A study explored the cognitive processes and social-situational influences underlying students' assessment of their own foreign language proficiency, focusing on process rather than result of self-evaluation. The subjects, 28 college student learners of French at different course levels, were administered a self-assessment questionnaire on the four language skill areas (listening, speaking, reading, writing). Subsequently, two types of verbal report were elicited: a think-aloud protocol and an immediate, semi-structured retrospective interview. Data were analyzed for evidence of: (1) student orientation to the self-assessment task, (2) interpretation of questions and rating scales, (3) possible influence of course level and previous language experience, and (4) students' basic level of comfort in speaking French. Six categories of factors influencing the self-assessment process were identified (question interpretation, language learning background/experience, reference points, questionnaire-completion strategies, level of certainty about answers, self-confidence level). Results show students use a variety of reference points/benchmarks when evaluating their own language abilities, particularly social category, meaningful other, and autobiographical. Pedagogical implications are discussed briefly. Contains 23 references. (MSE)