OPI Workshop Plenary on Implications and Applications of Oral …l2trec.utah.edu/events/OPI...

Copyright 2013 American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

OPI Workshop Plenary on Implications and Applications of Oral Proficiency Interviewing

Part I: The Broader Context of the OPI and its Impact Official Testing through Language Testing International (www.languagetesting.com)

Exclusive licensee of ACTFL tests since 1992 Schedules, administers, reports ratings for all ACTFL assessments Member of the Association of Test Publishers 1000+ Certified OPI Testers Tests available in over 100 languages

ACTFL Proficiency Tests are:

Measure functional language ability How well an individual can use their language for real world purposes

Criterion-based assessment ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines are the basis for rating

Adaptive and interactive Fair and non-threatening

Not curriculum or text-book dependent Recognize language ability gained in traditional and non-traditional settings

Current testing is being done for:

A. Commercial hiring decisions Some companies using the OPI: Verizon, Canon, Ebay, LG, Paypal, Liberty Mutual, FedEx, ATT, Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Samsung, Comcast….

What will the employee be required to do in terms of linguistic tasks? What level of proficiency corresponds to this job description? See attached handout: Oral Proficiency Levels in the Work World

Examples: Intermediate: Tour Guide, Sales Clerk, Cashier, Housekeeping

Staff Advanced: Doctor, Reporter, Teacher, Customer Service Rep Superior: Lawyer, Financial Advisor, University Professor

B. Academic Programs: entry, exit, graduation requirements, etc.

Examples: o Universities: BYU, Georgetown, Lauder Institute (UPenn),

UCLA, Thunderbird, Univ. of Southern California, Yale, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, Univ. of Chicago, Stanford, Columbia

http://www.languagetesting.com/


o Scholarship programs, such as those sponsored by the National Security Education Program (

C. College Credit Recommendations by American Council on Education

(www.ace.org)

ACTFL Rating (Seaking)

Credit Recommendation Lower/Upper Division

AH/S 6 (LD) + 8 (UP) AM 6 (LD) + 3 (UP) IH/AL 6 (LD) + 1 (UP) IM 6 (LD) NH/IL 3 (LD)

D. Teacher Certification through NCATE: National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education Programs. As of 2013, 23 states require demonstration of language proficiency for some aspect of teacher credentialing.

Part II: Broader Impact of Proficiency Testing on Teaching and Learning

Transforming how we think about language Seeing language as a life-long continuum The role of languages in a global context

A. The National Standards:

Describe what all students should know and be able to do Language as the 5 C’s

o Communication o Cultures o Connections o Comparisons o Communities

Modes Interpersonal

◦ Listening/Speaking ◦ Reading/Writing

Interpretive ◦ Listening ◦ Reading

Presentational ◦ Speaking ◦ Writing


B. ACTFL Performance Descriptors for Language Learners Focus on language use by students in elementary, middle, and

high schools Performance standards that describe the “how well” of what

students should know and be able to do Organized by communication modes Identify anticipated outcomes for students enrolled in well-

sequenced, Standards-based programs Website:

C. ACTFL Assessment of Performance on the Way to Proficiency (AAPPL)

AAPPL – ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Language (intended for 6-12 grade learners)

How well your students are able to “do” what has been taught and practiced

Based on a Framework developed for the Foreign Language National Assessment for Educational Progress

D. LinguaFolio “Can-do” Statements for Self-Assessment

Aligned to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012 Self Assessment Program Benchmarking Global Statements By Mode and by Level Indicators and examples Designed to be personalized

E. ACTFL Resources Professional Development Workshops Webinars Annual Convention Assessments Proficiency and Performance Formative and Summative Diagnostic Individual and program Official and certified


Part II: Definition of Proficiency: The ability to use a language to communicate meaningful information in a spontaneous interaction, and in a manner acceptable and appropriate to native speakers of the language.

A. School-to-work Continuum

How do you take what the professional world is asking for in terms of language competence to design curriculum and assess ability?

o Backward design model Desired outcomes and how they are measured

o Set realistic expectations Students need to know where they are along the

continuum and how to progress Articulate across the curriculum

o Vertical: from year 1 to graduation o Horizontal: across different related courses

B. The entire pyramid is supported by a Novice-level base!


B. Phases of the OPI = Phases of the Classroom, course, semester… Warm-up Level-checks Probes Wind-down

B. Good tester behaviors and good teacher behaviors C. The Assessment Criteria (more than just “accuracy”)


D. Degrees of Control: Learners function most of the time in the realm of PARTIAL CONTROL!! Conceptual Partial Full

Knowing the rules

Initial presentation

Focus on form

No experience w/ meaningful use of language

Ability to use language in a limited way

Accuracy only in highly practiced contexts

Focus on form and meaning

Ability to use language in a variety of contexts, with variety of topics

Extensive experience in meaningful communication

Focus on meaning

Proficiency does not mean perfection, nor does it imply limitation of instruction to one level at a time. Instruction and assessment at each level should target certain functions for full control, others for partial control, and others simply for conceptual control.

