Canada's Point System: Fluency in English or French

here is the 3rd installment on my article on canada's point system.

as i've said in my previous post, your fluency in english or french will give you a maximum of 24 points. this will be based on your ability to speak, read, write and listen in english and french.

if you are able to communicate in both english and french, you have to decide which between the two languages you are more comfortable with. if you are more comfortable in english than french, then english would be your first official language and french would be your second official language.


claiming proficiencies in these languages isn't enough. you must also provide proof of your level of proficiency. you can do this by either taking a language test or by providing a written proof of your proficiency in these languages. more on this next time.

to help you assess your proficiency level, below are the descriptions for each skill level and their respective points. please remember to assess your speaking, reading, listening and writing skills separately. it is possible that you may have a high proficiency level for listening but moderate proficiency level for writing.

high: you can communicate effectively in most social and work situations.

first language
speaking - 4 points
reading - 4 points
listening - 4 points
writing - 4 points

second language
speaking - 2 points
reading - 2 points
listening - 2 points
writing - 2 points

moderate: you can communicate comfortably in familiar social and work situations.

first language
speaking - 2 points
reading - 2 points
listening - 2 points
writing - 2 points

second language
speaking - 2 points
reading - 2 points
listening - 2 points
writing - 2 points

basic: you can communicate in predictable contexts and on familiar topics, but with some difficulty. note that you can only have a maximum of 2 points for this proficiency level.

first language
speaking - 1 point
reading - 1 point
listening - 1 point
writing - 1 point

second language
speaking - 1 point
reading - 1 point
listening - 1 point
writing - 1 point

no: you do not meet the above criteria for basic proficiency.

first language
speaking - 0 points
reading - 0 points
listening - 0 points
writing - 0 points

second language
speaking - 0 points
reading - 0 points
listening - 0 points
writing - 0 points

if you want to take the complete assessment, click here.