ORAL PROFICIENCY INTERVIEW
OPI Level Descriptions

• No functional ability

Level 1 (Survival)

• Tasks require candidates to demonstrate the ability to participate in short casual conversations about themselves and the world around them, to include:
Describing (in simple and concrete terms)
Giving limited instructions/directions
Narrating in present, past, and future
Handling situations to satisfy basic survival needs
• Demonstrated ability to create sentences (not just phrases or memorized dialogs) that are intelligible to native speakers used to dealing with non-native speakers
• Comprehension of simple sentences at a slower than normal delivery rate with frequent repetition, rephrasing
• Level 1 topics include but are not limited to:
Ordering a meal in a restaurant
Obtaining a hotel room
Making all arrangements for travel
Changing money; Telling time; identifying days, weeks, months
Talking on the telephone
Asking directions (in a building/city/rural area)
Purchasing items in stores
Making introductions
Using appropriate social greetings and social clichés; i.e. (excuse me, sorry, I'm late, etc.)
Describing basic medical problems
Describing personal background
Talking about family
Describing personal comfort requirements (hunger, thirst, etc.) Issuing invitations
Asking people to restate for clarity

Level 2 (Limited Working Proficiency)

• Tasks require candidates to demonstrate the ability to fully participate in casual conversations about themselves and the world around them, to include
Describing (in concrete terms)
Giving instructions/directions
Narrating in present, past, and future
Handling situations with a complication
• Demonstrated ability to speak in "paragraphs," controlling basic sentence structure and exhibiting pronunciation intelligible to native speakers not used to dealing with internationals
• Comprehension of basic everyday speech with only occasional slowing down, repetition, and rephrasing
• Level 2 topics include but are not limited to:
Background
Family Interests
Work
Travel
Current Events

Level 3 (General Professional Proficiency)

• Tasks require candidates to demonstrate the ability to converse in formal and informal situations, including:
Resolving problem situations
Dealing with unfamiliar topics/situations
Describing in detail
Providing abstract explanations
Supporting opinions
Hypothesizing
• Demonstrated ability to use organized discourse incorporating a broad range of high-frequency abstract vocabulary and complex structures with facility.
• Pronunciation and communication errors rarely interfere with a native speaker’s understanding and listening comfort.
• Comprehension of everyday, technical and abstract discourse in a standard dialect.
• Level 3 topics include but are not limited to:
Practical issues
Social concerns
Professional subjects
Abstractions
Particular interests
Special fields of competence

Level 4 (Advanced Professional)

• Tasks require candidates to demonstrate the ability to tailor language to a variety of audiences, both formal and informal, for the purpose of:
Counseling
Persuading
Negotiating
Interpreting
Representing both sides of an issue
• Speech represents highly organized discourse, including extensive use of complex sentence structure and both high- and low-frequency abstract vocabulary
• No patterns of pronunciation and communication errors
• Comprehension of all standard and some non-standard dialects including common slang / technical jargon
• Can tailor language according to the situation and listeners.
• Can counsel, persuade, and advise.
• Exhibits no pattern of grammatical errors.
• Well-organized discourse

Level 5 (Equivalent to Well-Educated Native Speaker)

• • Speech equivalent to that of a well-educated native speaker of a standard dialect