ACTFL OPI and OPIc Chinese Practice: Interview Questions, Role Plays and WPT Writing

By the end you can

• Know how the OPI, OPIc and WPT work. The ACTFL® OPI® is a live interview by phone or video, the OPIc® plays recorded prompts after a background survey, and the WPT gives prompts in English that you answer in written Chinese.
  让我想一想。 · Ràng wǒ xiǎng yi xiǎng. · Let me think for a moment.
• Turn short answers into paragraphs across time frames. Say then and now in one breath, tell a past story in steps and add a future plan with a condition. Link ideas with 首先, 然后, 不过 and 所以, and close with 总的来说.
  以前我每天开车上班，现在我坐地铁。 · Yǐqián wǒ měitiān kāichē shàngbān, xiànzài wǒ zuò dìtiě. · I used to drive to work every day; now I take the subway.
• Answer interview questions on five topics, then keep going when pushed. Work and study, where you live, travel, food and health, and news and society. Each topic opens with an easy question, then a harder follow-up that pushes for a story, a comparison or an opinion.
  我主要负责培训新同事。 · Wǒ zhǔyào fùzé péixùn xīn tóngshì. · I'm mainly in charge of training new colleagues.
• Hear the step from Intermediate High to Advanced Low. Lin Hao answers at Intermediate High, and on each follow-up Chen Xiaoyu answers at Advanced Low, so you can compare them and find the words that lift an answer, like 又, 后来 and 现在.
  那次旅行我永远忘不了。 · Nà cì lǚxíng wǒ yǒngyuǎn wàng bu liǎo. · I'll never forget that trip.
• Give both sides of an everyday issue and your view. Working from home, smartphones, online shopping: give the upside and the downside, then your own choice and why.
  这件事有好处也有坏处。 · Zhè jiàn shì yǒu hǎochu yě yǒu huàichu. · This has upsides and downsides.
• Get through role plays where something goes wrong. A hotel that cannot find your booking, headphones that stop working and a meeting moved to the day of your flight. Explain the problem politely and agree on a solution.
  不好意思，我有个问题。 · Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ yǒu ge wèntí. · Excuse me, I have a problem.
• Narrate a past event, then compare it with now. Tell what happened in order with 了, 过 and 在, start with 事情是这样的, and compare then and now with 以前 and 现在.
  事情是这样的。 · Shìqing shì zhèyàng de. · Here's what happened.
• Write WPT-style emails, descriptions and opinions. Three writing prompts: an email to a program coordinator, a description of a place in your town and an opinion on studying abroad. Plan first, then compare with a model answer.
  期待您的回复。 · Qīdài nín de huífù. · I look forward to your reply.

What’s inside

• The tests: How the OPI, OPIc and WPT Work · From Intermediate to Advanced
• Topic 1: Work and Study
• Topic 2: Where You Live
• Topic 3: Travel Stories
• Topic 4: Food and Health
• Topic 5: News and Society
• Role plays: Role Plays with a Complication
• Narrate: Tell What Happened, Then Compare
• Writing (WPT): Three WPT-Style Writing Prompts
• Plan: Four Weeks to Test Day

How to use this book

Two pages on the tests, five interview topics, role plays, a narration page and three writing prompts. The book's four-week plan on page 13 takes you from recording your first answers to a full practice interview.

1. Week 1: Know the tests and find your gaps. Read pages 3 and 4. Record one answer for each topic, then listen back and mark where you stopped or switched to English. Say the three lines on page 3 until they come without thinking.
2. Week 2: Topics 1 to 3. Say each model twice with the audio, then answer the follow-up question about your own life for one to two minutes. Tell two stories with a problem in them, using 一开始, 后来 and 最后.
3. Week 3: Topics 4 and 5, role plays, writing. Do each role play twice, with a different complication the second time. Write one prompt from page 12 a day against the clock, then compare it with the model.
4. Week 4: A full practice interview. Run ten questions, two role plays and one story with a phone timer. Then keep speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's AI tutor.
5. Each week: Check your level. Use the book's three-rung self-check, from full sentences to linked paragraphs to whole stories in past, present and future, and aim one rung above the level you need.

Who it’s for

Adults taking an ACTFL® OPI® or OPIc® in Mandarin, or the WPT in written Chinese: teacher candidates, university students and job seekers aiming for Intermediate High or Advanced Low.

Before you start: Intermediate Chinese, about HSK 3 to 5: you can already talk about everyday topics in sentences. The book uses Simplified characters, every model answer has pinyin and English, and the free audio reads each Chinese line.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the OPI, the OPIc and the WPT?

The OPI is a live interview by phone or video, about 20 to 25 minutes. The OPIc plays recorded prompts after a background survey and a self-assessment, for 20 to 40 minutes. The WPT gives four or five prompts in English that you answer in written Chinese. The book has practice for all three.

Which level should I aim for?

Check the exact level your state, school or employer asks for. Many teacher-certification programs ask for Intermediate High or higher. The book suggests aiming one rung above your target in practice, and its self-check helps you see where you are.

Why do the follow-up questions have two model answers?

Lin Hao answers at Intermediate High and Chen Xiaoyu at Advanced Low. Putting them side by side shows what moves an answer up: a story with a problem and a turn, linked sentences, and a line that brings it up to today. Every model is written by SayMei.

Is this workbook free?

Yes. The whole 17-page PDF is free, and you can look through its pages here before you download. There's no card and nothing to pay.

Do I need a SayMei account?

Yes, to download the PDF, and the account is free: sign up with Google, Apple or your email address. With it we email you a copy of the workbook, keep every workbook you download on your account on all your devices, save your place in the free online practice, and you can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's AI tutor.

How do I print it?

The PDF is US Letter size. On A4 paper, choose "Fit to page" (or "Scale to fit") in the print dialog so nothing is cut off. Print the whole workbook or only the pages you need; colour looks best, and black and white works too.

Can I print copies for my class?

Yes. Print as many copies as you like for your own class or family. To share it, send this page: everyone can download their own copy.

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