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Language proficiency is the ability of an individual to use language with a level of accuracy that transfers meaning in production and comprehension. There is no singular definition of language proficiency, however, and this has implications for its application in other language domains such as literacy, testing, endangered languages, language impairment, etc. There is little consistency as to how different organizations classify it. Native-level fluency is estimated to be between 20,000 and 40,000 words, but basic conversational fluency might require only as little as 3,000 words.

Language proficiency background

Developing language proficiency

Developing proficiency in any language begins with word learning. By the time they are 12 months old, children learn their first words and by the time they are 36 months old, they may know well over 900 words (Bloom and Markson, 1998; Owens, 2016). Their utterances are intelligible to the people who may interact with them the most.Language proficiency in a second language: measurements

Issues in defining language proficiency

Languages that are considered endangered are undergoing efforts to revitalize them. Some of these languages have few speakers, while some have none. The learners of these languages are engaged in using documented resources (i.e. word lists, hymnals, bibles) to relearn their languages. Language proficiency in these cases of endangerment is being determined by how much language is learned in these communities; proficient speakers are being determined by these communities (Hinton, 2011; Leonard, 2018).

ACTFL

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) distinguishes between proficiency and performance. In part, ACTFL's definition of proficiency is derived from mandates issued by the U.S. government, declaring that a limited English proficient student is one who comes from a non-English background and "who has sufficient difficulty speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language and whose difficulties may deny such an individual the opportunity to learn successfully in classrooms where the language of instruction is English or to participate fully in our society".

ACTFL views "performance" as being the combined effect of all three modes of communication: interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational. [Copied from article].

 Hi!
  I think it was a good (and necessary idea) to link the section discussing the ACTFL's definitions to the actual book of guidelines. In terms of this subsection of the article it gives it not only legitimacy, but the ability for the reader see the totality of what's actually being laid out here,instead of being confined to the summary of the original editor.

In terms of the article's weaknesses, I think the introduction section is a bit vague and ill-defined in areas. The first thing that I kind of saw as vague was that they allude to a controversy between the ideas of language competency, and fluency, but the controversy is not introduced even in summary glance. Even if this is going to be discussed in a separate section, I honestly think that making such a claim without any sort of explanation is just vague. I also kind of would like to see some sort of summary definition for accuracy of language usage when it's talked about as well, but there is none.  All in all, I think that this article is very fertile ground for productive expansion and clarification!

I hope this helpful

Well wishes,AVCharles1138 (talk) 20:39, 25 September 2019 (UTC)

Hello! The lead section is a good start on the content of this article. One thing that I think the lead section needs to clarify is the definition of 'language proficiency/linguistic proficiency'. The definition provided in the first section I feel does not help a reader with the content words/phrases in the second sentence. For example, I think that a reader will encounter 'native-level fluency' and 'conversational fluency' and be a little lost with how these connect to the definition, "the ability of an individual to speak or perform in a language". Maybe defining or explaining that their are different levels of fluency before talking about them will help in making the article clearer and relevant. Additionally, I feel that once this is clarified it will be an easier transition to talk about the difference between 'proficiency and performance'. 

Good luck JoeNavek (talk) 00:59, 27 September 2019 (UTC)JoeNavek

Because this is a Start-class article, you could help it a lot by working on its introduction and suggesting new sections that would organize the next editors' work on it. Most of 533's readings aren't directly related to this article, but please consider the possibility of using our last reading from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (which is a safe citation, by the way). This is also an article that is likely to benefit from more links to other Wikipedia articles. Cecilemckee (talk) 17:05, 28 September 2019 (UTC)

Notes

References

Bloom, P. & Markson, L. (1998). Capacities underlying word learning. Trends in Cognitive Science, 2 (2), 67-73.

Hinton, L. (2011). Language revitalization and language pedagogy: New teaching and learning strategies. Language and Education, 25(4), 307-318. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2011.577220

Leonard, W. (2018). Reflections on (de)colonialism in language documentation. Language Documentation. In McDonnell, Bradley, Andrea L. Berez-Kroeker, and Gary Holton. (Eds.) Reflections on Language Documentation 20 Years after Himmelmann 1998. Language Documentation & Conservation Special Publication no. 15. [PP 55-65] Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press. http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/ldc/

Owens, R.E. (2016). Language development (9^th ed). Boston: Pearson.