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Wikipedia / List of language proficiency tests

The following is a non-exhaustive list of standardized tests that assess a person's language proficiency of a foreign/secondary language. Various types of such exams exist per many languages—some are organized at an international level even through national authoritative organizations, while others simply for specific limited business or study orientation.

Multilingual

  • American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) tests are offered to assess language proficiency in many languages.

  • The Foreign Language Achievement Testing Service (FLATS) at Brigham Young University offer both BYU and non-BYU students language proficiency tests.

  • (CLE). Certificate of proficiency in six languages: English, Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese. The certificates are issued by the Ministry of Education of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The test targets primary and secondary-level students in Buenos Aires, for whom it is free of charge.

Albanian languageAlbanian

  • University of Tirana offers its own levels from A1-C2. Exams are held on the last Friday of every month, except July, August and December.

American Sign LanguageAmerican Sign Language

  • ASLPI American Sign Language Proficiency Interview

  • SLPI Sign Language Proficiency Interview

Arabic languageArabic

  • Hamza test is a standardized Arabic language proficiency test for non-native speakers, developed by the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language. Launched on 12 December 2023 at the academy's international conference, titled for that year "Linguistic Testing: Theories, Experiences, and Prospects", the test aligns with CEFR levels A2 to C1, evaluating four core skills: reading, listening, writing, and speaking for academic and professional purposes.

  • The Arabic Language Proficiency Test (ALPT) is a standardized Arabic proficiency test designed by Arabic Academy and endorsed by the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI). It was started in 2002 and has five sections: listening, reading, structure, writing, speaking.

  • Berlitz Language Institutes offer a competency test in reading, writing, speaking and listening assessing proficiency in Arabic according to the CEFR benchmark.

  • Eton Institute in Dubai offers its own "Arabic Language Competency Test" (ALCT), a 4-skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening) exam which generates a band-score result for Arabic similar to the IELTS model.

  • The AL-ARABIYYA-TEST by the Al Arabiyya Institute, is an Arabic language proficiency test conducted online that measures a learner's level according to the CEFR benchmark.

  • CIMA () is a standardized Arabic proficiency test developed by the Institut du monde arabe in Paris, France, and is offered since 2018 at the institute and in several accredited centres around the world.

  • ILA - is an Arabic proficiency test of the 'Centro Studi' of Milan (Italy).

Brazilian Sign LanguageBrazilian Sign Language

  • ProLibras - Brazilian Sign Language Certificate

  • ProLibras -

British Sign LanguageBritish Sign Language

  • Signature - British Sign Language Certificate Levels 1-6

  • iBSL - British Sign Language Certificate Levels 1-6

  • Scottish Qualifications Authority - British Sign Language Certificate Levels 1–6, along with other related qualifications.

Bulgarian languageBulgarian

  • The Standard Test of Bulgarian as a Foreign Language (STBFL, Стандартизиран тест по български език като чужд език, СТБЕЧ)

  • ECL - European Consortium for the Certificate of Attainment in Modern Languages

Catalan languageCatalan

Chinese languageChinese

Standard ChineseMandarin

  • HSK - Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (). Official test of Mandarin in mainland China, consisting of reading, writing, listening and comprehension

  • HSKK - HSK Speaking Test (). HSKK assesses the test takers’ oral Chinese abilities. HSKK is divided into three levels: primary, intermediate and advanced. The test is conducted in the form of audio recording.

  • TOCFL - Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language. Test used in Taiwan for Mandarin as a foreign language.

  • TSC - Test of Spoken Chinese was conducted under the leadership of YBM, the largest language institute in Korea. Most large South Korean companies now require Chinese employees to pass the TSC.

  • BCT - Business Chinese Test (), as an international, standardized test of Chinese language proficiency, focuses on assessing non-native Chinese speakers’ abilities to use the Chinese language in real business or common working environments and evaluating the language tasks they are able to complete. The BCT, as a test series, consists of three independent tests: BCT (A), BCT (B) and the BCT Speaking Test.

  • YCT - Youth Chinese Test (). International standardised Chinese language, for primary and secondary school students.

