UN Language Exams

Recognition of language skills and assessment is not only at the core of career development for a multitalented, flexible workforce - it is also vital to a multilingual environment for attracting talent to the Organization.

The UN levels indicate proficiency stages in any of the six official languages in personal, public and professional contexts related to the UN.

The UN Language Framework and UN Levels of Language Competence ensure:

consistency in standards across languages (learning)
validity in language assessments (career development and recruitment)
equal treatment of languages (respect for diversity)

UN Language Proficiency Examination

The UN Language Proficiency Examination (LPE) was established by ST/SGB/2023/2 in the six UN official languages, administered online and accessible from anywhere in the world. Every year, listening, reading, speaking and writing are assessed at the UN Level III-Advanced in each language: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish.

The Language Proficiency Examination is administered in accordance with the Administrative Instruction on Language Proficiency and Language Allowance ST/AI/2021/1, and is in line with the United Nations Language Framework. Further details on the administration and management can be consulted at the Language Proficiency Examination page. It includes the exam edition timeline, application process, eligibility criteria, list of participating centres and a contact email for enquiries.

The CDOTS Language and Communications Training Unit is tasked with the yearly creation of the exams and grading of the production and interaction sections.

We also ensure that language instructors and candidates across the UN system can be equally knowledgeable about the exam sections, scope and language range expected. We offer them access to downloadable Practice Exams and the possibility to register at no cost to any of the six LPE Online Preparation Courses for exam orientation.

Placement Tests

Placement tests are specifically designed to determine the best-suited language course for a potential learner based on distinct characteristics: class duration and frequency, skill-specific or general course, etc. The different Secretariat language programmes typically offer a placement test that is designed to place prospective students into the most suitable course within their programme offering.

The CDOTS Language and Communications Training Unit offers convenient online placement tests, open year-round, allowing eligible participants to register for a course best suited to them in the following programmes:

Language and Communications Skills courses that are offered by term to participants based in New York and to global participants
Self-study courses that are offered year-round

Participants in the Online Language Learning Licenses Programme take the placement test specified by the license provider for each language.

Language Skills Assessment

The CDOTS Language and Communications Unit is committed to engage in innovations aiming to improve how staff can assess language skills and provide support to Secretariat language programmes to harmonize language learning and assessment across, in alignment with the UN Levels and UN Language Framework.

We recently initiated work towards a global language skills assessment initiative for staff members to validate their self-assessed UN level by doing an adaptive online test. The project first phase results are expected by the end of 2024.