Self-Reporting Language Proficiency?

[prculus]

I'm having a bit of a problem with assessing my language proficiencies (and I’ll need to be able to do this when application time is at hand in a few weeks; I'm applying to programs in Byzantine and Late Antique history). The main issue is that a good amount of my language preparation—which includes Arabic, (Attic) Greek, French, Armenian, and Syriac—has been informal, or includes withdrawals (“W’s”) from language courses.

Although I have nearly four years of Arabic study, the first year of that (elementary-level study) was informal with a tutor. The second year I undertook study of intermediate-level Arabic at an intensive summer program in the Middle East (with “B” grades), and the last two years (advanced-level Arabic) were at my home university and the Qasid Institute; I received “A” grades in these courses. Similarly, I have studied Armenian for the equivalent of one-semester, but that was also informal, this time with an Armenian Orthodox church group. I also took a French for Reading course at a nearby university, but this was also non-credit and there’s no “proof” I’ve taken the course (although I did complete a year of French prior).

As for Ancient Greek, I’ve studied the language for two years (= four semesters) and, although I made perfect A’s in the last two semesters, I had to withdraw from the intensive, 8-credit, beginning Greek summer course I took due to emergency surgery (I got all the grammar in, but had to withdraw 10 days before the end of the course).

That said, I really have no idea how to put all of this together in a statement of purpose. Is proficiency in a language just self-reported in the grad app? If so, how will the adcom be able to evaluate my self-reporting? More worrisome, how would I respond to questions about my language preparation in an interview?

Edited September 25, 2015 by prculus

[fuzzylogician]

In the statement of purpose you simply describe your experience with the language. Perhaps a brief explanation if there are many of these Ws but otherwise maybe not even. Say you had tutors, etc. Language proficiency is a tool, so you just explain what you know if and when it's relevant to what you plan to study in graduate school, and then you spend the majority of your time talking about those research interests themselves. Language knowledge is usually just a background piece you need to have in place to support those interests, and it would fit together with the other relevant parts of your background that you discuss to explain your future plans.

You give the same explanation if this comes up in an interview. Again, you concentrate on what did happen and not what didn't (so if you had a tutor instead of taking a class, you just say that. If someone wants to ask why you didn't take a class, they will. You give a short explanation--whatever it is, the schedule didn't work, you wanted to concentrate on something different than the class did, etc.). When you actually start grad school, often you will have to take a proficiency test in the languages you claim knowledge of. This could be anything from a chat with a professor to a written exam. However, it's not anything to worry about right now.