Oral Proficiency Interviews

The Global Discovery Laboratories at Washington and Lee University has been selected by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) to be one of the national sites where training for administering the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and Writer Proficiency Test (WPT) is held. The OPI is an assessment tool used in determining an individual's level of comprehension and speaking proficiency in a target language. The WPT is an assessment of functional writing ability, measuring how well a person writes in a language spontaneously and without resources.

Training is given for a variety of world languages, including English, in the Ruscio Center for Global Learning.  Trainers and trainees alike come from around the world to participate in this activity.  Once certified to administer the OPI or WPT, recipients are able to rate speakers and writers with authenticity.  Students participating in the Virginia Governor's World Language Academies serve as interviewees for the training period of one week during the summer months.