CantoneseCantonese

Certificate in Chinese Language - University of Hong Kong

  • First Examination

  • Certificate Examination

    Computerized Oral Proficiency Assessment (COPA) by the Chinese University of Hong Kong - assessment of oral and comprehension skills only

  • Diploma Programme in Chinese as a Foreign/Second Language (Cantonese) - Chinese University of Hong Kong; levels: Foundation, Certificate, Diploma, Advanced

HokkienHokkien

  • MSC - Minnanhua Shuiping Ceshi (). Offered in mainland China. It is a speaking test with four parts: reading out words, sentences, a passage and speaking on a topic. There is no preferred dialect of Hokkien for the test; any dialect may be used as long as the pronunciation is proper in that dialect. The first test was held in Xiamen on 19 November 2016 to select future examiners, and so it was only for people in the education, broadcasting and cultural sectors who have received prior trainings. The first test open to the public was held on 9 and 10 December 2017 in Xiamen and a free 2-day pre-test training was provided to test-takers.

  • General Taiwanese Proficiency Test (GTPT) is a standardized proficiency test for speakers of Taiwanese Hokkien designed by the Center for Taiwanese Languages Testing at National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. In addition to GTPT, there is another International Taiwanese Proficiency Test (ITPT) for speakers of Taiwanese Hokkien as a second language.

HakkaHakka

  • Since 2005, the Hakka Affairs Council of Taiwan has conducted the Hakka Proficiency Certification (). The test is divided into 6 levels and participants take a written and speaking exam. The speaking exam is conducted in the 5 main Taiwanese Hakka dialects to cater to each dialect's distinct intonations and vocabularies.

Croatian LanguageCroatian

  • TPHJ -

  • ECL - European Consortium for the Certificate of Attainment in Modern Languages

Czech languageCzech

  • CCE - Czech Language Certificate Exam

  • ECL - European Consortium for the Certificate of Attainment in Modern Languages

Danish languageDanish

  • CLAVIS Danish Language Proficiency Test

Dutch languageDutch

  • Staatsexamen Nederlands als tweede taal (State Exams Dutch as a Second Language, abbreviated NT2). A two-part examination required in the Netherlands to study at the tertiary level. Part I is less thorough than II. Successful completion gains a NT2-I or NT2-II diploma

  • Certificaat Nederlands als vreemde taal (CNavT). A set of six exams, each aimed at confirming proficiency for specific fields. "Profile Tourist and Informal Language Proficiency (PTIT)" is equal to ECF A2, and "Profile Language Proficiency Higher Education" is equal to ECF B2 (both are accepted by most higher-level education institutions in Belgium and the Netherlands).

English languageEnglish

  • AMIR - English Proficiency Test for Higher Education in Israel

  • Babbel English Test, a test "powered by Cambridge English"

  • CAL BEST Literacy

  • CAL BEST Plus 2.0

CAL English Proficiency Test

  • for Teachers (CAL EPT Teachers)

  • for Students (CAL EPT Students)

  • Diagnostic for Students (CAL EPT Diagnostic)

Cambridge English Language Assessment

EsperantoEsperanto

  • CEFR certification for levels B1, B2, C1

Estonian languageEstonian

  • Estonian Language Proficiency Examinations ()

Finnish languageFinnish

French languageFrench

French Sign LanguageFrench Sign Language

  • Le Diplôme de Compétence en Langue des Signes Française (DCL) (The French Sign Language Proficiency Diploma) is a national diploma that was created specifically for adults.

Galician languageGalician

German languageGerman

  • Deutsches Sprachdiplom Stufe I and II (DSD) - German as a foreign language

  • DSH - Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang

  • TestDaF - Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache

  • ZD - Zertifikat Deutsch

  • ZDfB - Zertifikat Deutsch für den Beruf

  • (OSD) - Austrian German Diploma

  • ECL - European Consortium for the Certificate of Attainment in Modern Languages

  • A1/A2 level (Start Deutsch 1/2) from the Goethe-Institut

  • B1/B2/C1 level (Goethe-Zertifikat B1/B2/C1) from the Goethe-Institut

  • C2 level (Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom) from the Goethe-Institut

  • TELC - The European Language Certificates

Greek languageGreek

Hebrew languageHebrew

  • The Hebrew Proficiency Test (YAEL) takes place in Israel and is taken by students who seek to demonstrate a sufficient knowledge of Hebrew for the sake of university admissions.

