The OPI is hard enough as it is...

But the fake ones are even harder!

I've written before about the DLPT (language test) that military linguists have to take regularly before (you can check it out here Link). Well, there is one other test that is administered here at DLI. It is called the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI). When I was a student, we simply called it the speaking DLPT, but since then the name has been changed to OPI. As can be guessed from the name, it is a test of speaking ability in the target language (mine being Korean).

Every student takes an OPI when they graduate but not every instructor is qualified to give an OPI. There are regular training classes for the instructors that range from an overview of the OPI all the way up to training OPI evaluators. I got to attend an overview class a few months back and it was very interesting. Part of the class is to see videotapes of various tests to show examples of each level of performance. This was great fun, because I got to see a very good friend of mine on one of these tapes. I sent him an email asking him about the movie that he talked about on the tape. He had no clue why I was asking about an old movie out of the blue until I told him about the tape. HAHA!!

The OPI is on the same scale as the DLPT and uses a scale from 0-5 with plus levels in between. When I was a student, the OPI was the hardest test to train for. You literally have no idea what you're going to be asked about in advance. I mean, you can count on being asked about your family and where you live, but really, it's wide open. Kind of hard to prepare for. I remember doing speaking practice with one of my teachers. He kept a 3X5 card box on his desk. During practice, he would write down anything you messed up on a card and at the end of the hour, he'd file it in his box. During the next practice, the first thing he'd do was pull out the card and start at the top - 'Uhhh, Myoung-Su E-Byoung (my Korean name), tell me how to start a car...' If I didn't know it last time, why did he think I'd know it this time?!?! But, because of this help, I scored a 2 on my OPI when I graduated. The goal then (and now) was a 1+, so I exceeded the goal and my teachers were very happy with my results. When I came back here to teach, he was one of the first people I looked up. He's a department chairperson now, and is one of my favorite people here in the school.

When I got here, they told me that part of the qualification to be a Military Language Instructor (MLI), I would have to take another OPI and score at least a 2 to be qualified. I figured that I could get a 2. I mean, I did 10 years earlier and I was a much better linguist after all that time. Well, I took the test last March and I got a 2. I knew walking out that I'd scored a solid 2 and that I had done better than the test 10 years ago, but the gap between level 2 and 3 is very wide and I just wasn't close enough to 3 to get a 2+. It's kind of frustrating to know that I'm much better than I was, but still the same score, but that's how it goes sometimes. I'm happy with my score.

Today, I got the oppurtunity to help out a class of instructors that are being trained to be OPI evaluators. This was the second time I got to take a mock OPI since I've been here. I took my first mock OPI about a month before I took my real one, and looked at it as a tune up for the real thing. I was completely unprepared for the mock test. For some reason, I was under the misconception that it would be just me, the two instructors in training, and maybe one or two people from the testing division in the room during the OPI. Uh-uh. I was the entire 12 person class, including one of the instructors from the team I belonged to. Now, I can talk all day with Koreans, usually without too much effort. If we get on a topic I don't know much about, or can't express myself about, we just move on and no problem. But speaking to/in front of instructors is extremely difficult. Every time I make an error or say something wrong, I imagine they have a mental red pen docking me points. I know they aren't really doing that, but it's how I feel. The only person that's harder to talk to in Korean is my wife. I have a serious block when it comes to talking to her.

Well, today's mock OPI was another train wreck. I refused to allow myself to get anxious over it ahead of time. I knew what I was getting into and no matter how well or poorly I did, it would have no affect on my real score. I was fine until the very first question and then everything went sideways. The very first thing was introductions. They told me their names and asked mine. I started my response using the exact word they used to ask me. The problem is, they asked me using the word that shows 'honor' to the target. You're not supposed to use that word for your own name, though. I caught myself immediately and even joked about my gaff with the testers, but that was it. I was done at that point. I felt myself squirm everytime I made an error and got tongue-tied a couple of times. On the harder topics, I broke down very early and gave up without much of a fight. At the end, I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

I have decided, though, that I need to practice my speaking more. I want very much to make it to the next level (2+) and earn the Senior MLI Badge before I leave here. I can already run a class entirely in Korean (that's another minimum thing in the MLI qualification to get the Basic MLI Badge), but that's really not that hard. But I want very much to move up and the OPI is the only obstacle in my way. I told my Chief MLI to schedule me at my six month mark for another OPI today so now I have about six weeks to prepare.

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