My self-assessment of my proficiency in Spanish and French

I have been speaking Spanish fluently for half of my life now. I acquired it by spending
time with my husband and his family for over ten years. We are no longer married now but we
have children together who also speak Spanish and we often spend time together as a family for
them. When my childrens father is around we only speak in Spanish at home. That happens
about three to four times a week. When we were married, we always spoke Spanish at home and
often times members of his family were around so I was completely immersed in Spanish all the
time for at least ten years if not more.
When I started the MATL, I had to take the OPI in order to have the Spanish emphasis
because I did not have an undergraduate degree in Spanish. When I received the results of that
interview, I was at the Advanced Medium level on the ACTFL proficiency scale which slightly
disappointed me because I knew that I spoke Spanish really well. I happened to come across
emails in the FLTeach group that talked about the ACTFL proficiency levels, and one person
that had written in was a native Spanish speaker and she received an Advanced Medium as well.
So, I did not feel so bad after that.
I reviewed the proficiency guidelines for the Spanish speaker and I listened to a broadcast
on the Superior level and I feel like I can confidently say that that is my level. As described in
the guidelines:
Speakers at the Superior level demonstrate no pattern of error in the use of basic

structures, although they may make sporadic errors, particularly in low-frequency

structures and in complex high-frequency structures. Such errors, if they do occur,

do not distract the native interlocutor or interfere with communication.

I know that I make slight errors in Spanish from time to time, but I either correct myself
immediately or I realize it a bit later, but it does not interfere with my communicating with
the native interlocutor.

The example of a Spanish speaker at the Superior level was presented in these

guidelines and I am sure that I could have efficiently and even gracefully answered the
question that was posed to the interviewee. The guidelines also say:

Speakers at the Superior level are able to communicate with accuracy and fluency in
order to participate fully and effectively in conversations on a variety of topics in formal
and informal settings from both concrete and abstract perspectives.

I am confident that this describes my speaking ability in Spanish.

My love affair with French began when I was about fifteen years old and I took my first
French class. I was hooked. I took it for four years in high school and I had a very good teacher
who inspired me to continue studying it. When I went to college, I majored in French with the
idea that I would use it with a Masters in Business degree that I would acquire once I graduated
with my bachelors degree. I had no idea at the time that I would end up becoming a French
instructor! My junior year of college I studied abroad in France for six months. When I arrived
to France, I was completely lost for the first two months. I understood nothing and I produced
even less. I just listened and listened for those two months and one day almost out of the blue,
all of the input that I had been receiving cliqued in my brain and I dont think anyone could get
me to shut up from then on. Those six months in France really helped my French. By the time I
came home, I was rattling off in French like a native. However, just like a muscle, if you do not
use it, you lose it. And back home, there were not very many people to practice my French with.
French was put on a back burner.
Fast-forward seventeen years to 2012 when I started the MATL. I was only going to do
the program with an emphasis in Spanish. But I just could not resist the French. It was calling to
me and I started practicing it more and more. I took a couple of French courses and it occurred
to me that it would be silly for me not to have an emphasis in both languages. Therefore, I really
started practicing and studying even more and my French has definitely improved since that first
semester in the MATL.
In the ACTFL proficiency guidelines, it says that speakers at the Advanced Mid sublevel
are able to handle with ease and confidence a large number of communicative tasks. They
participate actively in most informal and some formal exchanges on a variety of concrete topics
relating to work, school, home, and leisure activities, as well as topics relating to events of
current, public, and personal interest or individual relevance. This describes my capabilities in
French to a T. I have been meeting other francophones for a few weeks now and we only speak
in French the whole time we are together. I rarely have to resort to English to get an idea across

and one of the people who meets with us, though not native, has been studying French since first
grade and I would say has at least a Superior level of speaking. It helps me to practice with him
because his accent is flawless and he can correct me if I make any mistakes.
I know for sure that my level in French is not any higher than the Advanced Mid level
because I could not even imagine trying to talk politics in French or trying to defend my point of
view on some random abstract idea. I do hope to one day achieve the Distinguished level in both
Spanish and French. The pursuit of that knowledge is quite exhilarating!