Common App Language Proficiency
How Proficient are You?
The Common Application, or the Common App, is an advanced college application used to help college students apply to multiple institutions at once. It collects the personal and academic information used in the college admission process.
Common App: Language proficiency
The first part of the Common Application form is Profile. It generally asks the student’s personal information- address, citizenship, demographics, language, etc.
In the language section, students are asked about their proficiency in various languages. According to the Common App, it helps students to reinforce their communication skills and avoid language constraints (see here). These types of information help colleges them better understand the applicant and build a diverse class.
Language Proficiency: What does it ask?
To start with, a simple question appears asking- “Number of languages you are proficient in”. The minimum option is one and the maximum is five. After choosing a number, a new section appears asking for the specific languages of proficiency and additional information for each one.
In the Common App, you’ll see five types of proficiency:
● First Language
● Speak
● Read
● Write
● Spoken at Home
Based on your skill, you may choose one or more.
Are you proficient enough?
Choosing the first language is always easy; choosing another language is a bit more complicated because sometimes you aren’t sure which language you should choose. Let’s explore each proficiency one by one!
Speaking skill
Speaking skill is the ability to convey a message to others eloquently. If you have speaking proficiency in a language, you won’t struggle to communicate in that language. You must have control over the Vocabulary, Grammar, and Pronunciation of that language.
For example, assume you have chosen Mandarin. Can you talk about your feelings in Mandarin without prior preparation? Will you be able to converse with a Mandarin speaker comfortably? If the answer to all the above is a yes, then you are proficient enough in speaking Mandarin!
Reading skill
Reading skill is the ability to understand the overall meaning of a text. When a person is proficient in reading a language, they can comprehend the general idea of the content without any kind of difficulties.
Can you read and understand a Mandarin travel guide or newspaper without using a dictionary or translator? If you read slower than the usual speed or feel uncomfortable without a translator, then think twice!
Writing skill
It’s very similar to the speaking skill, only in a written format. If you are proficient in writing, you should be able to write eloquently without a translator. A proficient writer can express their feelings properly through their writing. They can also write emails, documents, or any other pieces of text used in daily life.
So, before you select it, ask yourself: are you confident about these things? Can you use your chosen language to write content in your daily life?
Spoken at home
Sometimes students get confused and ignore this portion. What if your first language is English, but you speak Spanish at home because your parents’ first language is Spanish?
Commonly, students won’t enlist this because they think they are not proficient enough to choose this language. But think, colleges are giving you a chance to showcase any kind of skill level- use the opportunity!
What about your foreign language course?
Many students take foreign language courses in high school. Now the question is: should I list those? Truly speaking, only you know the best answer to this question.
Studying a language and acquiring a language are two totally different things. You can definitely earn good grades while studying a language; however, if you don’t acquire it, you won’t be able to use that language fluently.
Suppose you had taken Mandarin in high school; you have good grades and are very much comfortable in Mandarin. In this case, you should definitely enlist it.
On the other hand, your friend had taken German as his foreign language course. Though he has good marks, he cannot use this language comfortably. Therefore, it’s better for him not to enlist it.
Getting the picture? The key here is comfortability and practicality. Ask yourself: can you use it in everyday life?
Know yourself
The most important thing is to know about yourself. Understand how much you know. Be honest with yourself.
It’s not necessary to excel in every aspect of a language. It’s okay if you can only speak or read a language; there is nothing wrong with that. Just be sure to select the correct check box.
Don’t enlist a language if you are not confident in it. Imagine you eventually have an interview with one of your colleges, and the interviewer speaks both English and a language you’ve listed here as one in which you’re proficient. If this interviewer wants to start a conversation in that language, it will be really embarrassing for you.
Don’t forget English!
Students who speak English as their first language sometimes forget to list it. They think that it only asks about second or third languages. Please don’t do that.; enlist all the languages-including your mother tongue.
What to do if your language isn’t listed?
In the language section of the Common App, you will be given a list to choose your language from there. There are about 171 languages which are mostly spoken. However, if you cannot find the desired language, you can select “Others”. Then a text box will appear. You can type the language name in which you are proficient. (See here).
Please note that it truly doesn’t matter whether you are monolingual, bilingual, or multilingual; it’s not necessary to be proficient in speaking, reading, or writing in more than one language. As long as you know your capacity, it’s great! So, just be confident and true to yourself!
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