Language Proficiency Testing
Oral Proficiency Interviews (OPI)
The OPI is proficiency-based. It assesses the ability to use language effectively and appropriately in real-life situations. It assesses spontaneous unrehearsed language.
Official ACTFL OPI ratings can be used for a variety of purposes in academic, commercial, and government communities. In academia, speaking proficiency ratings can be used for admissions, placement into language programs, general assessments, or exit/ graduation requirements. In business and government communities, OPI ratings can be used for certification, hiring, and promotion in multilingual positions. Upon completion of an official ACTFL OPI, digital badges, indicating proficiency range achieved, are sent automatically through Credly.
Languages
Official ACTFL OPIs are currently available in the following languages (but are subject to change):
Afrikaans, Akan-Twi, Albanian, Algerian (ILR only), Amharic, Arabic (MSA), Armenian, Assyrian, Azerbaijani, Baluchi, Bengali, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Burmese, Cambodian, Cantonese, Cebuano, Chavacano, Chechen, Czech, Danish, Dari, Dutch, Egyptian (ILR only), English, Finnish, French, Ga, Georgian, German, Greek (Modern), Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hausa, Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong/Mong, Hungarian, Igbo, llocano, Indonesian, Iraqi (ILR only), Italian, Japanese, Javanese, Jordanian (ILR only), Kazakh, Kikongo, Kinyarwanda, Korean, Krio, Kurdish, Lao, Lebanese (ILR only), Levantine (ILR only), Lingala, Malay, Malayalam, Mandarin, Mandingo-Bambara, Mongolian, Moroccan (ILR only), Nepali, Norwegian, Palestinian (ILR only), Pashto, Persian Farsi, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Quechua, Romanian, Russian, Serbian/Croatian, Sindhi, Sinhalese, Slovak, Somali, Spanish, Sudanese (ILR only), Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Tajik, Tamil, Tausug, Telugu, Thai, Tigrinya, Turkish, Turkmen, Uighur, Urdu, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Wolof, Yemeni (ILR only), Yoruba, and Zulu.
Intro:
The OPI begins with the tester confirming the test taker’s identity. The tester will read a statement in English that serves as an introduction to the interview process.
Warm-up:
The OPI tester starts the interview by initiating discussion of a few general topics to gain an initial impression of the test taker’s speaking ability.
Interview:
The OPI interview contains two types of approaches to questions. These include level checks and probes.
- Level Checks explore the highest proficiency level at which a test taker can function consistently.
- Probes explore a level above the level checks in order to gather evidence of the level at which the speaker can no longer sustain performance. The tester must elicit evidence of linguistic breakdown in order to determine the proficiency level. The tester will move between level checks and probes in order to arrive at the final rating.
The tester will ask a few questions to return the conversation to tasks that a test taker can easily perform and then will end the interview.
Oral Proficiency Interviews-Computer (OPIc)
A computer-delivered assessment that emulates the ‘live’ OPI, but delivery of prompts is through a carefully designed computer program, and via a virtual avatar, Ava, the OPIc “Tester.” This format allows the test to be taken on demand, and at a time convenient to the candidate and proctor.
The goal of the OPIc is the same as the OPI: to obtain a ratable sample of speech which a rater can evaluate and compare to the ACTFL or ILR Proficiency Guidelines in order to assign a rating. The OPIc assesses the full range of the ACTFL scale, from Novice through Superior, taking, on average, between 20 and 40 minutes to complete.
Languages
Official ACTFL OPIcs are currently available in the following languages:
Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Pashto, Persian Farsi, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Visit the ACTFL OPIc Certification page to learn about becoming a certified OPIc rater.
Background Survey:
The Background Survey is a questionnaire which elicits information about the test taker’s work, school, home, personal activities, and interests. The survey answers determine the pool of prompts from which the algorithm will randomly select topics for the speaking tasks.
Self-Assessment:
Test takers select the description that they feel most accurately describes their speaking ability in the target language. This determines which one of five OPIc test forms is generated for the specific individual.
Intro & Interview:
Test takers receive a complete explanation of OPIc test procedures and instructions, including a sample test prompt. Then, all OPIc tests start with Ava stating: “Let’s start the interview now. Tell me something about yourself.” This serves as the warm-up.