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Chinese OPI practice test
A mock Oral Proficiency Interview, from warm-up to Superior, asked aloud. Hear every answer back at the end.
6 parts · about 13 minutes
The interview’s order, each question asked once
- 暖场 Warm-up: 2 questions, 30 s each
- 日常话题 Everyday topics (Intermediate): 2 questions, 1 min each
- 叙述和描述 Narrate and describe (Advanced): 2 questions, 2 min each
- 角色扮演 Role-play: 1 question, 1.5 min each
- 观点和假设 Opinion and hypothesis (Superior): 1 question, 2.5 min each
- 结束 Wind-down: 1 question, 20 s each
Your answers stay on this device. Nothing is kept or sent.
ACTFL levels and ILR
| ACTFL | What you can do | ILR |
|---|---|---|
| Novice Low, Mid | Single words, lists and memorised phrases | 0 |
| Novice High | Short memorised phrases, some simple sentences | 0+ |
| Intermediate Low, Mid | Simple sentences of your own; ask and answer everyday questions | 1 |
| Intermediate High | Strings of sentences, starting to narrate | 1+ |
| Advanced Low, Mid | Paragraphs: narrate and describe in past, present and future, and handle a complication | 2 |
| Advanced High | Advanced, with Superior tasks part of the time | 2+ |
| Superior | Extended discourse: support an opinion, hypothesise, talk about abstract topics | 3 |
Distinguished, above Superior, is in the guidelines but beyond what the standard OPI rates. The DLPT reports reading and listening on the same ILR scale.
One question at three levels
请说说你住的城市。
Tell me about the city you live in.
Intermediate
我住在西雅图。西雅图很大，人很多。这里常常下雨，可是夏天很舒服。我喜欢这里的咖啡馆。周末我常常去公园。
Advanced
我在西雅图住了五年了。刚来的时候，我觉得这里雨太多，冬天下午四点多天就黑了，心情不太好。后来我慢慢习惯了，还发现下雨天去咖啡馆看书特别舒服。这几年城市变化很大，市中心盖了很多新楼，房租也越来越贵，所以去年我搬到了郊区。虽然上班远了一点，但是家附近有山有湖，周末可以去爬山。
Superior
西雅图很能说明科技公司怎样在短时间内改变一座城市。一方面，大公司带来了大量工作机会和税收，城市的交通和公共设施也因此得到改善；另一方面，房价迅速上涨，很多原来的居民，尤其是收入不高的家庭，不得不搬到更远的地方。我认为，评价一座城市的发展，不应该只看经济增长，还要看谁从中受益、谁付出了代价。如果政府能提前规划平价住房，同时改善公共交通，也许就能在发展和公平之间找到更好的平衡。
What is the OPI?
The ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview is a live conversation of about 20 to 30 minutes, by phone or video, with a certified ACTFL tester. It is recorded and rated against the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, from Novice Low to Superior. Language Testing International (LTI) runs it for ACTFL. The OPIc is the computer version: an avatar asks, your answers are recorded and certified raters score them.
How does the interview go?
A warm-up to settle you, then level checks that find what you can do with ease, and probes that push one level higher to find where you break down. A role-play puts you in a situation with a complication to handle. A wind-down ends it on something easy. The tester rates what you can sustain across the whole interview, not your best moment.
What is the difference between the levels?
Mostly text type: Novice speakers give words and phrases, Intermediate speakers make their own sentences, Advanced speakers talk in connected paragraphs and narrate in past, present and future, and Superior speakers support opinions, hypothesise and handle abstract topics in extended discourse. The three answers below show the step from one to the next on the same question.
How does this practice test work?
It runs a mock interview in the OPI’s order: 2 warm-up, 2 everyday topics, 2 narrate and describe, 1 role-play, 1 opinion and hypothesis, 1 wind-down, each question asked in your device’s Mandarin voice and your answer recorded against a clock. Press Done when you finish. At the end you hear every answer back with its question in English. About 12 minutes, with different questions each time.
Does it give me a rating?
No. Only a certified tester can rate an OPI, and no machine rates spoken Chinese fairly against the guidelines yet. Listen back for text type: did you answer the Advanced questions in paragraphs, in the past tense, with linking words like 后来, 虽然 and 所以? Did you hold an opinion for the Superior question?
Is my voice recorded or sent?
Your answers are recorded in this browser so you can hear them back. Nothing is kept or sent, and they are gone when you leave the page.
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The questions, role-plays and sample answers are ours. Not affiliated with ACTFL or Language Testing International.