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Second language evaluation: Oral Language Assessment (booked via the Candidate Assessment Tool)

The Oral Language Assessment was developed by the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) to help departments and agencies staff bilingual positions. It assesses your ability to communicate orally in your second official language (French or English). A second language assessor certified by the PSC administers this test, which includes questions about work-related situations. If you’re not currently employed, you may be asked about studies or volunteer activities.

Schedule a test

If you’ve received an invitation from a federal department or agency to book a test session, please consult the Candidate Assessment Tool. There you’ll find information about the platform, including how to set up your account, how to request assessment accommodation, how to reserve a test session and more.

Format

The test is administered remotely over the internet using the Microsoft Teams (MS Teams) video conferencing platform and lasts 20 to 40 minutes (including pre-test instructions). The test will be administered with the camera on, which means that you and the assessor will use the video function in MS Teams throughout the test.

You don’t need to be in a government office to take this test. You should, however, arrange to be alone in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for the duration of the test. You cannot take the test in a cubicle or open workspace.  

Structure of the test
  • Your assessor will guide you throughout the test
    • no special preparation is required
    • answer the questions to the best of your ability
  • Your assessor will ask you questions designed to allow you to demonstrate your level of proficiency
  • The test gets increasingly difficult:
    • it starts with simple questions about your work or other familiar activities; your answers allow the assessor to determine whether you demonstrate A-level skills
    • the test then progresses to questions designed to allow you to demonstrate B-level and then C-level skills, as defined by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s Qualification Standards in Relation to Official Languages
  • The assessor uses your responses to assess your ability to communicate clearly in your second official language
    • They will determine which questions to ask and when they have enough information to evaluate your performance
    • As a result, they may redirect you before you feel that you’ve said all you can on a particular topic
  • Things that won’t affect your rating:
    • losing your train of thought when speaking; if this happens, let the assessor know and they’ll help you get back on track
    • not knowing the answer to a question, or feeling that a topic is sensitive for personal or confidential reasons; if this is the case, let the assessor know, and they’ll move on to another topic or question
    • taking a brief pause to think about what you’d like to say before answering questions (this should not interrupt the flow of communication)
    • making mistakes
      • don’t be overly worried about making mistakes
      • if you can’t think of a word, use a simple substitute to explain the meaning
      • if you’re aware that you’re making mistakes and would feel better if you corrected them, go ahead and do so, but remember that frequent corrections may disrupt the flow of communication

Taking notes
  • Please ensure you have the equipment or materials you need (for example, a pen or pencil and notepad) to take notes during the test as a memory aid or to organize your thoughts
  • Your notes should be limited to jotting down ideas or key words to ensure the flow of communication is not disrupted
  • Since the test content is protected, you must destroy your notes after the test

Protecting test integrity

As a test taker, you play a crucial role in protecting the integrity of the test. Before taking the test, you must read, understand and accept the terms of use.

To learn more about how the Public Service Commission ensures its testing is reliable, valid and fair, visit the Test integrity web page.

Second official language oral proficiency levels and evaluation

The criteria for oral proficiency are defined by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s Qualification Standards in Relation to Official Languages.

Your final result is a global evaluation of your performance on language tasks in a variety of work-related contexts, with the appropriate level of accuracy. The level you receive is based on your sustained performance throughout the test. Based on that performance, you can get:

  • level A, B or C
  • an X (your performance does not meet the minimum requirements for level A)
  • an E (your performance indicates that you can be expected to maintain proficiency at the C level indefinitely, and you’ll receive an indefinite exemption from further testing).
Level A Level B Level C
Understands most speech that deals with concrete and routine topics and is delivered slowly and clearly in standard speech Understands the main points of clear standard speech that deals with concrete, work-related topics and is delivered at normal speed Understands linguistically complex speech that deals with work-related topics and is spoken in standard dialect at normal speed

A person speaking at this level can:

  • make themselves understood in short contributions, even though pauses and false starts are very evident
  • talk about everyday aspects of routine activities
  • handle a simple question-and-answer exchange

A person speaking at this level can:

  • give a simple description of a concrete topic
  • explain main points comprehensibly
  • compare and discuss alternatives when complications arise
  • speak with some spontaneity, although pauses for grammatical and lexical planning and repair are evident in longer stretches

A person speaking at this level can:

  • give clear, detailed descriptions of complex topics
  • summarize a discussion
  • express and sustain opinions
  • respond to complex and hypothetical questions
A person speaking at this level:
  • has sufficient basic vocabulary and grammatical structures to conduct routine transactions involving familiar situations and topics
  • uses structures and vocabulary borrowed from another language which can interfere with the clarity of the message
  • has a pronunciation that requires close attention from the listener, but there are no long stretches that are unclear

