<p>On the supplement it asks you to list any foreign languages you can read, write, or speak (to be indicated by an R,W, or S). I've taken Spanish since middle school and am currently enrolled in AP Spanish Lit. I'm very comfortable with my writing skills, and a little less so with my reading skills. As for speaking, I can speak it, but it takes a while to formulate my thoughts and I am not fluent, as in capable of having a conversation like I would in English. How should I indicate my abilities on the CommonApp? Are they looking more for native or bilingual speakers who are fluent in these skills, can someone like me, who has studied the language and done well in school classes, list Spanish? Thanks for any help!</p>
<p>I think you can make up your own rating system. So, for the facts you report, maybe </p>
<p>Spanish W comfortable, R moderate, S hesitant </p>
<p>or whatever you choose. (Maybe you would choose different adjectives.) </p>
<p>I am one of the few Americans I know who has been rating by the federal government's language-rating scale, which goes from 0 (no knowledge at all) to 5 (educated native-speaker level) in reading, writing, speaking, and understanding. To implement a rating system, one has to train a lot of raters and validate their ratings, which is ONE reason why most language courses make no attempt to rate the skills of their students. </p>
<p>Good luck in your application.</p>
<p>I don't think that's what the "languages" section is for. Your transcript will show that you have taken Spanish; the languages space is for actual fluency -- for example, a bilingual Latino student who is able to speak both Spanish and English. Or a student who is of Swiss descent whose first languages are Swiss French and English but can understand Swiss German, etc. Or, in some cases, a student may have lived in a foreign country, i.e. the Czech Republic, Portugal, whatever, for a long period of time, so he or she is additionally fluent in Czech, Portuguese, etc. </p>
<p>I just don't think they're looking for "high school" languages in that section.</p>
<p>The Harvard Supplement </p>
<p>is rather open-ended, and the language question reads </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That doesn't restrict the student's means of learning the language in any way. It is assumed the student can read English, because the form is in English and because Harvard notes that its language of instruction is English in other admission materials, but any language learned in any manner seems to be asked about in the supplement.</p>