HTLAL - Self Assessment Test (General discussion) Language Learning Forum

HTLAL - Self Assessment Test
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Language Learning Forum : General discussion

22 messages over 3 pages: 1 2 3

reineke
Senior Member
United States
https://learnalangua
Joined 6448 days ago
851 posts - 1008 votes

Studies: German

Message 17 of 22

30 November 2012 at 10:37pm | IP Logged

Julie wrote:

@Reineke

Generally, I agree with you (it is easier to learn a language, people tend to
overestimate their skills after a short study etc.). Still, I haven't experienced such a strong effect of this kind in other assessment tests (and Portuguese wasn't the only 'unknown' language I tested). I don't remember the details but I achieved pretty good
results not only in the reading comprehension part (which could have been expected) but also in the other components. I had no exposure to Portuguese whatsoever and my Spanish wasn't really that good.

I have not studied any Spanish either but I can follow tv programs and read whole chunks of books. You were exposed to two Romance languages. It has been my experience that people who have peered into a language group from the outside will do better than many native speakers of a single language trying to learn another related language. At first at least. Dialang results reflect individual language skills - that's why it's a good tool - and I am pretty sure you would quickly do well in an A2-B1 environment.

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Serpent
Octoglot
Senior Member
Russian Federation
serpent-849.livejour
Joined 6598 days ago
9753 posts - 15779 votes

4 sounds
Speaks: Russian*, English, Finnish^C1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish

Message 18 of 22

30 November 2012 at 10:44pm | IP Logged

@ Julie, Reineke
another factor to keep in mind is how easy the test is for you. E.g. if you have to think hard about every question to pass an A2 test, you're probably not A2 yet. Julie, did you really breeze through the Portuguese one or did you geekily examine the fascinating stuff? It's normal for a language nerd to pass tests this way:)
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Julie
Heptaglot
Senior Member
PolandRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 6904 days ago
1251 posts - 1733 votes

5 sounds
Speaks: Polish*, English^B2, German^C2, Spanish^B2, Dutch, Swedish, French

Message 19 of 22

30 November 2012 at 11:53pm | IP Logged

Serpent wrote:

Julie, did you really breeze through the Portuguese one or did you
geekily examine the fascinating stuff? It's normal for a language nerd to pass tests
this
way:)

Good point about how 'hard' the test actually is!

I don't remember the Portuguese one that well, you might be right about using all the
geek strategies ;). And as a language nerd that I am I generally perform too well on
tests (A1-B1) anyway, which is actually not very practical if it is a placement rest
and I want to be placed in the right group.

Edited by Julie on 30 November 2012 at 11:56pm
1 person has voted this message useful

Zireael
Triglot
Senior Member
Poland
Joined 4652 days ago
518 posts - 636 votes

Speaks: Polish*, English^B2, Spanish
Studies: German, Sign Language, Tok Pisin, Arabic (Yemeni), Old English

Message 20 of 22

24 March 2013 at 4:28pm | IP Logged

Performing too well happened to me too - I got placed in B1 last year at uni for the Spanish class and I really struggled for most of the year, as I was just A2 level or thereabouts...

Tangentially related - can someone explain what's the difference between "speaking"/
"learning" here on HTLAL?
1 person has voted this message useful

Arekkusu
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Senior Member
Canada
bit.ly/qc_10_lec
Joined 5382 days ago
3971 posts - 7747 votes

Speaks: English, French*, German^C1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto
Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian

Message 21 of 22

24 March 2013 at 5:30pm | IP Logged

emk wrote:

For a general test, the old
Checklist.pdf">self assessment checklist from the Council of Europe is actually
pretty good. Even if you answer a bit optimistically, it corresponds pretty well to
what's required by the CEFRL exams.

I agree; looking at the descriptions on your own to assess your level may be an
inaccurate, if not biased, way to evaluate yourself, but it's nevertheless unlikely
that anyone should overshoot their level by more than a single step up.

If someone comes and claims to be C1 from their own estimation, I immediately suspect
they are either B2 or C1, which is good enough for the purpose of the forum. I myself
have overestimated my own level because I relied on how someone evaluated me on one
specific skill, only to realize that my other skills in the language were weaker, but
still only by one step. It's still a good enough tool that requires no additional work.

Edited by Arekkusu on 24 March 2013 at 5:30pm
1 person has voted this message useful

Serpent
Octoglot
Senior Member
Russian Federation
serpent-849.livejour
Joined 6598 days ago
9753 posts - 15779 votes

Message 22 of 22

24 March 2013 at 6:00pm | IP Logged

Zireael wrote:

Tangentially related - can someone explain what's the difference between "speaking"/"learning" here on HTLAL?

If you list a language as native, advanced fluency or basic fluency, it is on your Speaks list. If you're a beginner or intermediate learner (AND list the language at least as "studying on and off" - just flirting won't count), it's on your Studies list.
Those who haven't yet filled their profiles sometimes expect everyone to be super-duper-mega fluent in the languages they list as Speaks.

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