The Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), is a standardized procedure for the global assessment of functional speaking ability. A face-to-face or telephonic interview between certified testers and an examinee is conducted to determine how well an examinee speaks the target language through comparison of his or her performance on specific communication tasks to the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) Skill Level Descriptions. The Oral Proficiency Interview takes the form of a carefully structured conversation between trained and certified interviewers and the person whose speaking proficiency is being assessed. The interview is interactive and continuously adapts to the speaking abilities of the individual being tested.
The description of expected ability, the learner is able to satisfy most work requirements with language usage that is often, but not always, acceptable and effective; and demonstrates Signs of considerable ability to communicate effectively on topics relating to particular interests and special fields of competence.The expected skills include participate in casual conversations about background, family and work; narrate in past, present, and future time frames; describe; handle survival situations with a complication; give instructions or directions; report facts on current events; and show some ability to support an opinion, discuss, or hypothesize a societal topic.