ILR scale

The Interagency Language Roundtable scale is a set of descriptions of abilities to communicate in a language. It is the standard grading scale for language proficiency in the Federal service. It was originally developed by the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR), which included representation by United States Foreign Service Institute, the predecessor of the National Foreign Affairs Training Center (NFATC). It grades people's language proficiency on a scale of 0-5. The designation 0+, 1+, 2+, 3+, or 4+ is assigned when proficiency substantially exceeds one skill level and does not fully meet the criteria for the next level. This totals 11 possible grades. Grades may be assigned separately for different skills such as reading, speaking, listening, writing, translation, audio translation, interpretation, and intercultural communication. For some of these skills, the level may be seen abbreviated, for example S-1 for Speaking Level 1.

ILR Level 0 – No proficiency

The baseline level of the scale is no proficiency, rated 0. The following describes the traits of an ILR Level 0 individual:

ILR Level 1 – Elementary proficiency

Elementary proficiency is rated 1 on the scale. The following describes the traits of an ILR Level 1 individual:

ILR Level 2 – Limited working proficiency

Limited working proficiency is rated 2 on the scale. A person at this level is described as follows:

ILR Level 3 – Professional working proficiency

Professional working proficiency is rated 3 on the scale. Level 3 is what is usually used to measure how many people in the world know a given language. A person at this level is described as follows:

ILR Level 4 – Full professional proficiency

Full professional proficiency is rated 4 on the ILR scale. A person rated at this level should have one of the following characteristics:

ILR Level 5 – Native or bilingual proficiency

Native or bilingual proficiency is rated 5 on the scale. A person at this level is described as follows:

Equivalence with the European language proficiency scale CEFR

A table published by the American University Center of Provence give the following correspondences between the ILR, the European language proficiency scale CEFR, and the proficiency scale of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL):[1]

CEFR ILR ACTFL
A1 0/0+ NL, NM, NH
A2 1 IL, IM
B1 1+ IH
B2 2/2+ AL, AM, AH
C1 3/3+ S
C2 4/4+ D

See also

References

External links

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