Language Testing

ORAL PROFICIENCY INTERVIEW
Key Points

Face-to-face or telephonic interview to determine comprehension and speaking levels
- Conducted by two certified OPI raters -- 20-40 minutes long -
OPI cycle
- Warm-up, to include autobiography
- Level checks, to assess ability to perform linguistic tasks at a base level
- Level probes, to determine ability to perform linguistic tasks at the next higher base level
- Wind down
Appraisal factors considered at each level (not equally weighted)
- Vocabulary
- Grammar
- Pronunciation
- Fluency
- Linguistic tasks
- Socio-linguistic/cultural awareness
Base levels 0-5
- Level 0 - no functional proficiency
- Level 1 - survival proficiency
  - Tasks require candidates to ask/answer questions, participate in short conversations (about themeslves, their families, and their backgrounds), and handle everyday "survival" situations
  - Demonstrated ability to create sentences (not just phrases or memorized dialogs) that are intelligible to native speakers used to dealing with non-native speakers
  - Comprehension of simple sentences at a slower than normal delivery rate with frequent repetition, rephrasing
- Level 2 - limited working proficiency
  - Tasks require candidates to demonstrate the ability to fully participate in casual conversations about themselves and the world around them, to include:
    - Describing (in concrete terms)
    - Giving instructions/directions
    - Narrating in present, past, and future
    - Handling situations with a complication
  - Demonstrated ability to speak in "paragraphs," controlling basic sentence structure and exhibiting pronunciation intelligible to native speakers not used to dealing with internationals
  - Comprehension of basic everyday speech with only occasional slowing down, repetition, and rephrasing
- Level 3 - general professional proficiency
  - Tasks require candidates to demonstrate the ability to converse in formal and informal situations, including:
    - Resolving problem situations
    - Dealing with unfamiliar topics/situations
    - Describing in detail
    - Providing abstract explanations
    - Supporting opinions
    - Hypothesizing
  - Demonstrated ability to use organized discourse incorporating a broad range of high- frequency abstract vocabulary and complex sentence structure with facility
  - Pronunciation and communication errors rarely interfere with a native speaker's understanding and listening comfort
  - Comprehension of everyday, technical and abstract discourse in a standard dialect
- Level 4 - advanced professional proficiency
  - Tasks require candidates to demonstrate the ability to tailor language to a variety of audiences, both formal and informal, for the purpose of:
    - Counselling
    - Persuading
    - Negotiating
    - Interpreting
    - Representing both sides of an issue
  - Speech represents highly organized discourse, including extensive use of complex sentence structure and both high- and low-frequency abstract vocabulary
  - No patterns of pronunciation and communication errors
  - Comprehension of all standard and some non-standard dialects including common slang / technical jargon
- Level 5 - functionally well-educated native proficiency
Plus levels (0+, 1+, 2+, 3+, 4+)
- Demonstrated inconsistent proficiency (60% of the time) at the next higher base level
Advantages and drawbacks of the OPI
- Standardized method of measuring actual proficiency in language skills required to function in life / job situations
- Low risk of compromise
- Costly in terms of training and staffing requirements
- Reliability dependent on a human element, i.e. the competence/performance of raters
Current OPI requirements at DLIELC
- US Army: Officers - 2+ / 2; Enlisted - 1+ / 1
- Basic Aviation Students: 2 / 1+
- Advanced Aviation Students: 2 / 2 & 2+ / 2+
- Instructor students: 2 / 2
- Requirements (ranging from 1+ to 3) for specific courses set by follow-on training bases