The Japanese OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview): What It Is and How to Prepare
The Japanese OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview) is a live speaking test, run by ACTFL, in which a trained tester talks with you in Japanese, usually for 15 to 30 minutes by phone or video, and rates what you can do on a scale from Novice to Superior. Unlike the JLPT, which has no speaking section, the OPI measures only speaking. Universities, employers, government programmes and teacher-certification schemes, especially in the United States, often ask for it. The best way to prepare is mock interviews with a native speaker who pushes you just past your comfort zone.
How the interview works
- Warm-up. Easy questions about you, to help you relax.
- Level checks. Questions you can handle comfortably, to find your solid level.
- Probes. Harder tasks, such as narrating in the past or giving opinions, to find where you start to struggle.
- Role-play. A situation, such as complaining about a hotel room or asking a favour.
- Wind-down. Easier questions again, so you finish comfortably.
Some programmes use the OPIc instead, a computer-delivered version where you answer recorded prompts.
What the levels mean
| Level | What you can do in Japanese |
|---|---|
| Novice | Use memorised words and phrases about familiar topics. |
| Intermediate | Create your own sentences, ask and answer questions, and handle simple everyday situations. |
| Advanced | Narrate and describe in past, present and future in connected paragraphs, and handle a situation with a complication. |
| Superior | Discuss abstract topics, support opinions and hypothesise with accuracy, using appropriate keigo. |
Novice, Intermediate and Advanced are split into Low, Mid and High. Check which level your programme requires before you book.
What raises your rating
- Longer answers. Don’t stop at one sentence. Add reasons, examples and connectors such as それで, でも and たとえば.
- Telling stories in the past. This is the key step from Intermediate to Advanced.
- Handling the complication in the role-play politely, not just the simple request.
- Recovering from mistakes. Rephrase calmly; testers are looking at what you can sustain, not perfection.
For speaking tests in general, see Japanese speaking exam preparation and overcoming speaking anxiety.
OPI or JLPT?
They answer different questions. The JLPT shows reading and listening; the OPI shows speaking. Many people take both. See does the JLPT test speaking? and JLPT vs other Japanese tests.
How Hanabuddies can help
Our native tutors run OPI-style mock interviews online, with warm-ups, probes and role-plays, and then tell you which skills will lift you to the next level. We aren’t ACTFL testers and can’t give an official rating; book the real test through ACTFL or the organisation that asked for it.