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.
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.
Not all language tests are worthy of your attention. Here’s why the ACTFL® language tests delivered by LTI® stand out from the rest.
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.
That sounds like the wrong approach, at least wrong if the test is not the right evidence of learners reaching the learning goals. But what if the test is the right test? What if the test accurately represents your learning targets, that is, what you want learners to be able to do as a result of the learning you guide every day?
During my 16 years teaching Spanish to middle school and high school students, I was on a constant quest to ensure that my assessments mirrored how students were developing their language proficiency. As a result, assessments changed from focusing on specific vocabulary and grammatical structures to engaging tasks through which learners could demonstrate their application of what they had learned. Feedback also changed to highlight specific things that learners did to show how they were approaching, meeting, or exceeding the targeted proficiency level. I wish the ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL) had existed when I was teaching, as it represents the kind of evidence of growth along the proficiency continuum that I was trying to capture through my unit level formative and summative assessments. What a great match; of course I want to teach to this test!
By Dámaris Mayans, PhD
For many heritage speakers of Spanish—those who grew up hearing and speaking the language at home but received most of their formal education in English (Valdés, 2000) —reading and writing in Spanish can feel like uncharted territory. While oral fluency may come naturally, academic writing often does not. So, what happens when you give these students just one semester of targeted instruction focused on academic writing in Spanish? Our recent study set out to answer exactly that—and the results are both hopeful and illuminating.
In a world where heritage language learners often navigate complex bilingual realities, the classroom can be a powerful space for transformation. A recent study conducted at Colby College set out to measure that transformation—specifically, the growth in academic writing among Spanish heritage learners after just one semester of formal instruction. The findings, drawn from ACTFL’s Writing Proficiency Test (WPT), offer a compelling look at the measurable gains possible with a thoughtfully designed curriculum.
The Seal of Biliteracy is an important and meaningful recognition of learners’ achievements in language learning. It celebrates linguistic diversity, honors learners’ heritage languages, and promotes the value of multilingualism in our schools and communities.
But to truly support learners’ futures in college, careers, and beyond, it’s essential to look further than the Seal itself and focus on what underpins it: the assessment used to demonstrate language proficiency.
I have noticed that financial institutions are recognizing more and more each day the importance of language accessibility and cultural fluency in serving their communities. One notable example is the Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU) in North Carolina, which has demonstrated in recent years how implementing multilingual services can lead to increased customer loyalty and expanded community reach.
Established in 2000 in Durham, North Carolina, the LCCU was founded in response to a series of violent crimes targeting Latino immigrants who, lacking access to traditional banking services, were forced to carry large amounts of cash when they got paid by their employers. This vulnerability highlighted the urgent need for a financial institution that could serve the Latino community’s unique needs.
From its inception, LCCU prioritized language accessibility. Recognizing that many of its members were more comfortable communicating in Spanish, the credit union ensured that all services, including account management, loan applications, and customer support, were available in both English and Spanish. Additionally, LCCU provided financial education programs tailored to the cultural contexts of its members, helping them navigate the U.S. financial system more effectively.
Of utmost importance, the credit union attributes its success to the bilingual staff they have hired from within the community who have the ability to help customers regarding financial matters in English and Spanish. I truly admire this decision, because in my experience not all institutions take serious measures in providing clear communication, mitigating risk, and fostering trust by prioritizing the language skills of their customer-facing employees as an operational imperative.
This is why ACTFL® assessments delivered through Language Testing International® (LTI), are so valuable because they are the gold standard in determining language proficiency, helping financial organizations like LCCU ensure that their teams can consistently meet the needs of clients of all backgrounds.
These figures underscore the credit union’s success in building trust within the Latino community. By addressing language barriers and providing culturally relevant services, LCCU not only attracted new members but also fostered long-term loyalty.
LCCU’s experience illustrates the broader benefits of embracing multilingual services in the financial sector. By investing in language accessibility and cultural fluency, financial institutions can:
Communicating in a customer’s preferred language demonstrates respect and understanding, fostering trust and confidence in your expertise.
Tailored financial education programs can empower underserved communities, leading to more informed financial decisions.
Multilingual services can attract a more robust customer base, opening up new markets and opportunities for growth, especially if no one else is catering to them, as in the case of LCCU.
Providing culturally relevant services can lead to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.
When financial institutions build trust with first-generation customers through language access and cultural respect, they often gain the loyalty of future generations. Children and grandchildren of initial members tend to stay within the trusted institution, resulting in sustained growth and a deeper community footprint.
I applaud LCCU for serving as an example of a compelling business model that demonstrates how to leverage language accessibility and cultural fluency to drive customer loyalty, generational engagement, and community empowerment. As financial institutions seek to attract untapped market segments, embracing multilingual services is not just a matter of compliance or goodwill—it’s a strategic imperative that can lead to sustained growth, deeper relationships, and success across generations.
To maximize these efforts, I recommend that financial institutions evaluate the language proficiency of their teams through ACTFL® assessments. Verifying true language capabilities ensures that institutions meet regulatory expectations in over 120 languages through objective, ACTFL-certified evaluations of an individual’s reading, writing, speaking, and listening proficiency.
By eliminating ambiguity, organizations can make informed staffing and development decisions, while bilingual professionals gain clear validation of their capabilities—strengthening the foundation for operational excellence and sustainable growth. For more information visit languagetesting.com.
At ACTFL® and Language Testing International® (LTI), we are committed to delivering the best possible assessment experiences for educators and learners. We always innovate, always listen, and always improve. As we kick off the new school year, here’s what’s new and updated with the ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL).
The AAPPL content is reviewed and refreshed every year; the 2025-26 version of AAPPL will be released Sept. 15. Please note that any test orders placed before Sept. 15 will receive the version used in the 2024-25 academic year.
The first ACTFL assessment of American Sign Language (ASL) is launching this September, just in time for the new school year! The ASL AAPPL assesses Interpersonal Interaction (II) and Receptive Comprehension (RC) and is designed for d/Deaf learners, CODAs (Children of Deaf Adults), and ASL language learners. It provides an ACTFL score that can be used for the attainment of the Seal of Biliteracy as well as for benchmarking and progress tracking.
The ASL AAPPL is fully accessible to all learners, and accommodations are available through the standard request process.
Developed in collaboration with d/Deaf and hearing ASL experts across the country from high school and university settings, ASL AAPPL honors the visual-spatial nature of the language and brings equity and recognition to ASL classrooms.
The ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL) for American Sign Language (ASL) is launching this fall, bringing the trusted ACTFL® gold standard to ASL for the very first time. The test was developed in collaboration with d/Deaf and hearing ASL experts and educators from across the country, as well as psychometricians and ACTFL’s Assessment and Research team, to ensure appropriateness of content, inclusiveness in all test resources, and test validity and reliability. The ASL AAPPL offers learners, educators, and institutions a research-based, culturally responsive, and interactive way to evaluate learners’ performance toward proficiency in American Sign Language.
Available in Form A and B and designed for learners in grades 9-12, the ASL AAPPL can support:
The spring testing is upon us. We have prepared useful tips as you plan for testing with the AAPPL and ALIRA.
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