A person speaking at this level:

  • has sufficient vocabulary and a variety of simple grammatical structures to handle concrete, non-routine situations and topics and can link a series of simple elements into a connected sequence when giving a factual description
  • may be miscommunicating in some areas, but most stretches are clear
  • has a pronunciation that is generally clear enough to be understood, despite an evident accent from another language
  • will, at times, be asked by the listener to repeat or clarify

A person speaking at this level:

  • has a fairly natural and even delivery, with occasional hesitations, but most hesitations are for ideas
  • has a broad range of vocabulary and structures when talking about complex and abstract topics, with a relatively high degree of control
  • makes errors, but these rarely lead to misunderstanding
  • has a pronunciation that is clear, even if an accent from another language is noticeable
  • has occasional mispronunciations but they rarely interfere with communication

Test result

The test centre will send your result to you and the contact person in the department or agency that requested your test within 5 business days of your test date. If you don’t receive your result when expected, please follow up with the contact person.

Your test result is:

  • valid only if the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) is fully satisfied that you have complied with test conditions (please consult the terms of use)
  • valid for 5 years, provided the 30-day retest period has been respected
  • valid for an indefinite period, if you remain in the same position, provided that the linguistic profile of the position is not raised above your skill level while you’re in this position
  • portable: you can use it when applying to other bilingual positions across the federal public service

If you take the test, and the result is valid, your new result will replace any previous oral test results recorded by the PSC.

The manager may request that you be reassessed at any time before or after making an appointment if there are concerns about your proficiency level, or to respect departmental policies on updating expired test results.

Feedback

Feedback report

When your official result is sent out, a feedback report will follow and will be sent directly to you. The report is general in nature and indicates your overall performance; it is not a diagnostic tool.

Feedback session

Feedback sessions offer test takers more information about their most recent Oral Language Assessment performance. The sessions last approximately 1 hour on the MS Teams platform and are delivered by a quality assurance consultant after review of the linguistic performance. This service is available for test takers who meet both these conditions:

  1. have taken the Oral Language Assessment at least twice without having obtained the desired result, and
  2. have taken the most recent test within 8 weeks of the request for feedback

It is strongly recommended that test takers be accompanied by a pedagogical advisor or teacher who can interpret the feedback delivered by the quality assurance consultant. 

As this service is available on a cost-recovery basis, those requesting this service must have their manager’s approval. Consult the price list for more information. Requests for services will be accepted only from federal departments and agencies. Due to limited capacity, we may prioritize or restrict the number of requests that we accept. For more information, or to request a feedback session, send an email to cfp.tco-cq-qc-top.psc@cfp-psc.gc.ca.

Preparing for the test

Assessment accommodation

If you think you need assessment accommodation to fully demonstrate your abilities, you can request them directly in the Candidate Assessment Tool as soon as you receive an invitation to reserve a test session.

Before the test
  • After selecting the date and time of your test, you’ll receive an email confirmation, and another email with the test date and time as well as the MS Teams link
  • If you have trouble finding these emails in your inbox, please check your junk mail or spam folder
  • You can also find the MS Teams link in your Candidate Assessment Tool account under “Manage Reservations”
  • If your test is cancelled, you’ll receive an email notification of the change
    • You can then re-use the reservation code to reserve another test session, and you’ll receive an email with a new MS Teams link

