ENGLISH

WSE E-BOOK VOL.15

: a guide to the OPIc test

OP I c 채 점 자 가 알 려 주 는
OPIc 무료 가이드
 Secrets from an OPIc Rater
Learn all about the OPIc test from one of Korea’s only certified OPIc raters

About This E-book

The author of this e-book, Stephen Mayeux, is a teacher at Wall Street English
Busan Center. He has a Masters in Teaching English from New York University,
has helped thousands of international students gain admittance to American uni-
versities, and specializes in helping Intermediate English learners make rapid
progress.

Most importantly, he is a certified OPIc rater and knows exactly what it takes to
get a high score. The information contained herein is not guesswork or specula-
tion, but the result of rigorous training from the American Council on the Teach-
ing of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), the only organization authorized to train OPIc
raters.

In this very practical and straightforward guide, you will learn:

• what the OPIc is like and what to expect on test day,

• why the OPIc is important and why it’s Korea’s next big test,
• some very simple secrets that will help you improve your score.

You’ll also learn a lot more from this e-book, and you won’t get this same advice
from other academies in Korea. We wish you all the best in your upcoming stud-
ies, and we hope to see you at a Wall Street English center soon!

1
 Why is the OPIc important?
It isn’t surprising that Koreans spend big bucks on foreign language education,
especially when it comes to preparing for high-stakes English tests. The most
popular of these English tests are the TOEIC, TOEFL, and TEPS. For the majority
of English learners, getting a great TOEIC and TOEIC Speaking score is a dream
come true. These scores are used in a variety of contexts, but most people use
the TOEIC to get a promotion or find a new job. In many cases, university stu-
dents also need TOEIC scores in order to graduate.

Right now, TOEIC is the gold standard for English testing in Korea. But the winds
are changing, and the OPIc is set to replace the TOEIC as the primary means of
evaluating English skills. This test is already being used by Samsung to recruit
new employees and promote existing ones. Other chaebols and large corpora-
tions are following suit, and the demand for OPIc training courses and study ma-
terials is rising.

Not sure if you should start preparing for the OPIc? These six facts might help you
make up your mind.

2
 ■ OPIc Is More Valid Than TOEIC & TOEIC Speaking
Unlike other tests, which focus on grammar and vocabulary, the OPIc only mea-
sures your speaking ability. For this reason, more companies and schools are
starting to understand that OPIc scores correspond directly with people’s actual
level of spoken English. Even though TOEIC is very popular, it doesn’t have the
same rigour as the OPIc. For this reason, employers are starting to trust the other
tests less and less.

■ Administering and Rating the OPIc Is Faster

It takes no more than 40 minutes to take the OPIc test, and the results are usually
ready in 5-7 days. Its fast turnaround time makes it very convenient for everyone
involved.

3
 ■ Preparing for the OPIc Is More Practical
Preparing for most English tests will fill your head with grammar rules and obscure
vocabulary words, but at the end of it all, you probably won’t speak English any
better. In order to prepare for the OPIc, you have to practice speaking English…
a lot! If you’re going to spend a lot of time and money preparing for a test,
wouldn’t you like to have something to show for it other than a test score?

■ The OPIc Is Your Ticket to Studying Abroad

Do you want to study at a foreign university and get class credit? Sure you do…
you and hundreds of other students at your school. These kinds of opportunities
are limited, and schools are turning to the OPIc to make their selections.

4
 ■ Your Dream Job Is Just an OPIc Score Away
This is probably the biggest reason to take the OPIc. If you dream of working for
Samsung or another global company one day, you’ll have to prove that you can
communicate easily and fluently in English. Samsung uses the OPIc to select the
cream of the crop, and other large companies are set to require OPIc scores as
well.

■ The OPIc Is Another Sign of the Times

Over the last ten years, English education has undergone drastic improvements
in Korea. Some will argue that there’s still a lot of room for change, but overall,
Koreans’ English fluency is a lot better than it was 10 or 15 years ago. There are
many reasons for this improvement. One of the reasons is that Korean teachers
are using more communicative methods in the classrooms, and they are also dis-
couraging old-fashioned memorization. In the old days, “learning” a foreign lan-
guage meant memorizing thousands of words and grammar rules, so the tests re-
flected this learning style. Nowadays, Koreans are learning English in new ways,
and future tests, such as the OPIc, will measure not what grammar you know but
how well you can speak.

