Appendix F – Language Fluency Policy

Registration Guidelines

UPDATED: February 2024

Applicable to applicants for the following classes of certificate of registration:

  1. Certificate of Registration for a Psychologist Authorizing Autonomous Practice
  2. Certificate of Registration for a Psychologist Authorizing Interim Autonomous Practice
  3. Certificate of Registration for a Psychologist Authorizing Supervised Practice
  4. Certificate of Registration for a Psychological Associate Authorizing Autonomous Practice
  5. Certificate of Registration for a Psychological Associate Authorizing Interim Autonomous Practice
  6. Certificate of Registration for a Psychological Associate Authorizing Supervised Practice

Type of requirement: Exemptible

Applicable Regulation:

ONTARIO REGULATION 74/15, REGISTRATION
3. The following are registration requirements for all certificates of registration:
2. The applicant must be able with reasonable fluency to speak and write either English or French.

Principle(s):

Effective communication is essential for the provision of competent, safe and quality psychological services. Language fluency enhances public protection by ensuring that members can communicate effectively with clients and other members of the health-care team. For these reasons the Registration Committee believes that applicants must provide persuasive evidence of language fluency in English or French.

Decision Criteria:

An applicant may meet the requirement by:

1. Providing documentary evidence in the form of a transcript sent directly from the educational institution to the College, indicating that the applicant’s highest level psychology degree was completed in either Canada, or the USA; or

2. Providing documentary evidence in the form of a transcript sent directly from the educational institution to the College, indicating that the applicant’s highest level psychology degree was completed in a country other than Canada or the USA, where the language of instruction was in either English or French; or

3. Providing a written confirmation sent directly from the educational institution to the College, verifying that the applicant’s highest level psychology degree was completed in either English or French; or

4. An applicant may provide a report, sent directly from the language testing agency to the College, verifying that the applicant has achieved the minimum scores indicated on one of the standardized language fluency tests approved by the College. An applicant must meet minimum scores in each area of one test and test results will be considered valid for two years from the date the test was administered.

TESTS AND MINIMUM SCORES REQUIRED TO MEET THE LANGUAGE FLUENCY REQUIREMENT COLLEGE OF PSYCHOLOGISTS OF ONTARIO
 English French
TestTOEFL internet based test (iBT)IELTS (Academic or General Training)CELPIP General  PTE Core (Pearson Test of English)TEF (Test d’évaluation du français)TCF (Test de connaissance du français pour le Canada)
Required score(s)Writing: 27
Speaking: 24
Listening: 24
Reading: 24		Writing: 7
Speaking: 7
Listening: 7
Reading: 7		Writing: 8
Speaking: 8
Listening: 8
Reading: 8		Writing: 79-87
Speaking: 76-83
Listening: 71-81
Reading: 69-77		Writing: 349
Speaking: 349
Listening: 280
Reading: 233		Writing: 12-13
Speaking: 12-13
Listening: 503-522
Reading: 499-523

OR

5. An applicant may provide to the Registration Committee other compelling evidence of language fluency. This could be, for example, providing documentary evidence in the form of an academic transcript of other post-secondary education completed entirely in English or French, or that the applicant was registered and practiced the profession in an English or French practice environment for a minimum of the equivalent of two years full-time, which could be confirmed through proof of registration sent directly from the psychology regulatory body, letters(s) from employer(s) or supervisor(s) etc. All such documentation must be sent directly to the College as a hard-copy original document, PDF, or fax.

6. An applicant may be exempted from the requirement if they cannot meet it through the means described in 1., 2. or 4. above and has a documented disability1  that would affect their ability to meet the requirement by completing a standardized language fluency test, as described in 3. Such exemption will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Registration Committee.

Possible Outcomes:

  1. An applicant who can provide acceptable evidence of fluency will be deemed to have met the language fluency requirement for registration.
  2. An applicant who cannot provide sufficient evidence of fluency will be notified that they cannot be registered until they have met this requirement.
  3. An applicant who can satisfy the Registration Committee that they should be exempted from the requirement based on the criteria indicated in 5 or 6 above may be exempted from meeting the requirement.

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1 The Access for Ontarians with Disabilities Act defines “disability” as:

a. any degree of physical disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement that is caused by bodily injury, birth defect or illness and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, a brain injury, any degree of paralysis, amputation, lack of physical co-ordination, blindness or visual impediment, deafness or hearing impediment, muteness or speech impediment, or physical reliance on a guide dog or other animal or on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or device,
b. a condition of mental impairment or a developmental disability,
c. a learning disability, or a dysfunction in one or more of the processes involved in understanding or using symbols or spoken language,
d. a mental disorder, or
e. an injury or disability for which benefits were claimed or received under the insurance plan established under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997; (“handicap”).

Appendix E
Appendix G