Is having foreign language skills useful in the Foreign Service application process?
You do not have to speak a foreign language to apply and be selected for a Foreign Service career. In some cases, you can add points to your final score and place on the Register by demonstrating proficiency in certain languages. We score language skills on a 0 to 5 scale. See below:
Students: Language Proficiency Definitions
| Language Proficiency Definitions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Proficiency Code | Speaking Definitions | Reading Definitions |
| 0 – No Practical Proficiency | No practical speaking proficiency. | No practical reading proficiency. |
| 1 – Elementary Proficiency | Able to satisfy routine travel needs and minimum courtesy requirements | Able to read some personal and place names, street signs, office and shop designations, numbers and isolated words and phrases |
| 2 – Limited Working Proficiency | Able to satisfy routine social demands and limited work requirements | Able to read simple prose, in a form equivalent to typescript or printing, on subjects within a familiar context |
| 3 – Minimum Professional Proficiency | Able to speak the language with sufficient structural accuracy and vocabulary to participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations on practical, social, and professional topics | Able to read standard newspaper items addressed to the general reader, routine correspondence, reports, and technical materials in the individual’s special field. |
| 4 – Full Professional Proficiency | Able to use the language fluently and accurately on all levels pertinent to professional needs. | Able to read all styles and forms of the language pertinent to professional needs. |
| 5 – Native or Bilingual Proficiency | Equivalent to that of an educated native speaker. | Equivalent to that of an educated native. |