5
 What is the OPIc like?

■ A Brief Introduction
The OPIc is a proficiency test that was created by the American Council on the
Teaching of Foreign Languages, also called ACTFL. It is administered and man-
aged by another company, Language Testing International. The OPIc is an acro-
nym that stands for ORAL PROFICIENCY INTERVIEW by COMPUTER. Unlike a
grammar or vocabulary test like TOEFL or TOEIC, the OPIc is a proficiency test,
which measures your ability to speak natural English. You will not be tested on
grammar or vocabulary, and there are no multiple choice questions or fill in the
blanks. In this test, you will be measured by what you can do with language, and
only your unrehearsed speaking ability will be evaluated. For this reason, it is not
a good idea to memorize what you are going to say for the OPIc. It is a waste of
time, and the raters will know if you have prepared answers beforehand.

■ What’s the Difference between OPIc and OPI?

The OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview) is an interview-based speaking test, which is
conducted over the phone or in person. The content and structure of the OPI and
OPIc are nearly identical, but unlike the OPIc, test takers have a real-time conver-
sation with a living, breathing ACTFL professional. This test is intended for native
speakers of English or for people whose English is at a very high level, and for this
reason, it is possible to get a score of Advanced Mid, Advanced High, or Supe-
rior. However, it is still possible for non-native speaker to take the OPI and attain
a lower score, such as Novice. At the time of this publication, the highest possible
score on the OPIc in Korea is Advanced Low.

6
 ■ Background Survey
What’s it like to take the OPIc? On the day of the test, you will arrive at the testing
center, which will actually be a computer lab. In the beginning, you will answer a
brief questionnaire and self-assessment form, which will be in Korean. The ques-
tionnaire is part of a Background Survey, and you will be able to answer questions
about your life, hobbies, interests, work and school experience, and other bio-
graphical information. The questions and speaking tasks that you will receive
during the test will be based on your answers on the Background Survey, so the
best thing to do is be completely honest. Don’t lie and choose responses that
don’t represent you because doing so will put you at a serious disadvantage! The
questions are randomly selected from thousands of possible questions, so even
if you and a friend answer the Background Survey identically, you both will be
given different test questions.

■ Self-Assessment
In the next section of the test, you will have to give a self-assessment of your Eng-
lish speaking skills. There will be about five or six audio recordings of Korean
people speaking English, all the way from beginner to fluent. You will listen to the
recordings, read the descriptions of each one, and choose the speaker that best
represents your speaking skills. You should also be honest in this section because
your self-assessment will determine what version of the test you are given. Cur-
rently, there are five versions of the test: Form 1, Form 2, Form 3, Form 4, and
Form 5. If you rate yourself as a low level speaker, you will receive Form 1, and the
highest score you can receive is Intermediate Low. Even if you are very good at
speaking and do very well on the test, the highest score you can get on a Form 1
is Intermediate Low.

7
 ■ Getting Acquainted with Ava, Your OPIc Partner
After you have completed the Background Survey and Self-Assessment, you will
review the test instructions and ensure your audio and microphone equipment
are working properly. Don’t worry. This part of the test will also be in Korean, and
it is meant to be very straightforward. Once you understand the test instructions
and test the headset, you will be introduced to your speaking partner! Her name
is Ava, and she is a digital avatar who will “ask” you to answer questions and com-
plete role play situations. Depending on your Form, Ava will ask you to answer 15
to 20 questions and complete certain tasks, such as doing a role play.

No matter what version of the test you take, Ava always begins the interview with
the exact same prompt:

“Let’s start the interview now. Tell me something about yourself.”

It is impossible to know what else she will ask you, but it is guaranteed that Ava
will begin the test with this questions or something similar. At this stage, the best
thing to do is to not worry too much and just speak naturally.
This question is only a warm up, and generally, raters
do not really care what you say or if you make any
mistakes during this question. The purpose of this
question is to make you feel comfortable and to
get you accustomed to talking to a computer.
Preparing and memorizing the perfect response is
a waste of time, and the raters do not take this
question seriously. So relax, have fun, and
pretend that Ava is an old friend of yours!

8
 ■ Ready, Set, Speak!
After the introductory question, it’s time to get serious! You will receive 15 to 20
official questions and prompts, and they will all be based on your answers on the
Background Survey and Self-Assessment. The questions will mimic a conversa-
tion, and Ava will ask you 2 or 3 questions about the same topic. For example, if
you chose running as one of your hobbies in the Background Survey, Ava might
start by asking you, “You indicated in the survey that you enjoy running. Where
and when do you usually run? What do you do before running in order to pre-
pare? Tell me everything about a typical day of running.” Afterwards, Ava will ask
one or two follow up questions that are also related to running. These groups of
two or three related questions are called “testlets”, and every test has several tes-
tlets. You will only hear the question from Ava, and you won’t be able to read it.
You have only one opportunity to replay the question and you won’t be able to
take notes, so be alert and pay attention to Ava when she speaks to you.

