What are the ACTFL Guidelines?

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The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines for Speaking, developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, offer a framework for gauging functional speaking ability in a language. These guidelines form the basis of the way we discuss proficiency at the Five College Center for World Languages. When a student does an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), as many FCCWL students do for a final exam, a rating is assigned based on the ACTFL scale. 

The ACTFL Scale

With the ACTFL scale, we talk about four major levels: Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Superior.

The Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced levels are each divided into three sublevels: Low, Mid, and High.

So if you take an OPI, you might receive a rating such as “Novice Mid” or “Intermediate High.” (ACTFL also describes a fifth level, called Distinguished, but OPIs do not test for this level. Superior is the highest rating given on an OPI.)

What the Guidelines Mean

The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines describe what a speaker can do in the language at each level. The guidelines are not based on a particular textbook, syllabus, or way of learning a language, so they do not list specific vocabulary terms or grammatical structures that students are expected to know. Rather, they are concerned with how a speaker can use the language to communicate. For example: Are you limited to listing words (“apple, carrot, cheese”) and using memorized phrases (“How are you?”), or can you create your own sentences (“Apples are my favorite fruit. I don’t like carrots.”)? Can you ask simple questions and handle a straightforward transaction such as scheduling an appointment? What about a more complicated situation like returning or exchanging an item you purchased?

For details about what speakers at each level can do, you can read ACTFL’s descriptions of the proficiency levels (starting on page 15 at the link). They also have videos of English speakers at different levels, so you can get an idea of what a Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, or Superior speaker sounds like.

Can-Do Statements

A helpful resource from ACTFL is their Can-Do Statements. These self-assessment checklists are written in terms of simple “I can…” statements and give specific examples of what language learners can do at each level:

• You will notice that the Can-Do Statements are divided into different modes of communication. If you are preparing for an oral evaluation, the Can-Do Statements for Interpersonal Communication (on pages 9-11 of the PDFs of Benchmarks + Performance Indicators + Examples at the Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced levels) will be especially helpful. Focus on the examples for speaking and listening, as the OPI does not have a reading or writing component.
• The specific examples provided are illustrative only, meant to give an idea of the types of communicative tasks that a speaker at each level and sublevel can accomplish. Don’t misinterpret the examples as a list of specific things you’ll be asked to do during an OPI.
• You can use the Can-Do Statements to assess what level you think you are at now. Then, look at the Can-Do Statements for the next level up and think about what skills you still need to work on to move up to that next level.
• You can also use the Can-Do Statements for setting longer-term goals. What level of proficiency will you need in order to be successful in your study abroad program, internship, volunteer work, research project, career, or other future goals? What skills will you need to develop in order to reach that level of proficiency?