A valid and reliable means of assessing how well a person speaks a language.
The OPI is proficiency-based. It assesses the ability to use language effectively and appropriately in real-life situations. It assesses spontaneous unrehearsed language.
Official ACTFL OPI ratings can be used for a variety of purposes in academic, commercial, and government communities. In academia, speaking proficiency ratings can be used for admissions, placement into language programs, general assessments, or exit/ graduation requirements. In business and government communities, OPI ratings can be used for certification, hiring, and promotion in multilingual positions. Upon completion of an official ACTFL OPI, digital badges, indicating proficiency range achieved, are sent automatically through Credly.
Official ACTFL OPIs are currently available in the following languages (but are subject to change):
Afrikaans, Akan-Twi, Albanian, Algerian (ILR only), Amharic, Arabic (MSA), Armenian, Assyrian, Azerbaijani, Baluchi, Bengali, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Burmese, Cambodian, Cantonese, Cebuano, Chavacano, Chechen, Czech, Danish, Dari, Dutch, Egyptian (ILR only), English, Finnish, French, Ga, Georgian, German, Greek (Modern), Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hausa, Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong/Mong, Hungarian, Igbo, llocano, Indonesian, Iraqi (ILR only), Italian, Japanese, Javanese, Jordanian (ILR only), Kazakh, Kikongo, Kinyarwanda, Korean, Krio, Kurdish, Lao, Lebanese (ILR only), Levantine (ILR only), Lingala, Malay, Malayalam, Mandarin, Mandingo-Bambara, Mongolian, Moroccan (ILR only), Nepali, Norwegian, Palestinian (ILR only), Pashto, Persian Farsi, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Quechua, Romanian, Russian, Serbian/Croatian, Sindhi, Sinhalese, Slovak, Somali, Spanish, Sudanese (ILR only), Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Tajik, Tamil, Tausug, Telugu, Thai, Tigrinya, Turkish, Turkmen, Uighur, Urdu, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Wolof, Yemeni (ILR only), Yoruba, and Zulu.
The OPI begins with the tester confirming the test taker’s identity. The tester will read a statement in English that serves as an introduction to the interview process.
The OPI tester starts the interview by initiating discussion of a few general topics to gain an initial impression of the test taker’s speaking ability.
The tester will ask a few questions to return the conversation to tasks that a test taker can easily perform and then will end the interview.
Secure, authenticated, Credly digital badges are issued to students in higher education institutions and adults who complete a qualifying ACTFL assessment. Use them to enhance online profiles, resumes, and email signatures to provide evidence of language proficiency to academic institutions or employers.