Safety incidents
An employee who could not fully follow safety training or instructions is at greater risk of injury on the job.
Language Proficiency Testing
Language Proficiency Testing
Certified language proficiency assessments for your workforce.
Confirm the English or foreign-language ability of a candidate or employee with an objective, certified score you can stand behind.
Why it matters
“English proficiency required” needs an objective way to confirm it
Many employers list language proficiency as a job requirement but have no consistent way to verify it. An interview impression, a line on a resume, or a coworker's opinion leaves real gaps.
What is at risk without it
Inconsistent hiring
Without a standard measure, similar candidates are judged differently from one interviewer or location to the next.
Compliance exposure
A stated proficiency requirement with no documented verification is difficult to defend when a decision is questioned.
Where employers use it
- Pre-hire screening for roles that require a specific language level
- Verifying language claims on a resume or application
- Promotion readiness for supervisory or customer-facing roles
- Post-incident documentation of an employee's language ability
- OSHA and safety-training compliance records
How it works
A short assessment, a certified result
The assessment fits into a normal workday and produces a result you can compare across candidates, sites, and time.
20-minute online speaking assessment
The employee completes a structured speaking test from any computer or device with a microphone. No travel, no proctor to schedule, no special software.
Scored by certified human linguists
Every assessment is evaluated by certified human raters, not automated scoring, so nuance, accent, and real workplace communication are judged fairly.
Results on the ILR or CEFR scale
Scores are reported on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) or Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) scale, so results are recognized and comparable.
Certified results within 24 hours
Receive the certified result within 24 hours of test completion, fast enough to keep a hiring or promotion decision on schedule.
Available in 40+ languages
Assess English or any of more than 40 other languages using the same process and the same scale.
Heartland-branded certificate
Each result is delivered as a Heartland Language certificate you can file with the employee's record or share with the candidate.
Understanding the scales
ILR to CEFR conversion
Results can be reported on either scale. This chart shows how the two correspond.
- ILR level
- The Interagency Language Roundtable scale, used by U.S. federal agencies, measures ability from 0 (no proficiency) to 5 (functionally native). A plus level means the person is above a base level but not yet at the next one.
- CEFR level
- The Common European Framework of Reference groups ability into six bands from A1 (beginner) to C2 (mastery). It is the scale most employers and training providers outside the U.S. recognize.
| ILR level | CEFR level |
|---|---|
| 0 | pre-A1 |
| 0+ | A1 |
| 1 | Low A2 |
| 1+ | High A2 |
| 2 | Low B1 |
| 2+ | High B1 |
| 3 | Low B2 |
| 3+ | High B2 |
| 4 | C1 |
| 4+ | C1+ |
How to order
Four steps from request to certified result
- 1
Contact Heartland
Send us the employee name(s) and the language(s) to be assessed.
- 2
We send a secure test link
Each employee receives a secure, individual link to the online assessment.
- 3
The employee completes the test online
The speaking assessment takes about 20 minutes and can be completed from any device with a microphone.
- 4
Certified results within 24 hours
You receive the certified result and Heartland-branded certificate within 24 hours.
Get started
Ready to verify language proficiency across your workforce?
Tell us how many employees you need to assess and in which languages, and we will send you a quote.
Request a Quote