  • ECL - European Consortium for the Certificate of Attainment in Modern Languages.

Hindi languageHindi

  • Kendriya Hindi Sansthan

Hungarian languageHungarian

  • ECL - European Consortium for the Certificate of Attainment in Modern Languages. The certificate examinations are staged on four levels of language proficiency according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: A2 beginner, B1 basic, B2 intermediate, C1 advanced.

  • ELTE Hungarian Language Courses from complete beginner (A1) to proficiency levels (C2)

  • ORIGO Egynyelvű vizsga (Hungarian-only exam) by Idegennyelvi Továbbkepző Központ levels B1, B2 and C1 recognized by the Hungarian State

Indonesian languageIndonesian

  • UKBI (Uji Kemahiran Berbahasa Indonesia) also called TOIFL (Test of Indonesian as a Foreign Language)

Irish languageIrish

Italian languageItalian

According to the Ministero degli Esteri (Italian Foreign Affairs), there are four officials Italian certifications approved CLIQ (): CILS, CELI, PLIDA and .IT ROMA TRE

Japanese languageJapanese

  • JLPT - Japanese Language Proficiency Test (N5, N4, N3, N2, N1)

  • NAT-TEST - The Japanese Language NAT-TEST (N5, N4, N3, N2, N1)

  • BJT - Business Japanese Proficiency Test ()

  • EJU - Examination for Japanese University Admission ()

  • Nihongo Kentei - Overall Japanese language proficiency test ()

  • Japan Proverb Test () offered by Japan Proverb Test Association

  • J-Test

Japanese Sign LanguageJapanese Sign Language

  • Zenkoku-Shuwa Kentei

Kazakh languageKazakh

Klingon languageKlingon

Korean languageKorean

  • KPE- Korean proficiency Exam

  • TOPIK - Test of Proficiency in Korean

  • KLAT - Korean Language Ability Test (formerly Korean Language Proficiency Test, or KLPT)

Kurmanji languageKurmanji

Kyrgyz languageKyrgyz

  • КЫРГЫЗТЕСТ (Kyrgyztest)

Latin languageLatin

Latvian languageLatvian

  • State Language Proficiency Certificate in Latvian

Lithuanian languageLithuanian

  • Level Examinations of Language Proficiency for Lithuanian

Luxembourgish languageLuxembourgish

  • LaF - Diplom Lëtzebuergesch als Friemsprooch

Malay languageMalay

  • The Malay Language Proficiency Certification Test, or , endorsed by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education, and governed by Malaysian Examinations Council ();

  • The Malay Language Entrance Proficiency Test (ML EPT), only applicable for applicants being considered for teaching Malay in Singapore.

Mongolian languageMongolian

  • Mongolian Language Proficiency Test (MLPT)

Burmese languageMyanmar (Burmese)

  • Myanmar Language Test (MLT): Test levels include MB, M1, M2, M3, M4.

Norwegian languageNorwegian

  • Norsk Språktest - Folkeuniversitetet:

    Norskprøve 2 for voksne innvandrere - Level A2;

  • Norskprøve 3 for voksne innvandrere - Level B1;

  • Test i norsk - høyere nivå - Advanced Level (Bergenstesten).

  • Bergenstest for voksne innvandrere - Level B2

Pashto languagePashto

Persian languagePersian

Polish languagePolish

Portuguese languagePortuguese

Brazilian Portuguese

  • CELPE-Bras - Brazilian Certificate of Proficiency in Portuguese for Foreigners

European Portuguese

  • TELC - The European Language Certificates (Portuguese Level B1 only)

  • CAPLE - Centre for Evaluation of the Portuguese Language (Centro de Avaliação de Português Língua Estrangeira)

  • ACESSO - Certificado acesso ao português (Level A1)

  • CIPLE - Certificado inicial de português língua estrangeira (Level A2)

