Standardized performance profile
The Standardized Performance Profile ( SLP ) documents in the scope of NATO which foreign language skills a soldier or civilian has.
The SLP is awarded after successful completion of an SLP language test. This exam tests listening comprehension (H), oral language use (M), reading comprehension (L) and written language use (S) and is carried out by the Federal Language Office.
Power levels
A performance level between 1 and 4 can be achieved in each of the four necessary individual exams.
- Level 1: Elementary ability in a limited and familiar general framework.
- Level 2: Limited ability in a general and professional setting.
- Level 3: Ability in general social and professional areas in the context of also unfamiliar subject areas.
- Level 4: Confident ability in general social and professional areas in the context of unfamiliar subject areas.
Exam history
The listening and reading tests each last 60 minutes and contain 30 (H) and 40 (L) multiple-choice questions. A rate of 70% is considered passed. With 95% you can take the next higher level, with 63% - 70% the current level can be repeated, with less than 63% the test must be continued one level lower.
At levels 1 and 2, the test takes in writing min 45 must where you edit writing on the level 1 two out of three, at the level 2 one of two tasks. At level 3/4 it lasts 60 minutes, during which time one of two tasks has to be completed.
In the oral exam, you choose two out of ten topics, with the examiners preselecting them in advance. Then you choose one of the two topics yourself and prepare for the topic for 15 minutes. This is followed by a presentation, usually in front of three examiners, which ends with a conversation.
The test result is given as a four-digit combination of digits (HMLS), stating the foreign language, for example "SLP French 3232". Every SLP loses its official validity after three years.
The SLP is used to ensure that a candidate meets the foreign language requirements for a particular post or special use. Officers, for example, should achieve at least an SLP English 3332, and NCOs with portepee an SLP English 2221.