Tuesday's Tip for Language Learning #34: How to Prepare for an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI)
Excerpt from Think Yourself into Becoming a Language Learning Super Star
How
to Prepare for an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI)
All of the organizations
that administer written proficiency tests also administer oral proficiency
tests. You can find information at the same sites as given for the written
tests. Please note that Language Testing International (LTI) administers the
OPI of the American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages (ACTFL) so LTI’s site
is the best place to go for information. Some private institutes,
organizations, and companies have developed various forms of an OPI, but they
are not as commonly known or used as those of ACTFL and the US government.
Preparing for the
test
Here are some thoughts to
keep in mind as soon as you know you will be taking an OPI:
·
Given that we become good at what we
practice (and not good at what we do not), then it goes without saying that we
should practice speaking as much as possible, including
o
with the teacher in class;
o
with classmates in class, during breaks,
and outside class (make an agreement to speak only the target language to each
other);
o
with native speakers wherever you can find
them; and
o
to yourself when no one else is available.
·
Speaking about talking to yourself, don’t
overlook that as a possible way to rehearse for an OPI; think about what topics
might come up or what tasks you might be asked to do and then play the roles of
both you and the interviewer—if you guess any of these correctly, you comfort
level will dramatically increase during the interview.
·
Read a lot; the majority of near-native
speakers report that they achieved their speaking skills as a result of copious
reading.[1]
·
OPI formats differ, depending upon who is
giving the OPI; find out details well in advance so that you know how to orient
your preparation (e.g., if you are going to have to deliver a monologue, which
is not a normal part of every day speech, you may want to practice doing a few
of those, especially if your course does not include giving presentations as
part of its instructional program).
·
If you read no other book than this one,
read How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately (Shekhtman, 2013;
it contains seven tools that will help you for any time you need to speak,
including during an OPI.
reading
+ speaking + immersion in the language = ready to take an OPI
Taking the OPI
An OPI, regardless of who
does it, has some type of warm up (or period of getting acquainted), questions
at your comfort level, questions above your comfort level, and for some
versions, a brief formal closure or winding down. Depending upon the organization
giving the OPI, you might be expected to answer questions, act as an
interpreter, give a briefing, or accomplish specific tasks.
Here are some tips for
handing the range of communications that may be required of you:
·
Come to the OPI early, rested, and having
eaten properly.
·
Relax. Yes, that is easier said than done,
but if you cannot, your interactions will not be at their best. Follow some of
the suggestions for test anxiety given for classroom tests to help calm
yourself.
·
Adopt an attitude of curiosity; you will
be meeting someone as the interviewer, and the test is something new—it may be
fun.
·
Generally, a lot of questions will be
about topics that you could be expected to know and probably do know; speak up
and show what you know.
·
Try to be accurate, but don’t obsess over
grammar; either you have already internalized the forms or you have not.
·
Listen carefully to the questions. If you
don’t understand the question, ask for clarification. You cannot answer a
question you do not understand.
·
If you don’t know a word or expression you
need, paraphrase—you should already have had a lot of practice in doing this.
·
If you don’t know much about a topic that
is brought up, just say so; you cannot make up things you don’t know.
·
Don’t try to buffalo the interviewer; this
is one test where you cannot guess, and interviewers are well trained to ferret
out everything you know and don’t know.
·
And, in spite of what you may hear people
say about alcohol helping people to speak another language more fluently, don’t
touch the stuff! You want clear speech, not slurred speech on your test.
good preparation +
attitude of curiosity = more comfortable test + more accurate results
[1]
Leaver and Atwell, as reported in Leaver and Shekhtman (2003) interviewed over
100 learners of foreign languages who had achieved near-native levels of
proficiency in their foreign language; more than 80% reported the positive
influence of extensive reading on their speaking skills.
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