The Pitfalls of Relying on Interviews to Evaluate Bilingual Candidates’ Language Skills

Bilingual and multilingual employees are an asset for any business as they help companies communicate effectively with people with different backgrounds and cultures. However, it’s important to make sure that the candidates for bilingual roles possess the required language proficiency to be able to perform in the roles.

Additionally, relying solely on what someone puts on their resume when it comes to language skills can be a risky approach. It is not uncommon for job applicants to overinflate their language proficiency levels, and this can have severe consequences. Unless a job candidate provides an official document that certifies their language proficiency, it’s essential for a hiring manager or talent acquisition manager to confirm and validate the candidate’s bilingual skills.

The risks of in-person interviews in a target language

Conducting an interview in a target language with a prospective employee who’s bilingual or multilingual may seem like a logical way to assess their language skills. However, this method is not a reliable way to evaluate someone’s language proficiency for several reasons.

Language proficiency of the interviewer

Conducting an interview in a target language requires the interviewer to be proficient in the language themselves and able to discuss the requirements of the role in that target language. If the interviewer doesn’t possess the required language proficiency or is not skilled in conducting interviews, they may not be able to accurately assess the candidate’s language skills. This can lead to inaccurate evaluations and misjudgments of the candidate’s abilities.

Bias

Conducting an interview in the target language allows bias to creep in when the interviewer does not assess someone solely on their language skills but other factors. For instance, they may be swayed by the candidate’s personality or charm, leading them to overlook their language deficiencies. This can be detrimental to the business as it may result in poor communication and costly mistakes.

Assessing the right language skills

Finally, an interview might not fully demonstrate that someone will be able to do the job in the language because it does not offer a validated and reliable measuring instrument to evaluate someone’s language skills. While an interview can give you an idea of someone’s speaking ability, it does not necessarily demonstrate their ability to understand written and spoken language or their ability to write in the target language; language skills that might be essential to the role. This can lead to problems down the line if the employee is unable to perform the duties required in the language in which they claim to be proficient.

Using valid language assessment instruments

The only reliable method of assessing someone’s language proficiency is through valid, reliable, and research-based language assessments that are designed to evaluate an individual’s language skills accurately and objectively. They measure reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills, providing a complete picture of someone’s language proficiency.

Language tests such as the ACTFL language proficiency assessments are based on rigorous standards and have been extensively validated. They provide an objective and reliable evaluation of an individual’s language proficiency, eliminating the subjective bias that can arise from conducting interviews in a target language.

Read more: How to Test for Language Proficiency in Your Hiring Process

Conclusion

While conducting an interview in a target language with a prospective employee who’s bilingual may seem like a straightforward way to assess their language skills, it is not a reliable method. It requires the interviewer to be proficient in the language themselves and can allow bias to creep in. Instead, businesses should use validated and reliable language assessments to evaluate language proficiency accurately and objectively. This will help them to make informed decisions when hiring bilingual employees, ultimately leading to better communication and fewer mistakes.

As the exclusive licensee of ACTFL assessments, Language Testing International (LTI) administers valid, reliable, and legally defensible language credentials in over 120 languages. Administering the assessments is easy. They can be scheduled anywhere at any convenient time thanks to the remote proctoring options. You can trust LTI with all your language assessment needs and give yourself peace of mind when hiring bilingual and multilingual talent.