The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) oral proficiency interview -- computer (OPIc) testing system represents an ambitious effort in language assessment: Assessing oral proficiency in over a dozen languages, on the same scale, from virtually anywhere at any time. Especially for users in contexts where multiple foreign…

Second language (L2) learners can assess their oral skills with some accuracy. A question is whether learners can reliably use self-assessment to track their language gains over time. During the spring of two subsequent years, 80 university L2 Chinese learners completed an oral skills self-assessment based on the NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements…

The ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and accompanying proficiency guidelines have become a mainstay in academic foreign language assessment. In 2006, an asynchronous electronic interface of the OPI was made available in which candidates are asked to record themselves responding to questions delivered aurally via computer, labeled the Oral…

The primary resistance to online foreign language teaching often involves questions of spoken mastery of second language. In order to address this concern, this research comparatively assesses undergraduate students' oral proficiency in online and face-to-face Spanish classes, while taking into account students' previous second language…

This study examines a Chinese language programme in an Ivy League institution through the lens of Tracking to re-conceptualise the achievement gap between Chinese heritage language learners (CHLLs) and non-heritage language learners. Like most prestigious universities in the U.S., Chinese language learners in this case study are put on one of two…

Educators have generally believed that foreign language instruction should begin in kindergarten or earlier to promote optimum oral language development (e.g., Abbott, 1998; Curtain & Dahlberg, 2010; Rhodes & Pufahl, 2010; Rosenbusch, 1991; Swender & Duncan, 1998). This article describes two Spanish programs in the Westport…

The past 20 years have witnessed enormous growth in a diverse array of studies which explore the linguistic impact of study abroad (SA) experiences. During this period a multitude of research projects have investigated SLA/L2 learning in SA, in a number of different languages (Russian, Japanese, French, Spanish, English), utilizing diverse…

Examines two proficiency testing models, the ACTFL/ETS Oral Proficiency Interview and another model developed at the University of Wisconsin, to determine which is more appropriate for use in academic settings and whether it is possible to combine the best of both models. (GLR)

This report presents the statistical results of two pre- and post-test measures of learning arising out of two different second language computer assisted language learning (CALL) contexts. Current uses of the computer in foreign language learning reflect two distinct sets of assumptions about the object of learning and the processes of learning…

The ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) is used to assess the ability of individuals to use language for real-world purposes. Today, OPIs are used by academic institutions, government agencies, and private corporations for many purposes: academic placement, student assessment, program evaluation, professional certification, hiring, and…

This study compared the narratives of three groups of advanced speakers of Spanish with different learning backgrounds. The first group was made up of heritage speakers; the second group was composed of missionaries that had recently returned from a two-year sojourn in a Spanish-speaking country; and the third group comprised students who had…