Preparing for an OPI - Level I

When a student does an Oral Proficiency Interview, a rating is assigned based on the ACTFL Guidelines for Speaking.

At the Five College Center for World Languages, we expect that for most languages, students in Level I will perform at the Novice level. (An exception is Cantonese for Mandarin Speakers I, where we expect students will perform at the Intermediate level. See Preparing for an OPI - Level II and Up.) At the Novice level, students are expected to do only very basic things with the language using isolated words, simple expressions, and basic sentences. 

OPI Review Activities/Topics

Here are some activities and scenarios appropriate to Level I, that you can practice in your conversation sessions and in your independent study time to get ready for your OPI:

• Can you greet the interviewer appropriately, ask them how they are, and respond appropriately when the interviewer asks you? Practice variations on this. Consider appropriate levels of formality and ways of addressing interlocutors of different ages and genders.
• Can you tell the interviewer about yourself and respond to questions about yourself? If the interviewer asks you to tell about yourself, what all can you say? Things you may have learned and may be able to tell about or answer questions about are:
  • where do you live? where are you from? what is your nationality?
  • where do you study? what do you study? what language(s) do you speak?
  • do you have siblings/brothers or sisters? where do they live? what do they do?
  • who is in your family? what simple things can you say about each family member?
  • what you or others look like (I am short. I have black hair.)
• Can you tell the interviewer about things you do every day? Practice giving descriptions of typical days for you or for other people you know. For example:
  • what time do you get up? what time do you go to bed?
  • what time do you eat your meals?
  • what other things can you say you do?
• Can you say which subjects you study and which subjects you like or do not like? Can you say what subjects your siblings or friends study and what they like or do not like?
• Can you respond to questions asking you to list or describe things? Such as:
  • what is in the room?
  • what is in your bag?
  • where is Amherst? where is Northampton? (ANSWER: Massachusetts, United States)
  • indicate the size or height of something/someone - big, small, tall, short
  • indicate the color of something (The chair is red.)
• Can you respond to yes/no questions?
  • do you like coffee?
  • did you get up at 7 this morning?
  • do you have a pencil?
• Can you list things when asked? For example:
  • what foods do you like?
  • what do you like to do?
  • what would you like to buy?
• Can you count and give someone your phone number?
• Can you use expressions with the interviewer that help you get another chance to understand what they said? For example:
  • I don't understand.
  • Would you repeat what you said?
  • What does [insert word] mean?

This is a general list. What you can do may vary depending on the material covered in your course. Because an OPI follows a conversational format and is not based on a particular textbook or syllabus, neither you nor your interviewer will know in advance exactly what questions or topics will come up. Rather than basing their questions on a script or pre-determined list, OPI interviewers ask questions based on the information you provide about yourself. Your interviewer is likely to follow up on what you offer, so bring up the topics that you feel most confident talking about. Keep working on the types of basic skills listed above. These are the same skills you need to use the language in everyday life.

Difficult Questions

You should expect that the interviewer will ask some questions you cannot answer. This is a perfectly normal part of every OPI and does not mean that the OPI is not going well. The interviewer needs to find both the “floor” (what you can consistently do with the language) and the “ceiling” (what you can’t do consistently yet). There will be some difficult questions when the interviewer is looking for the “ceiling,” but you don’t need to worry that you are doing poorly just because you can’t answer every question.

Other Considerations

Aside from the content of the interview itself, there are also some practical concerns to keep in mind when preparing for the OPI. 

If you do an OPI for your FCCWL course, the interview will take place over the phone. That can introduce an extra challenge, since you won’t be able to use body language or facial expressions to aid in communication. Practice having a conversation without those nonverbal cues by sitting back-to-back with your conversation partner, or by actually talking on the phone.

Your OPI interviewer may use different dialect or have a different accent from your conversation partner. Seek out audio and video of a variety of speakers of your target language – especially if your conversation partner and textbook audio are the only input you regularly get in the language. 

More Information

If you would like more information about what is expected at the Novice level, you can read descriptions of Novice speakers and see videos of Novice speakers in English on the ACTFL website.

You may also want to read the articles under Improving Your Speaking.

Key Points

• Expect conversation and possibly a role play or two. Practice basic conversational skills in your conversation sessions.
• Make sure you can greet the interviewer appropriately (practice formal language if appropriate).
• Practice saying that you don’t understand or asking the interviewer to repeat.
• Say as much as you can to demonstrate more of what you know.
• Don’t panic when you can’t answer every question fully! Hard questions don’t mean you’re not doing well; they’re just part of how an OPI works.