How to use an Arabic proficiency test during hiring

Whether your company is seeking to broaden its reach or just needs employees who can comfortably secure deals with Arabic clients, recruiting Arabic speakers is a process you must conduct with scrutiny.

Traditionally, businesses have tried using CVs to identify skilled candidates. However, CVs aren’t reliable for verifying candidates’ abilities. If you want to hire excellent Arabic speakers, trusting CVs to point you in the right direction might not be the best option.

The ideal alternative for your recruitment process is a proficiency test, which is more effective at revealing talented Arabic experts.

In this article, we will describe why, when, and how to use an Arabic proficiency test in your hiring process.

What is Arabic proficiency?

Arabic proficiency is the ability to understand not just the Arabic language but also its concepts and principles. Candidates who are proficient in Arabic can engage in professional conversations and properly adhere to the language’s various rules.

While hiring language experts, recruiters sometimes find it difficult to differentiate between language proficiency and fluency. Although this confusion is common, to find the right Arabic speakers for your company, you need to know what fluency is and how it differs from proficiency.

Arabic fluency is the ability to speak smoothly and fluidly in Arabic. An applicant doesn’t necessarily need to fully understand the concepts of the language to be fluent. On the other hand, Arabic proficiency has to do with one’s understanding of the language’s concepts, like grammar, sentence structure, and vocabulary.

A candidate can be fluent but not proficient in Arabic. Hence, during recruitment, it is crucial to check for proficiency to find the right match for the role.

Levels of Arabic proficiency

According to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) standard, proficiency in any language, including Arabic, is classified into six levels of understanding: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2.

Below are the six levels of Arabic proficiency:

Level 1: A1 (Beginner)

Candidates at the beginner level of Arabic proficiency have little understanding of the language. They can interpret simple words and phrases but find it difficult to convey information to others in Arabic.

Level 2: A2 (Elementary)

At the elementary level of proficiency, applicants have a slightly better understanding than beginners. They can interpret common expressions and simple sentences about familiar topics but can’t yet hold stable conversations.

Level 3: B1 (Lower intermediate)

Those at this level understand the main points of most familiar topics in simple conversations. They have intermediate-level knowledge of Arabic language concepts.

Level 4: B2 (Upper intermediate)

Candidates who have reached the upper-intermediate level of Arabic proficiency can read and understand complex Arabic text but are prone to errors in their comprehension. They have a relatively good understanding of Arabic language concepts and are almost fluent.

Level 5: C1 (Operational proficiency)

At this level, candidates can easily engage in professional conversations in the workplace. They have a deep understanding of Arabic language concepts and can communicate effectively in Arabic while making few mistakes in their speech.

Level 6: C2 (Expert)

Applicants at this level are considered Arabic experts. They can formulate easily understandable sentences and engage in demanding conversations. At this level, applicants have an excellent grasp of Arabic language concepts and can express their ideas fluidly, even when discussing complex subjects.

Why should you use an Arabic proficiency test while hiring?

If your business is seeking to broaden its market, excellent Arabic speakers can help you achieve that goal.

More than 400 million people speak Arabic as their mother tongue. To reach them, you need employees who can communicate with them in their native language.

With an Arabic proficiency test, you can easily identify candidates who are suitable for your available job position.

The following are other reasons why you should use Arabic proficiency tests while hiring:

• Minimize costs

• Reduce stress during recruitment

• Save time

• Prevent hiring bias

• Eliminate the risk of hiring underqualified candidates

When to use an Arabic proficiency test

Employers are starting to realize the benefits of multilingual employees, which has led to a notable increase in the demand for such employees.

Arabic proficiency tests will help you hire them before the competition, but you must know when to use the tests in your hiring process.

When hiring employees who will interact with Arabic customers, give them an Arabic proficiency test. These employees will represent your organization and will be critical to its growth. Thus, inadequate Arabic language skills are a risk you must avoid.

Additionally, the beginning of your recruitment is the best time to incorporate an Arabic language test. By doing this, you can avoid the disappointment of shortlisting a seemingly skilled candidate who turns out to lack the Arabic communication skills you need.

How to use an Arabic proficiency test while hiring

Now that you know when and why you should use Arabic proficiency tests in the recruitment process, how do you use them?

Here are the five steps to using Arabic proficiency tests:

1. Define the level of proficiency the job requires

Not all positions demand the same degree of Arabic understanding, and pairing the wrong level of Arabic proficiency with the position can lead to mis-hiring.

Therefore, before adding an Arabic proficiency test to your pre-recruitment assessment, you must define the level of proficiency the open job role requires. This involves researching the role and stating your requirements clearly in the job description.

2. Find a great testing platform 

The best testing platforms are flexible and enable you to customize your test to meet your needs. Without a good assessment platform, it could be difficult to assess your candidates properly, and you’ll be more likely to make mistakes when shortlisting them.

TestGorilla offers you different Arabic proficiency tests so that you can assess candidates based on the level of proficiency you need. Our tests are bias-free and easy to use since they provide ranked results that make grading candidates simple.

3. Build and customize the test

When building your pre-employment test, you can add your company logo and customize the color to improve the candidates’ experience while they take the test. In addition, you can add custom questions to assess the applicants thoroughly.

At this stage, you can also define the acceptable score so that you know which candidates to look more closely at. Choosing your passing score also helps you compare candidates’ results to identify those who meet your standards.

4. Add the test to your hiring assessment

Once you’ve customized the Arabic language test, you can combine it with other tests as part of a skills assessment. Consider adding cognitive skills tests, role-specific tests, and even another language test if you want to hire candidates with multilingual skills.

5. Administer the assessment to candidates

Knowing the right way and time to administer your assessment to candidates is crucial to your hiring process. If you administer the Arabic proficiency test the wrong way or at the wrong time, you could end up hiring candidates who don’t meet your standards.

Eliminate recruitment stress with TestGorilla’s Arabic proficiency tests

With our Arabic proficiency test, you don’t have to worry about the strain that normally comes with finding skilled Arabic speakers. The Arabic language test evaluates candidates’ vocabulary, grammar, sentence composition, and reading and listening comprehension.

TestGorilla’s library contains different Arabic proficiency tests that assess candidates according to the level of proficiency you need. Tests like our Arabic C1 test and Arabic B1 test can help you find expert Arabic speakers. Create a free TestGorilla account to begin.