1. ACTFL’s ORAL PROFICIENCY INTERVIEW (OPI)

2.  Required for SUNY Geneseo NCATE Accreditation;  As of Fall 2010, all students must take Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) in order to graduate;Oral Proficiency Interview  As of Fall 2012, all students must take OPI and pass at or above the Advanced Low Level based on the Oral Proficiency Guidelines of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). Advanced Low Level

3. 1. What is the OPI? 2. Scheduling the OPI 3. What to expect 4. Results

4.  The ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) is a “standardized procedure for the global assessment of functional speaking ability. This means that an OPI is a testing method which measures how well a person speaks a language by comparing their performance of specific language tasks, not with some other person's, but with the criteria for each of ten proficiency levels described in the ACTFL Revised Proficiency Guidelines-Speaking, revised by ACTFL in 1999” (LTI’s Website).

5.  “The ACTFL OPI takes the form of a carefully structured conversation between a trained and certified interviewer and the person whose speaking proficiency is being assessed. A ratable speech sample is elicited from the interviewee by an individually determined series of questions or comments, which follow the established ACTFL protocol of ‘probes’ and ‘level-checks’" (LTI Website).

6. ACTFL Guidelines: http://www.actfl.org/files/public /Guidelinesspeak.pdf  Speakers at the Advanced- Low level are able to handle a variety of communicative tasks, although somewhat haltingly at times. They participate actively in most informal and a limited number of formal conversations on activities related to school, home, and leisure activities and, to a lesser degree, those related to events of work, current, public, and personal interest or individual relevance.  Ability to narrate and describe in all major time frames (past, present and future) in paragraph length discourse.  Handle linguistic challenges presented by a complication or unexpected turn of events.  Communicative strategies such as rephrasing and circumlocution may be employed. In their narrations and descriptions, they combine and link sentences into connected discourse of paragraph length.  Utterances are typically not longer than a single paragraph. Structure of the dominant language is still evident in the use of false cognates, literal translations.

7.  satisfy the requirements of school or work situations?  narrate and describe in major time frames?  sustain paragraph discourse?  talk about a variety of topics, including work and current events?  initiate, sustain and conclude a social interaction or a conversation involving a transactional situation with a complication?  participate as a full conversational partner, initiating exchanges as well as responding?  be understood by those unaccustomed to dealing with non-native speakers?

8.  Fee: As of April 6, 2011, $134.  Express fee (if results needed sooner than the 4-week turnaround time): An additional $50.  Students must make their own arrangements for scheduling exam.

9.  Should take first semester of senior year or immediately after study abroad experience;  Format: Telephonic interview with a certified OPI interviewer;  30-40 minutes to complete;  Taken during business hours, preferably Tuesdays or Thursdays, in quite/private location at Department of Languages and Literatures;  Proctored by Paula Bill, Department’s Administrator.

10. Students must make their own arrangements to schedule and take the OPI exam. To schedule the exam, students must:  Complete the Application and a Test Taker Agreement forms: http://www.languagetesting.com/acad_general1.cfm. http://www.languagetesting.com/acad_general1.cfm  You can apply online or download forms and send them to Language Testing International via fax, ground mail or scan and e-mail them to processing@languagetesting.com. processing@languagetesting.com  Please include the following information on your application (see “Scheduling with Proctor” slide):  Name of Proctor: Mrs. Paula Bill  Title of Proctor: Administrative Assistant  Name of School: SUNY Geneseo  Proctor Email: bill@geneseo.edubill@geneseo.edu  Proctor Telephone: 585 245-5247

11. 1. Prior to filling in your RANGE of Availability, please contact Mrs. Bill to confirm she will be available on the dates and times you are proposing to take the exam. 2. The exam cannot take place during non- business hours or on weekends or holidays. 3. You must arrive at the test site 15 minutes before the exam so plan accordingly when filling in the Range of Availability section. 4. Missed appointments, appointments rescheduled with less than 24 hours advance notice, and tests that are cancelled and not rescheduled are assessed an additional $55 fee.

12.  Complete and submit, along with the Application and Agreement, an OPI Proctor and Responsibilities and Agreement Form. Please contact Mrs. Bill (contact information listed above) to obtain this form. Please include the following information on your application:  Name of Proctor: Mrs. Paula Bill  Title of Proctor: Administrative Assistant  Name of School: SUNY Geneseo  Proctor Email: bill@geneseo.edubill@geneseo.edu  Proctor Telephone: 585 245-5247

13. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avdBCYoDyEM

14. The interview was pretty basic. She gave directions in English then switched over to Spanish. She asked where I was, what the weather was like and where I am from. We talked about why I liked my hometown, what I do in my spare time, about my major and future goals. She then asked about my study abroad experience and we did a role play where I was looking for an apartment in Costa Rica. Overall it lasted about 25 minutes. She was very nice, spoke clearly and at a comfortable pace. --Christine Denis, SUNY Geneseo student

16.  As soon as LTI has your final rating, it will be posted at www.languagetesting.com/individual. www.languagetesting.com/individual  At that point you will have the option to print out a certificate.  Please allow UP TO 4 WEEKS to receive your final rating.

17. Language Testing International SUNY Geneseo Language Testing International (LTI) ACTFL’s Language Testing Office Customer Service Department 3 Barker Avenue, Suite 300 White Plains, NY 10601 Tel: (914)-963-7110 Fax: (914)-963-7113 Email: admin@languagetesting.com Website: www.languagetesting.com FAQs: admin@languagetesting.com www.languagetesting.com http://www.languagetesting.com/ download/OPIFAQs.pdf NCATE Accreditation and OPI Requirements  John M Williams NCATE Coordinator School Of Education South Hall 202 585-245-5473 williamj@geneseo.edu williamj@geneseo.edu  Dr. Rose McEwen, Chair Languages and Literatures SUNY Geneseo 585-245-5247 mcewen@geneseo.edu