Purposes: 1) Develop the knowledge and skills to evaluate learners with some of the validity, reliability and accuracy of a full-scale OPI; 2) Increase understanding of the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines (here link to ACTFL Guidelines for Speaking Proficiency); 3) Develop insight into the correlation of proficiency levels to student populations.

Outline: You'll be conducting and recording an imitation Oral Proficiency Interview, and then documenting your rating in writing as well as critiquing your interview technique.

Products: 1) The recorded interview, preferably as an umcompressed digital file, such as an audio CD; MP3 is acceptable; audiocassette is NOT; the interview need not be videorecorded. 2) A one-page (single-spaced) document that states a proficiency evaluation and provides evidence to support it. 3) A one-page (singled-spaced) document that critiques your interview technique.

Due: see my deadline page

Procedure:
1) Find an interview subject or, better, more than one, so that you have a fallback interview subject if the first one doesn't work out. The person(s) should, in your estimation BEFORE you conduct the interview, have a proficiency that will likely fall within the range of Novice-High to Advanced-High. A proficiency lower than NH will likely not allow you to show your interview skills to their best advantage, and a speaker at the Superior level may involve you in a long interview and, if you are not a native speaker, may strain your own language skills. Your interview subject(s) should have be outgoing in personality (ready to speak, not likely to "freeze"), and should have strong voices, if possible clearly distinct from your own.

2) Use the course training materials to construct an outline for your interview, including at least one roleplay setup (card with task description in English). You might also want a list of "reminders" for yourself - features you want to be sure to check, techniques to use, etc. REMEMBER, though: an OPI is not an iron-clad set of items which are administered to each and every interview subject.

3) Prepare to record the interview(s). Among the possible setups are: laptop with USB microphone; iPod with auxiliary microphone; portable dedicated recorders with high-quality microphones; videocameras with good sound pickup or auxiliary microphones. Be sure you place your microphone so that it picks up the interview subject's voice AT LEAST as well as your own. Check the "gain" (audio input strength) to be sure you are getting enough recording volume.

4) Conduct your interview(s). If you do several, you can choose your best one to include with your assignment.

5) Rate your sample, document your rating, and critique your interview technique.

Evaluation: The following link is to the scoring guide for this assignment. If you read the scoring guide before you complete your assignment, you will know exactly what to do to get the score and grade you want.

About the language you write: English is preferred; if that is your native language, use it. If English is not your native language, you may use any of the following without further consideration: Spanish, French, or German.

EMAIL this assignment to Dr. Fischer only. Do NOT write or print it out and hand it in. Use the address that you want your instructor to use to contact you during this course. If you do not have your own internet provider and email service, you should get PSU internet and email access (“Odin”) right away (<www.account.pdx.edu>), or arrange some other email and internet service.

Problems? If you do not understand the terms of this assignment, or for some other reason encounter some obstacle in carrying it out, contact the course instructors. Such contact, at least until the process is abused, will count as "on-time" completion of the activity.