Code and Communication: How to Assess English Proficiency in Developers

Software developers come from every corner of the world. Global perspectives contribute to innovative problem-solving and versatile approaches—key qualities for delivering successful projects. But when you’re working with developers from other countries where English is not the first language, it’s essential to ensure that they have strong English proficiency.

English skills contribute to smoother project management and effective communication and collaboration. Team members are better equipped to work with English-speaking peers and stakeholders. And when developers in different countries share a common language, there’s less confusion and greater productivity—as well as increased profitability.

Why Assess English Language Skills in Software Developers?

When you’re recruiting developers, your foremost consideration is technical skills. However, soft skills like communication and collaboration are equally important. To communicate and collaborate with team members, clients, and stakeholders, you need a common language. Given that English is the most widely spoken language in the world, it’s the natural choice. 

Working with developers who are proficient in English enables global collaboration. Plus, it’s integral to many technical facets of the job. Many programming languages are English-based, and it’s the primary language for code comments and technical documentation. 

Having a high English proficiency is advantageous for developers as well as those who employ them. It allows them to access global resources, learn from other developers, and land better jobs where the demand is high. Even if a developer is working in their home country with team members who speak their native language, the probability that they will need to communicate in English at some point in their careers is high. 

Key Aspects of English Proficiency to Evaluate

English language skills are multifaceted. Key areas of competency for software engineers include: 

• Reading: The ability to understand emails, messages, technical documentation, and code comments
• Writing: Skills in writing emails, messages, documentation, and code comments
• Listening: An understanding of verbal cues, discussions, and instructions during meetings, calls, and chats
• Speaking: The ability to express thoughts and ideas clearly and concisely in meetings, presentations, and other scenarios. 

These are all essential English language and communication skills for engineers, no matter what their role or employer.

How to Assess Software Developer English Skills

It’s important to administer different types of tests to evaluate English proficiency and its various facets. The following are examples of methods you can use. 

Written Tests

Written tests evaluate reading comprehension and writing competencies. When administering tests, you can assess not only English language skills but also technical and collaboration skills. 

For example, you could ask a software developer candidate to create a short piece of technical documentation. This exercise will give you greater insight into the candidate’s ability to articulate themselves in English and explain technical concepts clearly and concisely. 

Similarly, administering code commenting exercises—providing a short piece of code and asking the developer to comment on it—helps you gauge the developer’s language skills and ability to provide feedback to peers.

Of course, software developers are tasked with writing emails or Slack messages practically every day. To ensure a candidate can communicate effectively, provide a realistic scenario, such as responding to a message from a stakeholder. Have the developer draft a short response demonstrating that they have understood the message and can respond clearly.

In all of these assessments, you should provide realistic scenarios that software developers likely encounter on the job. Use industry language so you can evaluate their abilities in context. 

Oral Assessments

Most developers will be communicating verbally as well, even if they live in other countries. You and other stakeholders will have videoconferencing meetings and check-ins, making it necessary to administer spoken assessments to evaluate speaking and listening skills.

Using a blend of technical and day-to-day language, you can assess different aspects of the developers’ English language communication skills. This helps ensure that the candidate can explain complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and clients.

The most straightforward means of conducting an oral assessment is via a simple interview, where you can ask a combination of technical and non-technical questions. Group discussions are another way to assess English proficiency, as well as interaction, collaboration, and communication skills. In addition (or alternatively), consider having the software developer deliver a short presentation on a technical topic of their choice. This is also helpful for evaluating public speaking skills.

Online English Proficiency Tests

English proficiency testing is easier today given the abundance of online assessments available. Some more popular tests, frequently used for both academic and professional contexts, include:

• International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
• Test Of English As A Foreign Language (TOEFL)
• Duolingo English Test

These tests offer a standardized and objective means of gauging English proficiency. It’s also relatively easy to administer them.

One drawback of these tests is that they don’t necessarily focus on English language communication in tech specifically. In order to ensure that the developer has a high level of general English proficiency and articulates technical concepts well, using a combination of these methods, such as online and oral tests, is the best approach.

Peer Reviews and Feedback

Research shows that peer feedback can contribute to gains in language proficiency, particularly for givers of feedback. By pairing developers for code review sessions and general communication (writing emails, speaking, etc.), team members can assess one another’s skills and deliver feedback. You can collect this feedback and give the developer an overall assessment and ways to improve their skills.

This can be used as a means of evaluation during the hiring process. For example, you might have a candidate meet with existing team members to evaluate their English skills in a real-world context. It’s also useful for coaching existing employees, helping them continue practicing and improving their English proficiency.

AI-Based Tools for Language Assessment

AI-based language tools are useful. However, they are not a replacement for English proficiency tests.

Grammarly, for example, delivers real-time feedback on writing. The platform corrects grammar, spelling, and punctuation and also provides guidance on sentence restructuring, word synonyms, and style. Hemingway Editor assists writers with conciseness and clarity. It also evaluates tone and style.

These and other AI-based tools help developers enhance their writing and continue to refine their skills. When you use them in combination with other forms of English proficiency testing, you can assess the developer’s responsiveness to the tools’ feedback and better gauge their language abilities.

Best Practices for Evaluating English Skills

Create a Consistent Evaluation Framework

To ensure fairness when evaluating English language skills, administer the same assessments to all candidates for a particular position. If certain roles require a higher degree of proficiency than others, then you may use more complex frameworks for these positions. However, it’s important for the playing field to be level for the same role to ensure fairness.

Include Multiple Methods of Assessment

The best English language assessments encompass a variety of methods of testing. When you use a combination of spoken, written, online, and peer review testing approaches, you can get a better sense of the developer’s reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills in context.

Don’t underestimate natural conversation, either. Simple interviews are one of the most effective ways to observe English-speaking skills firsthand. That’s why we use record video interviews as part of our communication screenings. 

Provide Feedback and Support

Language learning is an ongoing process. Support ESL developers who are already on your team by offering constructive feedback and resources to improve their skills. Digital resources for English language learners are widely available from the New York Public Library (NYPL), Open Education Database (OEDb), BBC Learning English, and platforms like Duolingo (free version available).

Employ Cultural Sensitivity

When evaluating English competency, be mindful of cultural differences in communication styles and expression. Remember that members of various cultures express themselves in diverse ways. 

One way to ensure that developers are engaged in the material and are being assessed in their cultural context is to incorporate scenarios from different cultures into testing materials. For example, present relevant examples from around the world. Integrating culture into assessment and learning environments helps enhance inclusivity and reduce bias.

Ensuring English Proficiency for Global Developers

English proficiency is a must for software developers and employers. It allows you, the business, to create a diverse team with robust technical and soft skills and ensures seamless communication. It also helps boost team cohesion.

To ensure that you continuously deliver exemplary results, emphasize continuous learning and improvement in your developers and team members. Doing so will help foster stronger collaboration and performance. 

English proficiency screening is a core part of our vetting process at Terminal. We ensure that all our tech talent can communicate seamlessly with your in-house team for a smooth development process.