1. Oral Proficiency Interview Workshop for Language Education Majors
Presented November 4, 2014
By Dr. Joanne E. O’Toole

2. What is Proficiency?

3. Proficiency versus fluency
Proficiency: What someone can do in a language…within given contexts/content areas
Fluency: The fluid, unhalting, use of a language…within 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.

4. What are the levels of Oral Proficiency? What are their characteristics?

5. ACTFL Oral Proficiency Scale

6. Novice: “The Parrot”
Communicates through words and phrases that are formulaic and/or memorized.

7. Intermediate: “The Survivor”
Communicates through discrete sentences within familiar contexts, asking/answering questions and handling simple situations/transactions.

8. Advanced: “The Storyteller”
Communicates through paragraphs, narrating across all major time frames, and handling situations with complications.

9. Superior: “The Thinker”
Communicates through extended discourse, formally and informally, concretely and abstractly, handling unfamiliar topics.

10. Why does oral proficiency matter for language teachers?

11. 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”…

12. 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…

13. What is the OPI?

14. 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) (
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).

15. 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

16. Spanish samples across proficiency levels

17. New preparation resource

18. 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?

19. Language Education News Website