Self-Assessment for Volunteers – Is this right for me?
If you want to assess your skills before volunteering for the Language Bank, below are some resources to help you evaluate and improve your language ability.
Self-assessment tests are provided by the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR). We recommend at least a Level 2 competence level in the different areas:
TRANSLATION
INTERPRETING
Equivalences
In this table you will find the equivalences between ILR, CEFR and ACTFL
Novice High
| CEFR | ACTFL | ILR | ||
| Proficient | C2 | Distinguished | 5 | 4/4+ |
| C1 | Superior | 3+ | 3 | |
| Independent | B2 | Advanced Plus | 2+ | |
| Advanced | 2 | |||
| B1 | Intermediate High / Pre-Advanced | 1+ | ||
| Basic | A2 | Intermediate Mid | 1 | |
| Intermediate Low | ||||
| A2 | Novice High | 1 | ||
| Novice Mid | 0+ | |||
| Novice Low | ||||
Training and Tests
In this section you will find training materials and some documents that have been officially translated in different languages.
To test your translation competency, we recommend you choosing one of the texts, translating it to the best of your abilities, and then comparing it with the official translation. This will give you a good sense of your translation proficiency. Though your translation does not have to be identical, it should render the same meaning while respecting the register of the original.
For interpreting, we recommend using the sample audio practices and watching the training videos to assess your interpreting abilities.
TRANSLATION
Medical
Your Lab Tests, by the American Cancer Society
Labor
Wage and Hour Division. Publications in Spanish, Bahasa Indonesian, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, Haitian, Hindi, Hmong, Korean, Polish, Punjabi, Russian, Samoan, Somali, Tagalog, Thai, Urdu, and Vietnamese.
Science
Retail Food Protection Industry Educational Materials
INTERPRETING
Here you will find some resources for practicing and self-assessing your interpreting skills:
- Legal: Sample audio practice samples for Spanish
- Social and Health Services: Sample audio practice samples and Study Booklets for Medical Interpreters and Social Service Interpreters for Chinese-Cantonese, Chinese-Mandarin, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese)
- Interpreting in the Social Services Environment, by WashingtonStateDSHS
- Interpreting in the Medical Setting, by WashingtonStateDSHS
