Course

Course Summary
Credit Type:
Exam
ACE ID:
ACTF-0002
Organization:
Dates Offered:
Credit Recommendation & Competencies
Level Credits (SH) Subject
Lower-Division Baccalaureate 4 Foreign Language (Intermediate Mid)
Description

Objective:

The ACTFL OPI is a live interview conducted telephonically between an ACTFL Certified OPI Tester and the individual whose language proficiency is being assessed. The interview lasts between 10 and 30 minutes. A ratable sample is elicited through a series of personalized questions that adhere strictly to an established ACTFL Elicitation Protocol (warm-up, repeated level checks and probes, and wind down). The elicited speech sample is then compared to the descriptors contained in the ACTFL guidelines, and a rating is assigned. Each digitally recorded interview is rated by a minimum of two ACTFL Certified Testers. The two ratings must agree exactly on the level in order for a final rating to be assigned. Any rating discrepancy is arbitrated by a third tester. Upward of 19,000 OPIs, in more than 60 languages, are conducted annually.

Skills Measured:

The OPI is a global assessment that measures language holistically by determining patterns of strengths and weaknesses, establishing a speaker's level of consistent functional ability as well as the clear upper limits of that ability, and compared to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines-Speaking (Revised 1999). Though holistically rated, there are four major categories of assessment criteria on which ratings are focused-the global tasks/functions performed with the language, the social context and content areas in which the language can be used, the accuracy features which define how well the speaker performs the task pertinent to those contexts and content areas, and the oral text type (from individual words to extended discourse) produced.
Instruction & Assessment
Supplemental Materials