Person—proficiency in spoken English, code N

Identifying and definitional attributes

• Health, Recorded 15/11/2021
• Homelessness, Standard 10/08/2018

Value domain attributes

Representational attributes

Collection and usage attributes

CODE 7     Not applicable

This code is used for respondents who do not speak a language other than English for their first language spoken and/or do not speak a language other than English at home.

CODE 9     Not stated/inadequately described

This code is not to be used on primary collection forms. It is primarily for use in administrative collections when transferring data from data sets where the item has not been collected.

A question on proficiency in spoken English is asked of respondents whose first language spoken is a language other than English, or those who speak a language other than English at home.

Source and reference attributes

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Standards for statistics on cultural and language diversity 1999. ABS cat. no. 1289.0. Canberra: ABS.Viewed 27 October 2017, http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/[email protected]/mf/1289.0.

ABS 2016. Language standards, 2016. ABS cat. no. 1200.0.55.005. Canberra: ABS. Viewed 27 October 2017, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/1200.0.55.005.

Data element attributes

Collection and usage attributes

This data element is only intended to be collected for people whose first language spoken is a language other than English, or who speak a language other than English at home.

There are 2 standard question modules for collecting proficiency in spoken English: self-enumerated surveys and surveys conducted by interview.

Self-enumerated survey:

Question: How well [do you] [does the person] speak English?

• Very well
  ☐
• Well
  ☐
• Not well
  ☐
• Not at all
  ☐

Interview-based survey:

Question: Do you consider [you speak] [(name)] speaks] English very well, well, not well or not at all?

• Very well
  ☐
• Well
  ☐
• Not well
  ☐
• Not at all
  ☐

Generally this would be a self-reported question, but in some circumstances (particularly where a person does not speak English well) assistance may be required in answering this question. It is important that the person's self-assessed proficiency in spoken English be recorded wherever possible.

The standard question modules for proficiency in spoken English should be asked after a language question which identifies people who speak a language other than English. This can be done using the following variables:

• First language spoken
• Languages spoken at home
• Main language other than English spoken at home
• Main language spoken at home.

For people living in Australia a lack of proficiency in spoken English may impact a person's access to employment, education and other government and non-government services. This data element is used primarily to identify people who may experience disadvantage as a result of a lack of competence in spoken English. This information can be used to assess, measure and monitor service needs.

In conjunction with the data elements Person—Indigenous status, code N, Person—main language other than English spoken at home, code (ASCL 2016) N[NNN] and Person—country of birth, code (SACC 2016) NNNN; this data element forms the minimum core set of cultural and language variables recommended by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for collection.

Source and reference attributes

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Standards for statistics on cultural and language diversity 1999. ABS cat. no. 1289.0. Canberra: ABS. Viewed 27 October 2017, http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/[email protected]/mf/1289.0.

ABS 2016. Language standards, 2016. ABS cat. no. 1200.0.55.005. Canberra: ABS. Viewed 27 October 2017, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/1200.0.55.005.

Relational attributes