Is there a certification in English beyond C2 that a foreign speaker could pursue?

Question

I got my C2 certification in English language proficiency over 10 years ago. Since then, I believe my grasp on the language has improved significantly, but that improvement is not reflected anywhere officially.

Today I decided to check if there are any strictly higher qualifications I could pursue, but I can't really find anything beyond C2. Should I look for something else?

Answer 1

Some companies may not be familiar with CEFR and it may sometimes be safer to use descriptions such as "near native" or "fluent" (see e.g. Describing language skills on the Jobline LMU website). However, the Council of Europe (CoE) has pointed out that C2 is not meant to imply a near-native level:

Level C2, whilst it has been termed ‘Mastery’, is not intended to imply native-speaker or near native-speaker competence. What is intended is to characterise the degree of precision, appropriateness and ease with the language which typifies the speech of those who have been highly successful learners.

(Quoted from How Do You Prove Your Language Level? – The CEFR on the Linguacore blog; my emphasis. See also the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment: Companion Volume with New Descriptors from September 2017.)

Since many learners stagnate below C2, the market for tests that go beyond C2 is presumably exceedingly small. Nevertheless, the Level Guide on the Anglo-Link website contains a table with CEFR levels and the levels of three international tests: IELTS, the Cambridge English tests and TOEFL iBT. According to this table, the following tests or test results go beyond C2:

• IELTS band 9 (band 8.5 supposedly corresponds to C2);
• Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) Grade A (220 - 230; the Wikipedia articles puts this at C2, but the page International language standards by Cambridge English puts scores above 220 above C2 Proficiency);
• TOEFL Internet-based Test (iBT): test score of 118 - 120 (120 is the maximum score, so the question is whether TOEFL iBT actually tests anything that goes beyond C2; on linking between TOEFT iBT and IELTS on Wikipedia puts a score of 118-120 at the same level as IELTS 9).

It seems that you can take (or retake) any of the above tests. If you can figure out what certificate future employers may be most familiar with, I would choose the test for that certificate.