Today’s foreign/second language teachers need a wide range of information to facilitate successful learning in the communicative classroom of the 21st century. Teachers need a solid knowledge of the target language and culture, and they must also have the skills to reach all learners. Even with the current emphases on incorporating technology into the curriculum and meeting the diverse needs of all learners, language proficiency remains the core goal of foreign and second language classrooms. How do we ensure that students receive the highest quality instruction from models of the language? Language proficiency of teacher candidates is a critical issue in teacher preparedness and should remain an area of highest priority in foreign and second language teacher education programs. This research study describes the efforts of one public university’s teacher education program in identifying and assessing the oral and written language proficiency skills of its teacher candidates. This assessment process began five years ago. Preliminary results indicate that the locally-developed instrument is a helpful tool in determining the language proficiency of teacher candidates who are preparing for internships.

Language Proficiency Rubric