Test day checklist
  • If you’re a federal government employee, be ready to provide your personal record identifier (PRI). If you don’t have a PRI, you’ll be asked to provide your date of birth for identification and record-keeping purposes.
  • At the scheduled start time of the test, make sure you have 2 pieces of valid original photo identification, at least one of which must be government-issued, so that the assessor can confirm your identity by web camera on MS Teams (a copy or a photo of the identification document will not be accepted).
  • Arrange to be alone in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for the duration of the test and where your exchanges with the assessor cannot be overheard or recorded. You cannot take the test in a cubicle or open workspace.
  • To protect your privacy during the test, position the device you’ll be using so the environment visible behind you is neutral and free of personal items. You may want to move personal items out of sight or sit with your back to an empty wall. Before the test, make sure you aren’t using a blurred or virtual background; they are not permitted, as they can affect test security.
  • Handwritten, printed or electronic resources are not permitted during the test. This includes any notes prepared in advance, translation tools, artificial intelligence software or live captions.
  • The use of adaptative technology must be preapproved by the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) as part of an accommodation.
  • Maintaining the integrity of the testing process is important. Your result on the test will only be valid if the PSC is fully satisfied that you’ve complied with these conditions. The PSC may terminate your test early, invalidate your test result and impose enhanced security conditions on your next assessment if it is not satisfied that the test conditions and terms of use were respected.
  • Check the MS Teams link you received before the test date to make sure you can connect and familiarize yourself with the available audio and video options to ensure the test runs smoothly.
  • If you’re using a smartphone or a tablet to connect to the meeting, be sure to download the MS Teams mobile application before the day of your test and use it to join the meeting.
  • If you’re using your computer to connect to the meeting, you’ll need to use a compatible browser (Microsoft Edge, Firefox or Google Chrome) or download the MS Teams desktop application.
  • Connect to the MS Teams meeting link at least 10 minutes before the scheduled start time of the test to ensure you have access to the virtual waiting room. The assessor will be notified of your presence and will admit you to the test at the scheduled time.
  • If, at the scheduled test time, you can’t connect to the meeting for any reason, the assessor will try to call you at the phone number you provided when booking your test session. Please note, the assessor can only provide basic advice to help you connect to MS Teams and won’t be able to help you resolve complex technical issues. For this reason, please be sure to test the meeting link well in advance to ensure you can connect to the meeting using the same electronic device you intend to use during the test.
  • The assessor will verify your identity and go over the conditions of the test as well as the terms of use in your first official language. Once you’ve agreed to the test conditions, the assessor will provide general information about the test in the official language of your choice. As soon as you begin the test, the assessor will communicate with you only in the language that will be assessed.
  • If you feel unwell before or during the test, and this could interfere with your performance, inform the assessor and they will end the test. If you choose to continue, you’ll have to accept your test result.
  • If there are any distractions around you or if you experience technical difficulties during the test, let the assessor know. Otherwise, you’ll have to accept your test result.

Retest period

There is a 30-day waiting period before you can retake this test. If you retake the test before the retest period is over, your result will not be valid, and you’ll have to wait another 30 calendar days to retake the test and receive a new valid result.

Privacy notice statement

Personal information is used to provide assessment services to clients of the Personnel Psychology Centre. It is collected for staffing-related purposes, in accordance with sections 11, 30 and 36 of the Public Service Employment Act. For departments and agencies not subject to this act, personal information is collected under the authority of the department or agency’s enabling statute and section 35 of the Public Service Employment Act. Second language evaluation results will be disclosed to authorized departmental officials. Results of all other tests will be disclosed only to the requesting department or agency. Test results may be disclosed to the Investigations Directorate of the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) if an investigation is conducted pursuant to section 66 or 69 of the Public Service Employment Act. Your information may also be used for statistical and analytical research purposes. In some cases, information may be disclosed without your consent, pursuant to subsection 8(2) of the Privacy Act. Providing your personal information is voluntary, but if you choose not to provide your information, you may not be able to receive Personnel Psychology Centre services.

The information is collected and used as described in the Personnel Psychology Centre’s (PSC PCU 025) Personal Information Bank.

You have the right to access and correct your personal information, and to request corrections where you believe there is an error or omission. You also have the right to file a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada about the handling of your personal information.

Recording of the test

Your test will be recorded by the Public Service Commission of Canada for administrative purposes. The content of the recording is protected under the Privacy Act, and the recording will be kept for 2 years. No other recording of your test is permitted.

Terms of use

General

This is an agreement between you and the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) for your participation in the Oral Language Assessment.

To proceed with scheduling, you must agree to these terms of use without limitation or qualification and confirm your agreement in the Candidate Assessment Tool (CAT).

If the PSC has reason to doubt the validity of your test result or your compliance with these terms of use, you may need to be reassessed at a later date.

Definitions

Test content: the test questions, answers provided by candidates in response to test questions, and all related information including notes, descriptions or recordings.

Acceptable use

Access and use of the test is provided solely to:

  • allow you to demonstrate your ability with respect to the qualification being assessed, while complying with standardized testing conditions
  • allow you to respond to the test questions in good faith and to the best of your ability, while complying with the instructions that you’ll receive before taking the test

Prohibited use

Apart from the acceptable use outlined above, all other uses are prohibited.

