Students are required to achieve the Advanced Low Level in the ACTL rating in order to be able to student teach. These are some guidelines that could help students achieve their goal beyond the recommended study abroad immersion experience.

1. The student needs to create an individualized plan that will cover activities until the moment they schedule their OPI.
2. the student needs to identify areas of weakness and plan to improve on them.
3. Possible activities that could be included in your plan:
   1. Use Internet free communication programs to contact host families in other countries.
   2. Listen to music, songs from youtube.com and audio CD's etc.
   3. Listen to news in the target language.
   4. Record your own voice everyday to practice past tense narration of what I did that day.
   5. Record your own voice talking about the future and the present tenses.
   6. Work with a partner to exchange recordings and correct each other's errors.
   7. Role-play situations.
   8. Contact native speakers through the Internet.

Useful Websites related to the ACTFL OPI/WPT
(Disclaimer: SRU is not responsible for the content or the use students may make of any of these Websites.)

GENERAL ADVICE RELATED TO TESTING

Frequently asked questions about the oral proficiency interview (OPI) (From Prospective Interview Candidates.)

http://www.dlielc.org/faq/opi_faq.html

Tips for the oral proficiency exam that are given to Canadians who need to prove French proficiency in order to work in Prince Edward Island.

http://www.gov.pe.ca/languagetraining/index.php3?number=70667&lang=E

Calvin College - French Proficiency Guidelines for teacher candidates who need the Advanced level.

http://www.calvin.edu/academic/french/handbook/proficiency.html

SPECIFIC PRACTICE

WEBTV - de TV5 (Practice listening in a normal context)

http://www.tv5.org/TV5SIite/webtv/

BBC-Ma France - Lots of short videos with different situations (Learning Website)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/mafrance/flash/interactive_popup.shtml

Radio Televisión Española (Practice listening in a normal context)

http://www.rtve.es/television/

Las actualidades de CNN en Español/ (Practice listening in a normal context)

http://www.cnn.com/espanol/

Spanish Proficiency Exercises created by the University of Texas. It is organized using the ACTFL levels (learning Website)

http://www.laits.utexas.edu/spe/

Spanish Language and Culture with Barbara Kuczun Nelson is an excellent site for Spanish oral comprehension

http://www.colby.edu/∼bknelson/SLC/index.php

The Social Way to Learn a Language, connect with native speakers around the world. Improve at your own pace with free online lessons

http://www.livemocha.com/