<p>As far as the common and specific college apps go, what is the standard for knowledge of a language? In my specific case, everyone in my family speaks only English, but I've studied French for six years, been to French camps, traveled in Francophone countries, received a 5 on the AP, 6 on the IB SL test, and 730 on the SAT II without listening. Is this sufficient to call myself proficient in the language, or would proficiency be something different from something gained through coursework? On an app like Harvard's, how would it be reflected in the reading/writing/speaking breakdown? </p>
<p>I feel it might be sufficient for proficiency and all the categories, but I'm not sure, and deathly afraid to make a mistake on my apps. I'd be grateful for an answer.</p>
<p>If you’re asking if you should list it on your application under languages fluent in: DON’T. I’m in a similar position. I have learned Spanish and Portuguese since I was little, and I would probably consider myself fluent in both, but don’t list French under fluent languages. Sure, six years is great and all to be proficient, but proficiency and fluency are much different and it’s hard to achieve fluency in only six years of study outside of a French speaking country.</p>
<p>Also, if you say that you are fluent in French, it will undermine all of your success with the language. They will think you have known it from birth and have spoken it at home your whole life. Colleges don’t like it when native speakers of a language take six years of their own language and take the AP exam and the SAT IIs. It just looks like you’re taking the easy way out.</p>
<p>OP, “fluent” means “fluent”, not “native”. Colleges can see your transcript. They see that you have studied the language at school. This implies that you do not speak French at home. Don’t sacrifice so easily all your achievements in such a demanding academic field as the foreign languages! If you are worried, you can ask one of your recommenders to mention that in his/her recommendation</p>
<p>Sorry, I looked at the Common App again and i saw that it asks if you’re proficient in other languages. Originally I thought it simply asked which languages you speak fluently (implying nativity).</p>
<p>^ Just FYI, “fluent” doesn’t necessarily imply you’re a native speaker. I’ve met native French people who can speak Spanish just as well as natives, native Chinese people who can speak Japanese just as well, etc. The dictionary definition of “fluency” is “the quality of being facile in speech and writing”. It has nothing to do with being a native.</p>
<p>I know the difference, it’s just that if it asks what languages are you fluent in on any college application it’s very possible that an adcom have a tendency to make an assumption that you are a native speaker, given it doesn’t ask what is/are your native language(s), just as they might believe someone named Shulin Wu is Chinese even though they didn’t report their race. </p>
<p>Again, not referring to the common app. What I’m trying to address is how an adcom could look at an application, not the difference between being native or fluent in a foreign language.</p>
<p>No. Don’t call yourself proficient. It would be better to stress your love of the language and your going above and beyond to improve your skills in your application.</p>