Oral Proficiency

If you are in the World Languages Education program, pursuing certification in the teaching of a foreign language (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, or Spanish), you must take the oral proficiency test – an Interview – before you begin student teaching. You must earn a rating of "intermediate high" or better on the test.

NOTE: This requirement does NOT apply for students in Elementary Education or Early Childhood education who have a concentration in a modern language.

THE ORAL PROFICIENCY INTERVIEW (OPI) TEST

The oral proficiency Interview is:

The OPI is a carefully structured conversation between a trained and certified interviewer and you – the person whose speaking proficiency is being assessed. The interview is interactive; there is no script or prescribed set of questions, and the tester will adapt the interview based on your skills. The topic to be discussed is decided by your interests.

By asking questions, the interviewer tests your ability to handle communication at various levels of proficiency; a clear "floor" and "ceiling" of your ability is determined. Also, you might be asked to take part in a role-play to show linguistic capabilities not easily elicited through the conversational format.

Since the OPI is an assessment of speaking ability, independent of any curriculum, it does not matter when, where, why, and how you acquired your speaking ability in the language.

The interview - lasting 10-30 minutes – is digitally recorded and assigned an initial rating by the tester. The interview is then rated again in a “blind” review by a second certified tester. Under the supervision of the ACTFL testing office, a final rating is assigned and an ACTFL OPI certificate is issued to those who earn a rating of intermediate-high or better.

THE ACTFL CERTIFIED TESTERS

The testers and raters are highly specialized language professionals who have completed rigorous training in conducting the test and rating the results. ACTFL strictly monitors all testing and rating.

HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE TEST

If you are a language teaching student, you will need to take the OPI administered by the ACTFL. You’ll need a proctor (see step three, below). Allow four weeks for the registration process.

Once you are ready to sign up for the exam, take these four steps:
  1. Print the registration form. Download it from here. You MUST USE THIS FORM (it says “DePaul University” at the top). This form must be printed, signed, and faxed/mailed in (it cannot be completed online.)
  2. Complete your portion of the form. On page 1 be sure to indicate the name of the person at DePaul who will proctor your test and also provide dates when you and the proctor are available for the test. Make sure that the Central time zone is selected because your tester will be calling from New York. Payment instructions are on page two. Read and sign the waiver on page three.
  3. Contact your proctor. Dr. Mark Johnston of the Modern Languages Department will act as your proctor. Contact Dr. Johnston to find the times that work best for both of you before scheduling the test. His phone is 773-325-1879; email is mjohnst4@depaul.edu. Ask your proctor to complete the agreement on page four.
  4. Fax or mail the completed form to the OTI testing office. For the address/fax number see page one of the registration form. Please allow three weeks for the scheduling process. On the day of the exam, you will go to McGaw Hall 315-2 (802 W. Belden) and present your photo ID. You will be asked to leave all personal belongings outside the testing room.

Taking The Test

Once your application has been processed you will be sent an e-mail with your confirmed test date, time, and other instructions. This e-mail will provide you with a unique ID and PASSWORD to access your test information and status on the OPI website. Please keep this important e-mail and website information. You will be able to verify the date and time of your OPI and, after the test, check the status of your test result. You will also be able to print your ACTFL OPI proficiency certificate. The proctor will also be notified of the OPI date, time, and telephone number by e-mail.

Finalize appointment arrangements with your proctor. All appointments are considered confirmed, unless notice is sent by the candidate or proctor. If an appointment needs to be rescheduled:

Contact the OPI test coordinator immediately (800-486-8444 extension 14). There is no charge for rescheduling at least one business day before the scheduled appointment.

For appointments that are canceled or rescheduled within 24 hours of the test, there is a $55.00 rescheduling/cancellation fee.

For missed appointments, there is a $55.00 fee. A $55.00 fee for canceled applications will be deducted from your refund if you cancel the test.

Once your test is rated (usually within 2-4 weeks), you can view the test results on the OPI website. Each test becomes a permanent record in the ACTFL test archive. For an additional fee of $50.00 a test rating can be expedited as "express" and a final rating guaranteed within 10 business days.

TEST TIPS

Prepare for the test by reading the proficiency descriptions (below). Be sure that you fully understand the functions, level of accuracy, and discourse length required at each level.

When taking the OPI, listen carefully to the questions asked by the interviewer before answering. When answering, give as detailed a response as possible. Saying little to avoid making mistakes will not improve your rating. If you do not know a specific term in the target language, describe it and try not to resort to English or making up words. If you do use English or a slang term, do not be surprised if the interviewer asks you to describe what that word means in the target language.

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY STANDARDS AND INTERMEDIATE HIGH LEVEL

Intermediate-high speakers are able to converse with ease and confidence in most routine social situations. They are successful in exchanging basic information about work, school, recreation, or particular interests and areas of competence, though hesitation and errors may be evident.

While intermediate-high speakers can handle the tasks of the advanced level, they are unable to sustain performance at that level over a variety of topics. With some consistency, speakers at the intermediate-high level can narrate and describe in major time frames (tenses) during a coherent discourse of paragraph length. However, the performance of these advanced level tasks doesn’t have to be perfect; you are allowed some mistakes (e.g., errors in the narration or description, semantically or syntactically, a disintegration of connected discourse, a reduction in breadth and appropriateness of vocabulary, or some hesitation in conversing). Overall, intermediate-high speakers can be understood by native speakers unaccustomed to dealing with non-natives, even though the dominant language is still evident and gaps in communication occur.

 For a complete description of all levels of the OPI rating scale click here.