Proficiency Certificates
What does a FINAL MILE Certificate represent?
When a student earns a FINAL MILE Español Para Mí certificate, it means principally that they have demonstrated the ability to speak Spanish EXCLUSIVELY and INTENSIVELY, in multi-way conversations, with many different native speakers, in diverse settings, for TEN CONSECUTIVE DAYS. This ability is typically demonstrated during a FINAL MILE Español Para Mí Intensive Immersion group trip to a Spanish Speaking country, led by a FINAL MILE Spanish Instructor.
EXCLUSIVELY => Absolutely no English is spoken during these trips. All questions are answered, and explanations given, completely in Spanish. These circumstances trigger a natural adaptation to THINKING in Spanish, which propels the student to a new level of comfort with the language.
INTENSIVELY => Each student speaks a minimum of 1,000 sentences each day, all in Spanish (groups are small, 3-4 students, home setting). From the moment everyone gets up, around 7 am, until the time everyone retires at 9 pm, students are interacting. They interact with the instructor, with each other, and with many local people, including hosts, merchants, tour guides, and complete strangers to perform tasks such as preparing food and cleaning up, shopping for groceries, asking questions during tours, finding addresses, and interviewing people. The intense back-and-forth communication increases students’ confidence noticeably each day, compounding over the ten days.
Why does FINAL MILE offer this certification?
There are many other language proficiency certifications available to students and employers. However, the great majority are based on written tests. Some of these incorporate listening to audio recordings by professionals, but very few incorporate speaking. Those that do, base their evaluations on a few spoken sentences, in an exam setting.
Many employers need more assurance that a candidate for a position is capable of having a productive conversation in Spanish, with non-professional native speakers with different accents. This may involve describing a process to train others, explaining a diagnosis and related treatment to a patient, interacting with a crime victim or interviewing a suspect, dealing with valued customers, or any number of other scenarios interacting with Spanish-only speakers. A FINAL MILE Español Para Mí Certificate provides this assurance. In order to earn their certificate, our students must engage with many native speakers, of diverse backgrounds and accents, in different settings.
Additional Endorsements
The FINAL MILE Español Para Mí Proficiency Certificate has the following requirements:
- Mastery of Indicative, Subjunctive, and Imperative Grammatical Moods
- Successful participation in FINAL MILE’s 10-day Intensive Immersion Program
Participation in the Intensive Immersion Program is by invitation only. Students must have mastered all Grammatical Moods in order to qualify for the Program.
In addition, FINAL MILE offers the following endorsements:
- CLEP
- Literary Endorsement
- Medical Endorsement
CLEP
For those wanting or needing official recognition by accredited institutions, FINAL MILE can incorporate the CLEP (College Level Examination Program) Spanish Language exam. This exam is offered by the College Board, which is widely recognized by accredited colleges and universities.
The American Council on Education (ACE) bases their credit recommendation on two levels of CLEP performance:
FINAL MILE requires a Level 2 score in order to incorporate CLEP performance in the certificate.
Literary Endorsement
All FINAL MILE Español Para Mí students start reading Spanish books early in the program. This is the beginning of immersion and is necessary to achieve fluency. Usually, students have read at least two simple books before qualifying for the Intensive Immersion Program.
The Literary Endorsement represents a higher level of achievement in reading, listening, and speaking. To earn this endorsement, the student must read three commercially published, widely read novels intended for a general audience, and be able to actively discuss them in a book-club setting.
Medical Endorsement
To earn this endorsement, the student must demonstrate the ability to directly and productively interact with a patient in a clinical setting (NO esoteric terminology such as would be used to present at a medical conference). It focuses on patient interaction, IN TERMS THE PATIENT CAN UNDERSTAND.
It requires demonstration of ability to:
- Ask questions about medical history
- Do symptom survey and characterization of pain
- Explain diagnostic imaging, procedures, monitoring, as well as a diagnosis
- Explain different treatments (administration of medication, surgical procedures)
Includes Common Medical Terminology:
- Basic anatomy and physiology
- Medical specialties
- Common medical equipment, tools, devices, and supplies
- Medical infrastructure (types of clinics, hospitals and their departments)
- Basic insurance and referral terminology
- Common ailments and medications