You can checking Language Proficiency of Job Applicants during interviews.
Firstly, before the interview, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of how much language proficiency is required from the candidates. Since it’s challenging to find candidates who excel in all four language skills – listening, reading, speaking, and writing. It’s necessary to clarify which skills are emphasized and in what situations language will be used. It’s also important to communicate to the candidates the specific situations where language will be used so they can assess their own capabilities.
Moreover, as understood from the above, relying solely on proficiency exams may not adequately assess conversational skills. So, how can language proficiency be assessed during interviews?
List of Three Methods:
➀ Check in which situation and with who they used the applicable language
For candidates who have experienced and used the language at work before, ask them about the situations, frequency and with whom they used the language with.
For new graduates, delve into their experiences of using the language in internships or language training programs.
➁ Speaking in the relevant language during the interview
Engage in conversation in the language of communication. If interaction with a native speaker is necessary, it’s ideal to have the candidate converse with a native speaker of that language.
As candidates often feel nervous during interviews, preventing them from demonstrating their true language proficiency, it’s crucial to create a relaxed atmosphere and conduct ice-breaking activities.
➂ Simulating real-life scenarios
Simply speaking may not exceed the realm of daily conversation like self-introduction or small talk. Hence, simulating actual business scenarios is a good approach, especially for fresh graduates or candidates with limited experience, to assess their potential.
Conduct role-plays such as:
- Telephone role-play: Assume the interviewer is a customer and make a phone call. Set scenarios like informing about changes in orders or requesting a change in appointment schedules, and engage in conversation.
- Email correspondence role-play: Convey the content you want to request via email or verbally and ask the candidate to write an email. In the case of Japanese, confirm their ability to read kanji by having them read aloud the content of the request email. Exchange emails about twice to assess their typing speed, etc. Conduct this exchange via online conferencing tools, sharing the candidate’s email screen, to confirm their typing speed.
That concludes the explanation of language exams and methods for assessing language proficiency during interviews. At Personnel Consultants, we interview candidates in English and Japanese to assess their conversational proficiency and include their level of conversation in their resumes for your reference.
Personnel Consultants has been in the business of recruiting Thai and Japanese talent for about 30 years.
Companies looking for talent, please contact us through this form Click
Email : jobs@personnelconsultant.co.th / Tel.02-2608454
