OPI/ WPT/ AAPPL workshop

Being able to attend the OPI workshop is a dream come true for me. My first time knowing this term OPI was during my graduate years. Back then, I told myself I needed to learn more until I have a thorough understanding about proficiency. After all, proficiency is everything it’s about in terms of language learning.

I was so lucky to attend this workshop in 2016 and learn from my mentor Prof. Jen. Through Prof. Jen’s guidance and the following year of training to be certified, not only did I grasp a better idea about proficiency, but also learned how to elicit learners’ speaking output and examine their output in a more efficient way. I was transformed in so many different ways. First, the purpose. When I stand in the class, I don’t only think about the learning activities anymore, now I want to make sure there is a clear purpose and connection to functions for every single activity I do. Now, I keep asking myself how can I support the student to move forward to the next level or at least, how can I support the student so that they can be very solid in the current level. Secondly, I’ve changed my way of seeing my students’ performance. Besides the accuracy, the fluency, the text type, the quantity and quality are all the things I consider now. I collect evidence and I’ve definitely become more sharp when I listen to my students’ speaking output. And Thirdly, I’ve learned how to examine our program’s scope and sequence in the perspective of proficiency.

This 4-day workshop is definitely a transformative learning experience for me. The first two days, we had a very intense training on learning all the major levels and sub-levels. The third day and the fourth day were the days when we put our learning into practice. Each participant needed to demonstrate an OPI with a true learner in front of class. Prof. Jen led us to discuss the structure and the ratings of each demonstration in a professional way. After the workshop, I decided to continue my learning and pursued to be a certified tester. During that following year, Prof. Jen shaped my vision in a very solid, strict way and gave me detailed advice to help me be a true tester. I can’t express enough appreciation for her guidance. After receiving the OPI certification, I found my interests in assessment and proficiency and continued my learning for WPT and AAPPL. Now, I serve as an Assessment Fellow in my school.