1. Teaching for Conceptual Control

• Initial presentation and practice • Focus on form and accuracy • Objective: Understand how it works

2. Teaching for Partial Control

• Focus on language use in context • Greater tolerance for inaccuracies • Objective: Use / Recycle / Expand

3. Teaching for Full Control

• Full Control • Focus on functional language use in various contexts • Objective: Ability to sustain the function over range of topic

areas • Automaticity of forms • “Far transfer” of functional ability

E. The Role of the Textbook Depends on. . .

Your goals for the quarter/semester/class Level of the students The textbook itsel


F. The Role of Grammar Think in terms of a “functional grammar” Don’t treat it totally in isolation (forms + functions) Explicit instruction: When? Why? How? (not an

either/or) Recycling of forms inside new content areas and new

functions Recycling of forms across the curriculum, horizontally

and vertically

G. Designing a functional syllabus: From Novice to Intermediate Content/Context Functions Language forms Everyday, familiar topics (school, home, hometown, free-time activities

Create with the language to have a simple conversation about…

Vocabulary Typical expressions

Asking questions about your friend’s school

Degree of control: Partial or Full?

Interrogatives

Intonation

Word order

Dealing with simple social interactions or transactions Degree of control: Partial or Full?

Vocabulary

Any special expressions or forms

H. Assessing degrees of control

Level of student

Function Degree of control targeted

Implications for grading

Novice High/ Intermediate Low

Asking questions of visiting celebrity for newspaper article

Partial Stay focused on successful questions despite many errors in structures


Intermediate Mid

Asking questions of visiting celebrity for newspaper article

Full Mistakes in simple forms and structures count; give credit for more complex questions.

Intermediate Mid

Narrating in the past: a memorable vacation experience

Emerging Mistakes in simple forms and structures count; give credit for more complex questions.

Level Function Degree of control

targeted Implications for

grading

Intermediate

High

Narrating in the Past: a

memorable vacation

experience Partial

Make fewer

allowances than for

IM; look at accuracy

and text-type

Advanced Low Narrating in the Past Full

Stay focused on

successful questions

despite errors in

structures;

remember

“grammatical

roughness”

Advanced Mid

Narrating in the past: a

memorable vacation

experience Full

Every mistake in

simple past forms

counts; give credit for

evidence of attempts

at extensive

elaboration


Part III. How can we use the OPI to help us set realistic expectations?

Assumed knowledge vs. observable performance Degrees of control (explain to students) Differences in skill development (speaking and other skills may

develop at different rates) Use the Guidelines as a stepladder (they do not = a curriculum or

methodology; rather they represented proficiency targets) Share realistic proficiency expectations with stakeholders:

Students Parents Administrators … FSI Case study data:

Adult language learners ◦ College graduates ◦ Highly motivated ◦ Previous language study

Class sizes of 6 Full-time language study for X weeks Daily

◦ 5 hours in-class ◦ 4 independent learning (hw) daily


Language Class hours

to Intermediate

Class hours to

Advanced Class hours to

Superior

Category I: Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, French, Haitian

Creole Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian,

Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, etc.

240 480 720

Category II: Bulgarian, German, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian,

Malay, Urdu, etc. Category III : Albanian, Amharic, Armenian, Azerbaijani,

Bengali, Bulgarian, Burmese, Czech, Estonian, Finnish,

Georgian, Hausa, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Khmer,

Lao, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Mongolian, Nepali,

Pashto, Persian (Dari, Farsi, Tajik), Polish, Russian,

Serbo-Croatian, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Tagalog, Tamil,

Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Zulu, etc.

480 720 1320

Category IV: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc. 480 1320 2400 - 2760


Useful websites: ACTFL www.actfl.org will provide access via “Publications” tab at the top to the following:

2012 Proficiency Guidelines: http://actflproficiencyguidelines2012.org Performance Descriptors: http://www.actfl.org/publications/guidelines-and-manuals/actfl-performance-descriptors-language-learners Integrated Performance Assessment: http://www.actfl.org/publications/guidelines-and-manuals/actfl-performance-descriptors-language-learners http://aappl.actfl.org ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Language (has demo of the assessment, as well as a suite of professional development materials)

American Council on Education (credit recommendations) www.acenet.edu For ACTFL OPI score credit recommendations see: http://www2.acenet.edu/credit/?fuseaction=browse.getOrganizationDetail&FICE=300017 Interagency Language Roundtable (government testing scale): www.govtilr.org Linguafolio: http://www.ncssfl.org/links/index.php?linguafolio National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y): www.nsliforyouth.org This program provides scholarships for students 15-18 to study foreign languages abroad. National Security Education Program: www.nsep.gov Look under the “Students” link at the top and at the link on the bottom for Initiatives for various scholarships and funding opportunities for students.

http://www.actfl.org/

http://www.actfl.org/publications/guidelines-and-manuals/actfl-performance-descriptors-language-learners




http://aappl.actfl.org/

http://www.acenet.edu/

http://www2.acenet.edu/credit/?fuseaction=browse.getOrganizationDetail&FICE=300017

http://www2.acenet.edu/credit/?fuseaction=browse.getOrganizationDetail&FICE=300017

http://www.govtilr.org/

http://www.ncssfl.org/links/index.php?linguafolio

http://www.nsliforyouth.org/

http://www.nsep.gov/

OPI Workshop Plenary on Implications and Applications of Oral …l2trec.utah.edu/events/OPI...

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