NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements

The NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements are a set of learner-facing performance descriptors jointly developed by the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. They translate the abstract bands of the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines into "I can…" statements that learners use to set goals and track progress, and that teachers use to write communicative learning targets at the curriculum, unit, and lesson level.

The statements are organised around the three modes of communication from the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages: Interpretive Communication (understanding what is heard, read, or viewed), Interpersonal Communication (negotiating meaning in two-way spoken, signed, or written exchanges), and Presentational Communication (one-way production for an audience). Each mode is mapped across the five major proficiency levels — Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Superior, Distinguished — with sub-levels that mark incremental gains.

Use in curriculum and assessment

For programme designers, the descriptors operate as a backward-design spine: outcomes are stated as observable performances ("I can ask and answer simple questions about familiar topics"), which then drive task design and rubric writing. For learners, the same descriptors function as a self-assessment tool, often paired with a portfolio of evidence demonstrating that the can-do has been met.

The statements are descriptors, not a test. Unlike a proficiency rating from an OPI or WPT, a learner's self-claimed can-do is a working hypothesis — useful for goal-setting and reflection, but not a substitute for a formal proficiency rating when stakes are high.

Reference

• ACTFL & NCSSFL. NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements. https://www.actfl.org/educator-resources/ncssfl-actfl-can-do-statements
• ACTFL. (2024). ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
• National Standards Collaborative Board. (2015). World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (4th ed.). ACTFL.