Learn about Arabic proficiency tests
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Intro |
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| Michael: What are some common Arabic proficiency tests? |
| Nora: And how do I choose the right one for me? |
| Michael: At ArabicPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Emma is talking to Mina about how she motivates herself to study Arabic. She says, |
| "I have to take the ALPT test." |
| .ALPTيَجِبُ أَن أَحضَرَ اِختِبار الـ (yaǧibu ʾan ʾaḥḍara iḫtibār al-ـALPT.) |
| Dialogue |
| Emma Emam: .ALPTيَجِبُ أَن أَحضَرَ اِختِبار الـ (yaǧibu ʾan ʾaḥḍara iḫtibār al-ـALPT.) |
| Mina Malaak: اِختِبارُ إجادَةِ اللُغَةِ العَرَبِيَّة؟ (iḫtibāru ʾiǧādaẗi al-luġaẗi al-ʿarabiyyah?) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Emma Emam: .ALPTيَجِبُ أَن أَحضَرَ اِختِبار الـ (yaǧibu ʾan ʾaḥḍara iḫtibār al-ـALPT.) |
| Michael: "I have to take the ALPT test." |
| Mina Malaak: اِختِبارُ إجادَةِ اللُغَةِ العَرَبِيَّة؟ (iḫtibāru ʾiǧādaẗi al-luġaẗi al-ʿarabiyyah?) |
| Michael: "The Arabic Language Proficiency Test?" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: There are many reasons people learn the Arabic language, and each person definitely has their own. Perhaps, you want to live and work in an Arabic-speaking country, or maybe study in one for a few years. Regardless of what your reasons may be, obtaining a certificate is one of the best measurements of your attainment so far. And what better measurement of your fluency in the Arabic language than the ALPT, or the Arabic Language Proficiency Test? |
| Michael: The Arabic Language Proficiency Test or, |
| Nora: اِختِبارُ إجادَةِ اللُغَةِ العَرَبِيَّة (iḫtibāru ʾiǧādaẗi al-luġaẗi al-ʿarabiyyah) |
| Michael: is just one of the few standardized Arabic language proficiency tests you can take to evaluate how well you can use Arabic in real life. It’s an official exam administered by a private language school in Cairo called Arab Academy, or |
| Nora: الأَكاديمِيَّة العَرَبِيَّة (al-ʾakādīmiyyah al-ʿarabiyyah) |
| Michael: Anyone who wishes to take this exam can do so online. However, if you’re going to take the test online, you need to have a registered proctor to oversee you while you take the test. The certificate for passing this exam is accepted for both government and university purposes in any Arabic-speaking country, including several Asian and African countries. |
| Michael: In terms of structure, the ALPT consists of five sections. These are |
| Nora: القِراءَة (al-qirāʾah) |
| Michael: which is “reading,” |
| Nora: الاِستِماع (al-istimāʿ) |
| Michael: “listening,” |
| Nora: القَوَاعِد (al-qawaʿid) |
| Michael: “grammar,” |
| Nora: الكِتابَة (al-kitābah) |
| Michael: “writing,” and finally |
| Nora: المُحادَثَة(al-muḥādaṯah) |
| Michael: which is “speaking.” |
| Michael: The Reading part of the ALPT exam, or |
| Nora: القِراءَة (al-qirāʾah) |
| Michael: is designed to test your decision-making and critical-thinking skills. Meanwhile, the Listening part, or |
| Nora: الاِستِماع (al-istimāʿ) |
| Michael: is designed to test your knowledge on both academic and non-academic language. Next is the grammar part of the test, or |
| Nora: القَوَاعِد (al-qawaʿid) |
| Michael: Then, we have the Writing part of the test, or, |
| Nora: الكِتابَة (al-kitābah) |
| Michael: One advantage of taking the ALPT is that it’s computer-based, which means you won’t have to worry about hurting your hands just to make sure you have excellent Arabic penmanship! This is the part where you can take a breather. You will be given one question to answer and one hour to compose your response. |
| Michael: Keep in mind that the computer will modify the difficulty of the question based on how well you performed in the previous sections. If you did well in the reading and listening sections, the computer may ask you to write an essay regarding a complicated topic, such as ethics, for instance. For the last part of the test, which is the Speaking part, or, |
| Nora: المُحادَثَة(al-muḥādaṯah) |
| Michael: you will be having a conversation with a certified teacher via Skype. Think of it like an interview. This part of the test is fifteen minutes long, with the interviewer making sure first that you’re comfortable and that both of you are able to hear each other clearly. Afterward, they will ask you specific questions, such as your opinion about current issues. |
| Michael: The ALPT is an adaptive test, so once the interviewer notices that you’re having difficulty in giving a spontaneous and coherent answer, they will pick easier topics for the next sets of questions. |
| Michael: As mentioned, the ALPT is just one of the few recognized Arabic proficiency tests. Another similar test is the International Certificate for Arabic Language Proficiency, or |
| Nora: الشَهادَةُ الدَوْلِيَّةُ لِإتقانِ اللُغَةِ العَرَبِيَّة (al-šahādatu al-dawliyyatu liʾitqāni al-luġati al-ʿarabiyyah) |
| Michael: It is also known as CIMA. This particular exam was written by the Arab World Institute, an organization in Paris founded in 1980. The test itself was first introduced in 2018, and is available at schools and exam centers across Europe and the Middle East. The test comes in two levels, and the basic structure is similar to that of the ALPT test. |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, we had a look at two major Arabic proficiency tests, which are the |
| Nora: اِختِبارُ إجادَةِ اللُغَةِ العَرَبِيَّة (iḫtibāru ʾiǧādaẗi al-luġaẗi al-ʿarabiyyah) |
| Michael: or the Arabic Language Proficiency Test, and the |
| Nora: الشَهادَةُ الدَوْلِيَّةُ لِإتقانِ اللُغَةِ العَرَبِيَّة (al-šahādatu al-dawliyyatu liʾitqāni al-luġati al-ʿarabiyyah) |
| Michael: or the International Certificate for Arabic Language Proficiency. The websites for each of these tests will be linked in the lesson notes so you can find further information about them. Some universities or workplaces in Arab-speaking countries might ask you to take language proficiency tests other than these two, but in most cases, taking the ALPT or the CIMA is enough. |
| Both exams are about Modern Standard Arabic, or, |
| Nora: العربية الفصحى (al-ʻArabīyah al-Fuṣḥā) |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: Did you know that in France Arabic is the second most spoken language in the country after French? The country has long maintained historical ties with most of the states making up the Arab world. When the French government became aware of the lack of representation of the Arab world in their country by the end of the 1970s, they decided to found the Arab World Institute, or, |
| Nora: مَعهَدُ العالَمِ العَرَبي (maʿhadu al-ʿalami l-ʿarabī). |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Nora: !سلام (Salam!) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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