ORAL PROFICIENCY INTERVIEW

WORKSHOP
FOR LANGUAGE EDUCATION MAJORS

Presented November 4, 2014

By Dr. Joanne E. OToole

joanne.otoole@oswego.edu
WHAT IS PROFICIENCY?
PROFICIENCY VERSUS FLUENCY

Proficiency: What someone can do in a

languagewithin given contexts/content areas
Fluency: The fluid, unhalting, use of a
languagewithin a given proficiency level

Key idea: You can be fluent at any proficiency

level. The goal is to continuously increase what you
can do with the language and to do so fluently and
accurately.
WHAT ARE THE LEVELS OF
ORAL PROFICIENCY?

WHAT ARE THEIR

CHARACTERISTICS?
ACTFL ORAL PROFICIENCY SCALE
 NOVICE: THE PARROT

Communicates through words

and phrases that are formulaic
and/or memorized.

http://www.actfl.org/publications/guidelines-and-manuals/actfl-proficiency-guidelines-2012/english/speaking
 INTERMEDIATE: THE SURVIVOR

Communicates through discrete

sentences within familiar contexts,
asking/answering questions and
handling simple
situations/transactions.

http://www.actfl.org/publications/guidelines-and-manuals/actfl-proficiency-guidelines-2012/english/speaking
 ADVANCED: THE STORYTELLER

Communicates through paragraphs,

narrating across all major time frames,
and handling situations with
complications.

http://www.actfl.org/publications/guidelines-and-manuals/actfl-proficiency-guidelines-2012/english/speaking
 SUPERIOR: THE THINKER

Communicates through extended

discourse, formally and informally,
concretely and abstractly, handling
unfamiliar topics.

http://www.actfl.org/publications/guidelines-and-manuals/actfl-proficiency-guidelines-2012/english/speaking
WHY DOES ORAL PROFICIENCY
MATTER FOR LANGUAGE
TEACHERS?
 ACTFL/CAEP PROGRAM STANDARDS FOR THE
PREPARATION OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS

ACTFL: American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

CAEP: Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation

ACTFL/CAEP Standard 1. Language Proficiency.

Candidates in foreign language teacher preparation
programs possess a high level of proficiency in the target
languages they will teach. They are able to
communicate effectively in interpersonal, interpretive,
and presentational contexts. Candidates speak in the
interpersonal mode at a minimum of Advanced Low
ACTFL POSITION STATEMENT ON USE OF THE
TARGET LANGUAGE IN THE CLASSROOM
Research indicates that effective language
instruction must provide significant levels of
meaningful communication and interactive
feedback in the target language in order for
students to develop language and cultural
proficiency

ACTFL therefore recommends that language

educators and their students use the target
language as exclusively as possible (90% plus) at
all levels of instruction during instructional time
and, when feasible, beyond the classroom
WHAT IS THE OPI?
THE ORAL PROFICIENCY INTERVIEW (OPI)
Proctored oral language proficiency test that
measures how well someone speaks the target
language tested as per criteria described in the
ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines Speaking (2012).
Administered through Language Testing
International (LTI) (www.languagetesting.com).
Carried out at SUNY Oswego via computer or by
telephone.
Evaluated by raters who are certified by the
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign
Languages (ACTFL).
THE OPI FORMAT
Survey to determine range of appropriate topics
~30 minutes of sustained target language
speaking
Prompts to assess proficiency at four levels and
10 sublevels
Novice (low, mid, high), Intermediate (low, mid,
high), Advanced (low, mid, high), superior
Multiple phases
warm-up, level-checks, probes, role-plays, wind-down
http://opicdemo.actfltesting.org/
SPANISH SAMPLES ACROSS PROFICIENCY LEVELS
NEW PREPARATION RESOURCE

http://oralproficiency.coerll.utexas.edu/
REFLECTIONS AND GOAL SETTING
How much more time outside of your language
classes can you spend actively using the target
language?

What activities can you engage in to promote

your oral proficiency development?

What resources can you use / recommend?

LANGUAGE EDUCATION NEWS WEBSITE

https://sites.google.com/a/oswego.edu/language-education/oral-proficiency-interview-opi