American Association of Teachers of German

Student Oral Proficiency Assessment for Grades 1-5 (SOPA)

Description of the SOPA: The Student Oral Proficiency Assessment (SOPA) was developed by CAL staff to be used as an alternative assessment instrument for determining a student's oral fluency and listening comprehension in a foreign language. Originally designed to measure the language skills of students in immersion programs, the instrument has been adapted for students in Grades 1-5 in foreign language in elementary school (FLES) programs.

Tasks on the SOPA include identifying objects, answering informal questions, giving instructions, describing, and retelling stories. This assessment has been used in FLES and immersion programs that offer instruction in various languages, including Chinese, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, and Russian.

SOPA Format: As the students enter the room, the interviewer and rater use the language that the students are learning to greet them, request that they be seated, and ask their names. After a short warmup, the interviewer explains that they will be playing some games. Before beginning the tasks, they encourage the students to say as much as they can during the games. The interviewers use informal questions, comments, and instructions throughout the interview to make the interaction as conversational as possible. The interview lasts from 15 to 20 minutes.

The interviewer winds down the activities by asking the students a few questions or giving some commands at their proficiency level. This allows the students to respond successfully and leave with a positive feeling about the interview. At the end of the interview the students receive a small reward for their participation. During a short break between interviews (2 or 3 minutes), the interviewers discuss the speech samples and compare their impressions of the students' proficiency levels to reach an agreement on the ratings. The interviews are video and audiotape recorded for subsequent verification of ratings as necessary.

SOPA Rating Scale: The nine-level SOPA rating scale based on the proficiency guidelines of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) is used to determine ratings in oral fluency, grammar, vocabulary, and listening comprehension. The nine proficiency levels of the SOPA rating scale are Junior Novice- Low, Junior Novice-Mid, Junior Novice-High, Junior Intermediate- Low, Junior Intermediate-Mid, Junior Intermediate-High, Junior Advanced-Low, Junior Advanced-Mid, and Junior Advanced-High.

For more information about these assessment instruments, contact Lynn Thompson at Center for Applied Linguistics at lynn@cal.org

Early Language Listening and Oral Proficiency Assessment (ELLOPA)

ELLOPA, developed by Center for Applied Linguistics in 2000-2001, is an interactive listening and speaking assessment designed for children ages 4-8, who are learning a foreign or second language in a school setting in Pre-K through Grade 2. The ELLOPA is designed to determine a student's proficiency in oral fluency, grammar, vocabulary, listening comprehension. It may also be used to rate a student's communication strategies and cultural awareness.

For more information, contact Lynn Thompson, Center for Applied Linguistics, 4646 40th Street NW, Washington, DC 20016. Phone: 202-362-0700 x 219. E-mail: lynn@cal.org or web: http://www.cal.org