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Language Testing

Achieving Credentialing and Fostering Professional Development

Helping You Validate Your Skills

UniversalLanguage Service, Inc. with its history of twenty-five years serving the limited English community and its clients has established itself as a leader in the industry in In-Person, On-Demand OPI/VRI interpreting, and translation services. Now as a leader in language testing offering a series of testing options of interpreters and bilingual individuals seeking to validate their skills.

The language testing program by UniversalLanguage Service is considered both a proficiency-based and a criterion-references evaluation process. In other words, language proficiency in English and second languages as well as interpreting/translation skills are measured according to minimum competency standards determined by the nature of work involved, and by experienced practicing court interpreters/translators, social service interpreters/translators, medical interpreters, bilingual professionals in their respective fields of practice, and language specialist.

UniversalLanguage Service, Inc. recognized the importance of credentialing interpreters. It validates skill and practice, and it continues to elevate the profession. There are key reasons an interpreter must seek credentialing:

• Certified interpreters are critical in the day-to-day language needs of the limited English proficient (LEP) patient in their encounters with medical and social services providers.

• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act make it a right for LEP to have access to interpreting services and for healthcare institutions to comply by providing certified and qualified interpreters.

• Certification validates the profession, the interpreter’s practice, and skill. Thus, further benefiting institutions by not only practicing but maintaining them in compliance with the Joint Commissions, federal law, high patient satisfaction ratings, and reduce the liability of malpractice.

• Certification also serves to ensure the interpreter is recognized as the professional they are and continues to keep the interpreter engaged in the profession and their ongoing development.

Language Testing

Recognized Medical Interpreter Test

UniversalLanguage Service, Inc is a third-party tester for DSHS LTC interpreter certification and authorization program. This designation affords UniversalLanguage Service the rights to use their approved and validated Medical Interpreter Written and Medical Interpreter Oral exams to be administer to those seeking medical interpreter credentials by DSHS LTC.

Interpreters are required to take both the written and oral and then upon passing both send their score reports to and receive their DSHS LTC credentials. Their credentials are assigned as “Medical Recognized Interpreter” because they are taking a third-party testing provider exam. With these designated credentials the interpreter is given all the rights, privileges, and benefits as the “Certified Medical Interpreter” that initially tested with DSHS LTC. This new designation is to reflect the third-party test. Interpreters can visit the website at: https://www.dshs.wa.gov/office-of-the-secretary/test-information to see this designation.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TESTING PROCESS

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE CERTIFICATE

Credentialed Medical Interpreter Test

UniversalLanguage Service, Inc with their team of subject matter experts (SMEs), linguist, interpreters, and medical personnel have created a validated Credentialed Medical Interpreter Certificate. The interpreter is required to take a written and oral exam, both measure the interpreter’s skill and knowledge of the profession. The interpreter can use this as a valid proof of their skill as a medical interpreter. The exam is offered in all languages, including lesser diffusion (Swahili, Portuguese, Burmese, etc.…). This gives all interpreters the opportunity to present their certificate when going through an onboarding process for any employer, without the need of further testing.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TESTING PROCESS

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE CERTIFICATE

In addition to the Recognized Medical Interpreter Test and the Credentialed Medical Interpreter Test, UniversalLanguage Service also offers a suite of language assessments to help you validate and showcase your language skills. Our assessments include the Medical Interpreter Language Assessment, the Proficiency-Based Language Assessment, the Writing Skills Assessment, and the Spoken Language Assessment. These assessments are designed to help you demonstrate your language proficiency and stand out in a competitive industry

Language Assessments

Medical Interpreter Language Assessment

The medical interpreter language assessment is an interpreter skills-based assessment that interpreters take to show their skill and knowledge of the profession. The assessment will cover the core-competencies of interpreting and measure according to minimum competency standards determined by the nature of work involved. The interpreter can use the assessment as a validation of their practice when seeking any type of employment in the field of Medical Interpreting.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SCORE REPORT

Proficiency-Based Language Assessment

The proficiency-based assessment is for bilingual individuals, staff, candidates for hire that need to measure their bilingual skills. The proficiency-based assessment is a convenient and effective manner of measuring bilingual staff and job applicants without bias or compromising the integrity of the results and the bilingual individual. The proficiency-based assessment uses the ILR Scarel to measure the language ability of the tester. The ILR scales measure language in four communication skills; listening, reading, speaking, and writing. The assessment is comprehensive and will incorporate both written and oral items to provide a full picture of language proficiency and interpreting/translation skills

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SCORE REPORT

Writing Skills Assessment

The writing skills assessment is for individuals seeking to measure their writing skills in the target language. The assessment measures the testers’ ability to write in an effective manner in the target language. The writing skills assessment is offered in more than 80+ languages and it consist of a series of prompts that can be experienced in any setting. The prompts are designed by subject area experts to measure the writing skill level of the tester.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SCORE REPORT

Spoken Language Assessment

The spoken language assessment is the most frequently used assessment in the language testing profession. The spoken language assessment can be taken by bilingual individuals, job seekers, and companies/organizations seeking to measure and qualify their employees and future hires speaking skill in another language. The design of the assessment reflects the testers’ ability to hold a conversation in the language being tested. The design is a series of questions that build upon each other in degree of difficulty to reflect the testers fluidity, comprehension, pronunciation, grammatical structure of the responses in the language tested. The raters measure the candidate’s ability to speak the language following our scale (hyperlink here and when clicked it takes them to the scale)

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SCORE REPORT

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