The Importance of Testing for Second Language Skills

Language proficiency in the workplace is very important as we become more and more diverse as a global economy. To stay competitive with your industry, it’s important to continue diversifying your company and reaching out on a more global scale. To do this you need to ensure that you have employees who have second languages that will help you with the barriers as you reach new customers and countries around the world.

Why is Language Testing Important?

Here’s the thing – in today’s world there are a lot of people that can speak more than one language. It’s easier than ever to learn things online and being able to speak or read multiple languages is a great skillset. You may even find that some people have a second language which is a heritage language, but often becomes second to English rather than their native language.

But how do you know if the person applying to work for your company has the skills you need at the level you need to ensure you give your clients optimal quality?

You don’t. Unless you test them.

Testing ensures that your job candidates are qualified to get the job done well.

Here are a few other great reasons to show why language testing is important:

• Increases the candidates success with the job and their accuracy
• Fair recruitment for all candidates with easy comparison through test results
• Makes interviews easier because you already know their skill level

What Does a Language Test Really Do?

Language testing tests the skills of your candidate to help identify their level of language proficiency. This includes reading, writing, and speaking.

Depending on what job they have applied for, and on what level you need them to be at. Sometimes you may only require someone to have basic language communication skills, versus a proficient level which you would need for translation work.

Testing is based upon the performance of the individual with the language being tests and does not dive into how they learnt the language. How they acquired the skill becomes irrelevant, as all that matters is their proficiency.

When Should I Test for Language Proficiency?

You’ve got options. It depends on how you want to run your business. For example, you may want each candidate to complete testing as a part of their application giving you the results before you decide if you want to interview them. You may decide to interview the candidates first and then determine who is the best fit after testing. This all dependent on the priorities of your company, the time you have to go through the hiring process and how important the language testing is to the position available.

Does Language Marketplace Offer Language Testing?

Yes, we do! Contact us today to find out more information on how our language testing can benefit your business.