What if English is my second language?
A candidate who reads English as a second language may ask, before a sitting, for a support that removes a barrier unrelated to what is measured. This page sets out what counts towards a result, what a candidate may ask for, and what a candidate must not do during a certifying session.
Judgment is how well a person decides once AI has given the answer. AIRS-J/1, AIR APAC's Standard for Judgment in AI-Enabled Work, assesses how a person decides, not what they know (Section 2).
1. Does my level of English count towards my result?
AIRS-J/1 assesses observable decision behaviour, not a trait, and it is not a measure of AI technical skill or of domain expertise (Section 2.1). Anchors are the published descriptions of each level, and they describe the transcript, the record of what the candidate did. An assessor may not score on inferred motivation, attitude, confidence or personality (Section 7.3). No anchor in Section 7.5 names spelling, grammar or accent. Communication is still part of the evidence: dimension E2 asks a person to communicate "so the recipient can act" (Section 5).
2. Can I ask for support because English is my second language?
A candidate may request an access support before the assessment and receives a written decision with reasons (Section 8.9). The Standard defines an access support as "an approved adjustment to presentation, timing or response modality" (Section 3). It "removes a construct-irrelevant barrier without directing the candidate toward an assessed behaviour". In plain words, a support may change how material is shown, the time allowed or how answers are given, but never what is measured. AIR APAC decides each request, and this page promises no particular support.
3. How and when do I ask?
The access support page sets out the procedure. A candidate asks at least 10 working days before the sitting, through the contact page, with the topic "Appeal, complaint or access support". The request says what support is needed and why. No diagnosis is needed. Late requests are still considered.
4. Does a support change my result, or reach my employer?
An approved access support is recorded in the transcript but "imposes no level cap" (Section 7.1.1). It may not reveal a decision path, criterion, consequence or expected response. Approved supports must preserve what is measured, the decision points, the stakes profile (the kinds of consequence in play) and the integrity of the assessment (Section 8.9). Where an employer commissions the assessment, the Standard states: "The employer is never told whether an access support was used." (Section 12.6).
5. Is the assessment offered in other languages?
Section 8.5 allows the language of a scenario to be localised, together with its setting, sector and role titles. The decision points, the dimensions, the stakes profile (the kinds of consequence in play) and the anchors may not change. A localised scenario needs AIR APAC approval before it is used for certification. Each localised language also needs translation and adaptation procedures before certification, and only that language version waits for them (Annex A, item A17). This page does not state which language versions are available.
6. Can I use a translation tool during the sitting?
A translation tool that uses AI is an AI tool. The AI systems provided within the assessment environment are "expected to be used" (Section 9.2). Use of AI tools outside the provided environment during a certifying session is prohibited and is misrepresentation, a ground for suspension or revocation (Sections 9.2 and 18.4). A candidate who needs a reading or language aid asks AIR APAC before the sitting, and AIR APAC decides whether it can be a support. This page does not say whether the AI provided in the assessment translates.
7. What if a translation in my sitting was wrong?
Section 18.6 lists "a localisation or translation defect capable of changing the construct-relevant demand" as a ground for appeal. In plain words, this is an error in a translated or localised scenario that could change what the candidate had to decide. An appeal is made within 30 days (Section 18.5). The appeals page sets out the steps.
8. What if my request for support is refused?
Section 18.6 lists "denial or material misapplication of an access support" as a ground for appeal. Misapplication covers an approved support that was not applied as decided. An appeal of an accommodation decision that affects access to assessment is made within 30 days (Section 18.5). An appeals reviewer who was not involved in the original decision or delivery reviews it. "Appeal is free for the first instance." (Section 18.5).
9. Does AIR APAC check whether first language affects results?
Fairness monitoring covers outcome rates by language of delivery, among other groupings (Section 15.2). Where results are used for hiring, AIR APAC compares outcomes across groups of real applicants by first language, among other groups (Section 15.7). Check V7 asks that matched candidates who differ only in first language, or in another named attribute, reach the same levels within a declared tolerance (Section 11.7). The Standard allows the matched candidates to be synthetic, and the report labels them (Section 11.7). Check V7 is a requirement, not a finding. The validation report is published as the checks in the Standard are met.
10. Will the notice I receive be in plain language?
The answer is yes for an applicant, a person who applies for a role and sits the assessment for it. Section 12.9 states that, before an applicant starts, "they are told in plain language" what the notice covers. That includes what the Assessment measures and does not measure, who receives the result, and that the result is one input. It also includes that the applicant may decline, receives their own report, and may appeal or ask for an access support. The Standard does not say in which language the notice is given.
What this does not claim
- That any support will be approved for a candidate who reads English as a second language.
- That any language version of a sitting exists, or a date for one.
- That the instrument or a result has been shown to have no language effect. Check V7 is a requirement of the validation programme (Section 11.7), not a published finding.
- That any translation tool may be used during a certifying session.
- That the applicant notice is given in the reader's first language.
- Legal advice. This page explains the rules of the Standard; it does not advise on any law.
AIR APAC publishes the standard for judgment in AI-enabled work, certifies people against it through its official instrument, and stands behind every result.