How does the language assessment work and who is it for?

The OLS language assessment is mandatory for all participants to Erasmus+ mobility activities of at least two months (studies/traineeships/EVS volunteering) with one of the following languages as the main language of instruction, work or volunteering: German, English, Spanish, French, Italian and Dutch (with the exception of native speakers).
As of June 2015, the service will be extended to Vocational Education and Training (VET) learners participating in a mobility of at least one month.
Erasmus+ mobility participants must take the assessment twice — before and at the end of their mobility period — in order to monitor their progress in the language of mobility.
The online assessment assesses participants' language skills - listening, reading and writing - according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

What are the assessment steps?
Participants must complete the first language assessment before the mobility to assess their language competences. For higher education students, taking the OLS language assessment before their departure is a pre-requisite for the mobility, except if duly justified. Assessment results do not prevent participants from taking part in the mobility programme, but can be used by the sending institution/coordinating organisation to identify the participants most in need of linguistic support.
Based on their language proficiency, participants may have the opportunity to access the OLS learning platform to follow an online language course before and during their mobility period. This should be agreed between the participant and the institution/organisation in charge of his/her selection.
At the end of their mobility period, participants will be requested to take a second assessment to assess the progress made.

What happens with the assessment results?
Only the participants and the institutions/organisations in charge of their selection receive the results of the assessments. For EVS volunteers, the results will not be communicated to the other organisation(s) in the project. For higher education students, the results will not be communicated to the receiving institution/organisation.
Please consult the user guide of the language assessment here for further information. More...