Some examples of prohibited use include:

  • recording the test using any means, including devices or software
  • reproducing or collecting, transmitting or broadcasting any content or information from the test
  • retaining test content, in any form, following completion of the test
  • completing the test with assistance from other people or other resources (notes prepared before the test, books, dictionaries, glossaries in print or electronic format, websites, translation tools in print or electronic format, tools or software using artificial intelligence, social media, live captions)
  • sharing or discussing in any medium any content or information from the test with others, which includes any notes taken during the test
  • misusing information to selectively advantage or disadvantage you or any other candidate or potential candidate in a federal public service appointment process
  • using the test content for commercial gain in any form
  • using the test to further any activity that may be unlawful, misleading or malicious
  • facilitating or encouraging any violation of these terms of use

Security

All test content is copyrighted material of the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) and is designated “Protected B.”

The PSC has implemented security measures to ensure the protection and confidentiality of the information provided by you and to ensure that your electronic test session is secure. However, it is your obligation to respect the following:

  • access to the test content is provided for your sole personal use (see the Acceptable use section)
  • do not record the test, in whole or in part, in any form
  • at all times during the test, you must be alone in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed and where your exchanges with the assessor cannot be overheard or recorded
  • you cannot take the test in a cubicle or open workspace
  • you must take the test in a neutral environment free of personal items; background effects or virtual backgrounds in MS Teams are not permitted
  • immediately notify the assessor or the Personnel Psychology Centre (cfp.cpp-ppc.psc@cfp-psc.gc.ca) of any breach or possible breach of security

Intellectual property rights

The permission for non-commercial reproduction in the “Important Notices” found on the Public Service Commission of Canada’s (PSC) publicly accessible web pages does not apply to the test. It is replaced by the following:

  • all content in the test is copyrighted material of the PSC
  • you may access and use the test solely for the purposes set out in the Acceptable use section above
  • you may not copy, reproduce, translate, distribute or disseminate the content of the test, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means

Ensuring the integrity of the testing process

The Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) reserves the right, at its discretion, to take any actions it deems necessary to ensure that it renders test results that are reliable, valid and fair.

Such actions may be taken if there are irregularities observed with your test, or if the PSC has reason to doubt whether these terms of use were respected and whether standardized testing conditions were in place.

Possible actions include ending your test session early, suspending or invalidating your test result, and imposing conditions intended to increase the security of future testing (for example: requiring in-person testing).

The PSC may also take actions in the context of an audit of its testing program. In this context, your test result may be invalidated or suspended pending a retest under controlled conditions with enhanced security (for example, in-person testing).

The department that ordered your test may be notified of any actions taken by the PSC related to your test, and will be responsible for sharing the notification with you.

If you have questions or concerns about actions related to your test, please contact the PSC’s Personnel Psychology Centre at cfp.cpp-ppc.psc@cfp-psc.gc.ca.

Consequences of a breach of terms of use

If you breach these terms of use, the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) reserves the right to pursue any legal remedy and to take action against you, which could include suspending your test results, terminating your employment application, or claiming for copyright infringement and breach of confidence.

Parties involved in improperly retaining, disclosing or using PSC test content, including the content of this test, may be the subject of an investigation under the Public Service Employment Act, where a finding of fraud may be referred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

All test content is designated “Protected B.” Any unauthorized reproduction, recording or disclosure of test content is in contravention of the Government Security Policy and may be the subject of an investigation under that policy.

Suspected cheating will be referred to appropriate authorities, such as the PSC’s Investigations Directorate or officials with the department or agency that ordered your assessment. As a result, it may be the subject of an investigation under the Public Service Employment Act, where a finding of fraud may be referred to the RCMP.

Recourse mechanisms

Rescore

You can ask for a rescore if you have concerns that your test result doesn’t reflect your performance during the test. A rescore is the process whereby an assessor other than the one who administered the test listens to the audio recording of the test and rates the linguistic performance without knowing the result originally granted. If the second rater disagrees with the original result assigned, the quality assurance unit for the assessment makes the final decision on the result of the performance.

Please note that after a rescore, the new result (whether it is higher, lower or identical), becomes the valid and official result entered in the test results system.

You must begin the rescore request, in writing, within 10 business days after the results were sent to the department or agency that requested the test, through the departmental human resources officer who invited you to take the test.

Complaint

You may file a complaint if you believe that the test was not administered under favourable conditions. To request a retest due to unfavourable testing conditions, send an email to cfp.tco-cq-qc-top.psc@cfp-psc.gc.ca. This will be forwarded to the manager of the Oral Language Assessment Quality Assurance unit for action.

If you have concerns about the actions the Public Service Commission has taken to protect the integrity of its testing program, consult the Test integrity web page to learn what options are available to you.

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