Foreign language proficiency: Toward an empirical definition

The Hypothesized Relative Contribution Model (RCM) developed by Higgs and Clifford (1982) has been considered one of the major contributions within Proficiency Movement. It basically establishes the existence of five subskill factors to global language proficiency--vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, fluency, and sociolinguistic elements--and the relative contribution of these subskills to the communicative act of each of the proficiency levels. While the Higgs and Clifford Model was substantiated by a group of CIA language teachers, there has been no similar validation of the RCM among foreign language teachers in the nongovernmental sector. The purpose of the study was to investigate how foreign language teachers presently teaching in nongovernmental institutions and who are certified oral proficiency testers rate the contribution of the five subskills or components presented in the RCM at each of the proficiency levels. Also, three different groups of foreign language teachers were studied--teachers of Spanish, teachers of French and teachers of German--for the purpose of finding out whether or not there were differences among them with regard to their perception of the relative contribution of the components. Following a small-scale pilot test conducted in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature of Purdue University, a questionnaire was mailed to a total of 274 certified oral proficiency testers nationwide, and of that number, 119 responded. The data collected was first submitted to descriptive analysis. A one-way analysis of variance repeated measures was performed for the average rankings, followed by a non-parametric test. The results revealed significant differences among the average ranking given to each of the components. These results were confirmed by the non-parametric analysis. Also the interaction group x component was not significant at all proficiency levels. The findings of the study provided further validation to the RCM. In general terms, the subjects surveyed here coincided in their perceptions of the relative importance of the five components with the groups of teachers in the validation study. The study provided evidence that the RCM is confirmed beyond the government sector. Finally, all three groups of teachers perceive the contribution of the five components in the same way