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ACTFL Spanish Proficiency Test
Being able to speak Spanish at a proficient level is a basic requirement for many callings, especially for teachers and those who wish to become certified as language teachers. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) is the most universally recognized and their test results are accepted by virtually every major institute, university, academy and corporation of import, plus it has the broadest collection of languages that it tests. The exams are administered by Language Testing International (LTI).




Spanish being one of the most popular languages to learn in the world, it makes sense that LTI is especially strong in this field and the quality of their testing is superb. Most schools and universities require ACTFL for admission into certain language teaching programs, and/or students must pass the ACTFL Spanish test upon receiving the requisite training within the teaching or language department’s core curriculum.

LTI language testing questions
The test is divided into two parts, which can be taken independently. There is an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and a Written Proficiency Interview (WPI). What kind of questions are on the ACTFL written language test? To find out, you will want to keep reading because for proper ACTFL test preparation, it is necessary to get ready for both parts. On this page we guide you to resources on how to prepare for both the OPI and the WPI. The OPI takes the form of a conversation in Spanish, either in person or over the phone, which lasts as long as half an hour and as little as ten minutes. This is a listening and speaking spanish proficiency test. The nature of the oral ACTFL Spanish test is very open ended, as a natural conversation might tend to be, and the topics at hand are those that interest the person speaking. In this sense the only way to prepare for the Spanish OPI is simply to be able to talk fluently and answer questions and go into depth, orally, about the things that interest you. It’s that simple—and that hard. To prepare for the ACTFL oral exam questions in Spanish, practice real life conversation with native speakers, preferably from academia or the business sector, study sample oral proficiency test questions for the Spanish ACTFL, download copies online or order the prep books over the Internet at online sites where they sell ACTFL workbooks.

The WPT is requires that the person being tested read a text in English and respond to it in Spanish, without the aid of dictionaries, thesauri, or any type of reference material (all of which, however, are recommended ACTFL WPT preparation materials). There are questions provided that help to queue the response, but the writing must take the form of complete sentences amassed into whole paragraphs, and demonstrate an ability to develop a thought in written Spanish in a coherent narrative style. The test lasts 90 minutes at the most.

Typically the minimum requirement for most university and teaching programs is an Advanced Low, which is, on the ACTFL grading scale, three steps below the highest grade possible, which is called Superior. The scale of possible grades for the Spanish language proficiency test provided by ACTFL is as follows:

-Novice Low
-Novice Mid
-Novice High
-Intermediate Low
-Intermediate Mid
-Intermediate High
-Advanced Low
-Advanced Mid
-Advanced High
-Superior

Many programs accept advanced low Spanish proficiency, although everybody should aim for the highest grade, superior. For more information about the ACTFL Spanish test you can read detailed descriptions of the proficiency and fluency required for each of the levels, including the ACTFL grading policies and rubric, here at the Web site of Language Testing International (LTI), which is the organization that administers the ACTFL Spanish proficiency test.

Resources
ACTFL American Council on the Testing of Foreign Languages. Discover where to find ACTFL test questions.
LTI Language Testing International

While the organization's sites are excellent starting points for finding resources for the Spanish ACTFL test preparation, universities and colleges that teach to this degree also provide superb resources for getting ready:
ACTFL test requirements George Mason University College of Education and Human Development at Fairfax, VA 22030
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