual talent through objective language proficiency testing has never been more essential.

Organizations operating in global, multilingual, or customer-facing environments increasingly rely on ACTFL® language proficiency assessments to ensure that candidates and employees possess the communication skills required for safety, compliance, service quality, and operational performance.

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Ensuring Patient Safety: Why Healthcare Employers Must Validate Language Proficiency Beyond English – LTI Blog

bilingual healthcare staff

In today’s high-stakes healthcare environment, clear and accurate communication is a patient safety requirement—not a luxury. While English remains the primary language of healthcare documentation and instruction in the United States, the ability of healthcare professionals to communicate effectively in multiple languages has a direct impact on treatment accuracy, health outcomes, and compliance with federal regulations.

For the millions of individuals in the U.S. with Limited English Proficiency (LEP), miscommunication can be life-altering or even fatal. This is why healthcare HR leaders, Talent Acquisition teams, and Language Access Coordinators are increasingly focused on ensuring that bilingual staff possess validated language proficiency, not just informal or self-reported fluency.

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Are You Professionally Proficient in All of Your Languages? Discover Your ACTFL Language Proficiency Level – LTI Blog

I hate to break it to you, but being bilingual doesn’t necessarily mean you’re professionally proficient in your second language. By taking an ACTFL® language proficiency assessment through Language Testing International® (LTI), you can accurately measure your abilities in speaking, reading, writing, and listening and strategically grow your career by leveraging all of your certified language skills.

If you use more than one language at work, you’re part of a growing and highly sought-after group of bilingual professionals in today’s global marketplace. But it’s crucial to know your true language proficiency level, especially in a professional context. A validated language testing solution, like the ACTFL assessment delivered by LTI, helps ensure your communication meets the expectations of global employers.

Speaking multiple languages is a tremendous advantage—but it doesn’t automatically mean you’re ready to manage workplace communication in all of them. That’s why earning an ACTFL language certification through Language Testing International is a smart step for career-minded bilingual professionals. Certification verifies your workplace language proficiency and helps you stand out to employers with global business operations.

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Leveraging Language, Connecting Students to Employment Opportunities – LTI Blog

How many bilinguals or multilinguals are there in the US?

In 2020, researcher François Grossjean suggested that the number of bilinguals is particularly hard to nail down because the Census Bureau doesn’t track the number of people who use multiple languages in their everyday lives. However, they do ask some specific language-related questions: “Does this person speak a language other than English at home? What is this language? How well does this person speak English (very well, well, not well, not at all)? These questions were first asked in the census every 10 years, but they are now part of the annual American Community Survey (ACS)” (Grossjean, 2020). Grossjean also points out that bilingualism has been on the rise in the U.S. over the last several decades, while the rate of non-English speakers has remained roughly constant.

graph showing percentage of population being bilingual vs. monolingual
Source: François Grosjean, Psychology Today

Roughly 1 in 5 Americans speak more than one language, with varying levels of ability. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, roughly 22% of people aged 5 and older spoke a language other than English at home, based on data from 2017–2021 (www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025/2017-2021-acs-language-use-tables.html). As your students achieve the Seal of Biliteracy, they become members of a unique segment of the population! You can help them promote their bilingualism as an employability asset. Encourage them to emphasize their bilingualism and to include their ACTFL credentialing in their job applications.

 

 

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High-Impact Credentialing in Adult and Continuing Education: Why Language Skills Matter – LTI Blog

By Gosia Jaros-White, MA and Michael Herrera, EdD

Adult and continuing education has always been about opening doors, providing opportunities for individuals to re- or upskill, re-enter the workforce, or advance in their careers and gain valuable credentials in the process. Today, the need for high-impact credentialing is greater than ever. In a rapidly shifting labor market, credentials provide visible, portable proof of the skills employers seek. For adult learners, especially those who are multilingual, credentialing can be the difference between underemployment and meaningful career mobility.

The Power of Career-Connected Learning

Research from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce (2023) shows that adults with credentials earn significantly more than their peers without them. The return on investment (ROI) for reskilling and upskilling is clear: a recognized credential leads to better jobs, higher wages, and stronger economic security.

For employers, credentials reduce uncertainty in hiring and signal that workers are job ready. For learners, they provide the confidence to compete in a tight labor market. And in adult education, credentialing can improve persistence and program completion by showing learners their progress in tangible, workforce-relevant ways.

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Multilingualism Means Business: Why Language Belongs in Every College Program – LTI Blog

In a world where nearly every industry operates across borders, culturally, linguistically, and economically, multilingualism has quickly become a necessity and a strategic advantage. Yet many post-secondary programs still treat language learning as peripheral or elective, or even worse, cut language programs altogether. That’s a missed opportunity, not only for students’ future careers, but for institutions committed to preparing globally competent graduates.

Language learning should be a fundamental part of academic degree areas, such as business, healthcare, law, or political science, and colleges must take the lead in integrating language courses into the academic pathways of tomorrow’s business leaders, healthcare practitioners, policymakers, and legal professionals.

Why Language Proficiency Matters in the Global Professions

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Driving Safety Forward: English Language Proficiency Requirements and Best Practices for Truck Driver

trucking company onboarding English test

Whether it’s a long-haul trucking company or a regional courier service, the U.S. transportation industry runs on communication. From dispatch instructions and safety protocols to roadside inspections and emergency alerts, English language proficiency isn’t just a hiring preference—it’s a critical FMCSA safety requirement.

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You Can’t Fail an ACTFL® Language Proficiency Test—Just Discover Your Level! – LTI Blog

bilingual certification process

If you’re bilingual or multilingual, you might wonder: Am I proficient enough to use both languages in a professional setting? One of the best ways to answer that question is through an ACTFL® certified language proficiency assessment—and here’s the good news: you can’t fail it.

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The Compelling Advantage: ACTFL Language Certification – LTI Blog

Not all language tests are worthy of your attention. Here’s why the ACTFL® language tests delivered by LTI® stand out from the rest.

Research-backed

ACTFL (the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) has been conducting research for decades, specifically, on best practices for measuring language proficiency accurately and consistently, whether in the productive skills of speaking and writing or the receptive skills of listening and reading. The Language Educator and Foreign Language Annals are two ACTFL publications that are dedicated to academic research on assessment validation studies, test item analyses, and reliability evidence of testing results.

The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines (Guidelines) and ACTFL Performance Descriptors are useful in understanding what qualifies language capability at different levels of proficiency. As a professional organization, ACTFL’s over 12 thousand members worldwide are testament to the authority and integrity of their resources and work.

ACTFL is the authority of language proficiency assessment precisely because it does the heavy lifting of language acquisition and test development research.

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