Learning a language is very different than learning content areas. In order to determine success with language, language teachers must ascertain the proficiency levels of their students. Many often confuse proficiency with performance or achievement. Quite simply put, proficiency is the ability to use language in a real-world situation. Performance is the ability to use language in a limited and controlled situation such as a classroom or controlled situation-based exchange, and Achievement is the ability to repeat language elements that have been taught and mastered at some level. Each of these areas, proficiency, performance, and achievement has a role in language learning, but only proficiency is what people use to communicate in the real world. In language learning, proficiency is the KEY. It allows us to know what students can do with the language in spontaneous, unrehearsed, real life situations.
ACTFL, the American Council for Teachers of Foreign Language, is the national organization that has defined language proficiency for K - 12 settings. More information regarding ACTFL and proficiency can be found on the ACTFL website: https://www.actfl.org/publications/guidelines-and-manuals/actfl-proficiency-guidelines-2012
DLI and world language programs often have establish Proficiency Targets in all four skills: listening, reading, speaking, and writing. These targets assist teachers in creating an instructional focus and establishing expectations for student output. Because there are many factors that influence language acquisition, not all students are expected to attain the targets in all four skills.