  • DEPLE - Diploma elementar de português língua estrangeira (Level B1)

  • DIPLE - Diploma intermédio de português língua estrangeira (Level B2)

  • DAPLE - Diploma avançado de português língua estrangeira (Level C1)

  • DUPLE - Diploma universitário de português língua estrangeira (Level C2)

Romanian languageRomanian

Romanian Language Institute (not to be confused with Romanian Cultural Institute)

  • Certificat de competență lingvistică

University of Bucharest

  • Certificat CLS ("Centrul de Limbi Străine")

Babeș-Bolyai University (Cluj-Napoca)

  • Atestat de limba română (B2 only)

ECL Examination System

  • Certificat ECL (A2/B1/B2/C1)

Russian languageRussian

Serbian languageSerbian

  • Nacionalni sertifikat o poznavanju srpskog jezika organised by the Department of Philology of the Univerzitet u Beogradu

Slovak languageSlovak

  • Certificate of Slovak language proficiency. Levels: A2, B1, B2, C1, C2.

  • ECL - European Consortium for the Certificate of Attainment in Modern Languages

Slovene languageSlovene

  • Izpit iz znanja slovenščine. Levels: A1 (Breakthrough), A2/B1 (Basic), B2 (Intermediate), C1/C2 (Advanced). Offered by the Department of Philosophy of the Univerza v Ljubljani

Spanish languageSpanish

  • DELE - Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera. Levels: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2.

  • SIELE - Servicio Internacional de Evaluación de la Lengua Española. Levels: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1

  • CELA - Certificado de Español como Lengua Adicional del Centro de Enseñanza para Extranjeros (CEPE) de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). 3 Levels: Independent Level (B1), Advanced Level (B2) and Proficiency Level (C2)

  • CELU - Certificado de Español: Lengua y Uso, Certificate of Spanish: Language and use.

  • Certificado de las Escuelas Oficiales de Idiomas, Spain - Diploma de español, level "Básico" - A2, "Intermedio" - B1, "Avanzado" - B2, C1

  • ECL - Consorcio Europeo para el Certificado en Lenguas Modernas

  • LanguageCert USAL esPro Comprensión auditiva y de lectura

  • LanguageCert USAL esPro Expresión escrita

  • LanguageCert USAL esPro Expresión oral

  • TELC - The European Language Certificates

Spanish Sign LanguageSpanish Sign Language

The University of Granada offers a course in Spanish Sign Language The exam consists of two parts:

  • Expression (a text for the students to sign)

  • Comprehension (a signed video for the students to write up in a Word document)

Swedish languageSwedish

  • Swedex - Swedex consists of three different levels corresponding to the A2, B1 and B2 levels in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. It can be taken in examination centres in twenty-five different countries. Swedex tests the skills of the student in five different areas: vocabulary, grammar, listening, writing and reading.

  • TISUS - Test in Swedish for University Studies is another certificate, often used as a proof of competence in Swedish to gain access to Swedish universities.

  • Stockholm Chamber of Commerce Certificate in Business Swedish

  • Allmänna språkexamina, Ulbildningsstyrelse (Finland)

Tamil languageTamil

  • AJA Tamil Language Assessment

Thai languageThai

  • The Thai Competency Test for foreigners is arranged by the Ministry of Education.

  • The Chulalongkorn University Proficiency Test of Thai as a Foreign Language (CU-TFL) : CU-TFL is a standardized proficiency test for speakers of Thai as a foreign language designed by the Sirindhorn Thai Language Institute, Chulalongkorn University, located in Bangkok.

  • TPA - The School of Language and Culture of the Technology Promotion Association (Thailand-Japan) offers its own Thai proficiency test.

Turkish languageTurkish

  • Turkish Proficiency Exam - (TYS)

  • UTS - Distance Turkish Test ()

  • TELC - The European Language Certificates

Uyghur languageUyghur

Vietnamese languageVietnamese

Welsh languageWelsh

  • WJEC offers Defnyddio'r Gymraeg tests at Mynediad (Entry) level, Sylfaen (Foundation) level, Canolradd (Intermediate) and Uwch (Advanced) level.

References