Languages
ACTFL trains and certifies language testers for over 107 languages.
We are currently accepting applications for the following languages: Afrikaans, Akan-Twi, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic (Modern Standard), Arabic-Algerian, Arabic-Egyptian, Arabic-Gulf (Iraqi), Arabic-Levantine, Arabic-Libyan, Arabic-Moroccan, Arabic-Saudi, Arabic-Sudanese, Arabic-Tunisian, Arabic-Yemeni, Armenian, Assyrian, Azerbaijani/Azeri, Baluchi, Bengali, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Burmese, Cambodian/Khmer, Cebuano, Chavacano, Chechen, Chinese-Cantonese, Chinese-Mandarin, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Ewe, Finnish, French, Fula/Peul, Ga, Georgian, German, Greek, Gujarati, Haitian-Creole, Hausa, Hebrew, Hiligaynon/Ilonggo, Hindi, Hungarian, Igbo, Ilocano, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Javanese, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Korean, Krio, Kurdish-Kurmanji, Kurdish-Sorani, Lao/Laotian, Latvian, Lingala, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Malayalam, Mandingo-Bambara, Hmong (Miao-Yao), Mongolian, Nepali/Nepalese, Norwegian, Pashto-Afghan, Persian-Afghan (Dari), Persian-Farsi, Polish, Portuguese-Brazilian, Portuguese-European, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Serbian-Croatian, Singhalese, Slovak, Slovenian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Tajik, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan, Tigrinya, Turkish, Turkmen, Uighur, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Wolof, Yoruba, and Zulu.
If you do not speak one of these languages, you may still submit an application to be contacted in case a need for your language arises in the future.
Should I become an ACTFL-certified ILR OPI language tester?
Candidates accepted into the ACTFL ILR OPI Tester Program receive:
- FREE access to ACTFL training
- All training and equipment needed to conduct oral proficiency interviews
- Payment from ACTFL for completing all training steps
- After achieving certification, ILR OPI testers work as consultants and receive payment from ACTFL's testing office (Language Testing International) per test conducted or rated. Certified ILR OPI testers may be eligible for other paid freelance/consulting assignments with ACTFL.
ACTFL requires ILR OPI testers to:
- Commit to completing ALL training assignments. Please carefully consider your ability to honor this commitment before applying.
- Maintain some telephone availability during weekdays between 9am and 5pm Eastern (availability requirements vary per language; can range from 10 hours/month to 10 hours/week)
- Respond to regular email communication and performance feedback
- Commit to the ILR OPI testing program for a MINIMUM of two years. This commitment is nonnegotiable, and candidates should give serious consideration to this two year commitment before applying.
What is the ILR OPI?
The Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) is a nationally recognized method of assessing spoken language proficiency. The test assesses what a speaker can do with the language rather than focusing on the structures and abstract vocabulary. The test is administered over the telephone by an ACTFL Certified Tester and rated (graded) by a second Certified Tester for quality assurance. OPIs can be rated according to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012 or the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale. In this training, you will be learning to administer and rate OPIs according to the ILR scale.
Your role as an ILR OPI Tester
As a certified ACTFL ILR OPI Tester, you will work remotely. Testing is preferably conducted from a corded landline phone. Each test takes approximately 40 minutes. Once the test is conducted, the Tester submits the rating (grade) electronically within 24 hours. Testers may also be asked to listen to an interview conducted by another Tester and assign his/her own rating. Testers are paid for their work. ACTFL ILR OPI Testers maintain communication and availability with the program for a minimum of two years.
How to become an ILR OPI Tester
The application takes an estimated 15 minutes to complete. Please fill out the questions in this form as honestly and completely as possible.
If you have any questions, please email us with the subject line "ILR OPI Tester Recruiting."
- Must be authorized to work in the United States. ACTFL does NOT offer any type of work sponsorship.
- Apply and be accepted into the ILR OPI Tester Certification Program. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis but prioritized according to testing needs.
- Must achieve a minimum proficiency score on an OPI in the language you are applying to certify for.
- Participate in a rigorous and intensive virtual certification program over a 12-16 week period. During the virtual certification process, you will be required to attend 3 hours of weekly webinar(s) in addition to completing online self-guided activities that introduce or reinforce topics addressed in the webinars.
- Demonstrate mastery of workshop content by conducting Oral Proficiency Interviews by applying ACTFL’s ILR protocols and procedures.
- Complete all certification assignments under the guidance of a mentor.
Training Dates
ACTFL is hosting the ILR OPI workshop virtually. Workshops are offered throughout the year. Workshops will last for approximately 12-16 weeks each. The time commitment for the workshop will be three to six hours to complete each week, including required face to face meetings lasting 2-3 hours where you will have an opportunity to interact with other trainees and trainers/mentors.