Once Ava “asks” you to answer a question or complete a task, you will have no
time to prepare, so you must be ready to talk right away! When you have finished
talking, you can press the stop button and the test will proceed to the next ques-
tion. The recording will automatically stop after two minutes, and then it will pro-
ceed to the next question. The easiest way to get a better score is to talk, talk,
and talk! Do not stop the recording early, and keep talking until the recording
stops automatically. It doesn’t matter if you are in the middle of a sentence when
the recording stops. The more you talk, the better! To receive a really good
score, you should talk for between 1 minute 30 seconds and 2 minutes.

9
 OPIc Scores and Rating Process

■ The Basics of OPIc Scores

There are three major levels in the OPIc - Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced.
Novice and Intermediate also have several sublevels, and there are a total of 9
possible scores to receive. They are Novice Low (NL), Novice Mid (NM), Novice
High (NH), Intermediate Low (IL), Intermediate Mid (IM1, IM2, IM3), Intermediate
High (IH), and Advanced Low (AL). But what exactly do all of these scores mean?
What are the differences and similarities? In order to prepare for the OPIc and get
the score that you want, you first have to understand the ACTFL proficiency
guidelines and the requirements for each level.

■ What do OPIc raters listen for?

When OPIc raters listen to your test, they are listening for three important things.
First, they want to know what you can achieve with your English speaking. In other
words, they want to know what tasks and functions you can accomplish. Listing
all of the furniture that you see in a room, for example, is quite a simple task to
do, but describing a past situation with a lot of details is more complex and diffi-
cult. The more complicated the functions you can accomplish, the higher your
score will be.

Second, raters will listen for your comprehensibility. What does that mean? Ask
yourself this question: “Can native speakers of English understand me when I
speak?” When native speakers understand your speech easily, then you have a
high level of comprehensibility. At the Advanced levels, native English speakers
will be able to understand you without any problems, but if you are Novice, then
most people will find it very difficult to comprehend your speech.

Finally, raters will listen to the organization and complexity of your speech,
which will be explained later in this section.

10
 ■ OPIc Functions and Tasks
Let’s talk about the first requirement: functions and tasks. Just because you know
a lot about English and have memorized thousands of words doesn’t mean you
are a good speaker. Speaking, on the other hand, is a skill, and if you have very
good speaking skills, then you can accomplish many different language tasks and
functions. When you take the OPIc, you will be asked to do a lot of things with
your English. These tasks or functions have different levels of difficulty.

■ Novice Tasks
Novice level tasks are incredibly easy to do, and you will only see these tasks on
Form 1 of the OPIc. The highest score that you can ever receive on Form 1 is IL,
and if you want a higher score than that, then you must take a Forms 2, 3, 4, or 5.
Novice speakers are unable to make complete sentences, so they are only ca-
pable of using words or short phrases. Sometimes a Novice speaker will try to
make a complete sentence, but they usually fail or give up because it is too diffi-
cult. So for example, a Novice task on the OPIc might look like this:

“You’ve indicated that you enjoy going to the park. What months do you go to
the park? April?…. what months?”

In this situation, a Novice speaker would simply list the months of the year and
would not attempt to make complete sentences. In addition to making lists,
Novice speakers rely on using memorized speech because they are unable to
create spontaneous language. This is why you shouldn’t memorize what you are
going to say on the OPIc. It is a highly inefficient way to practice speaking, and
the raters will know if you have memorized something! The highest score you can
get for memorizing speech is NM, so please don’t do this. It’s not worth the risk!

11
 ■ Intermediate Tasks
Understanding the Intermediate and Advanced requirements are particularly im-
portant because you will encounter these tasks on the remaining test Forms. In-
termediate speakers are able to accomplish a lot more. First of all, they can speak
in complete sentences and “create with language”. Intermediate speakers don’t
use simple words and phrases, and they can communicate without memorizing.
They speak using a series of sentences and sometimes use connecting words, like
“and”, “but”, “so” to make more complex sentences. Intermediate speakers can
also ask and answer simple questions, usually in the present tense. Asking ques-
tions is a very important skill to have because Intermediate speakers also have to
complete several role play situations in the OPIc. These situations are very simple
social interactions, such as buying tickets to a concert or asking for directions.

12
 ■ Advanced Tasks
Advanced speakers can describe past situations and also narrate stories that hap-
pened in the past. Intermediate speakers may be able to do this most of the time,
but Advanced speakers can easily talk about the past and the future all of the
time. In addition, Advanced speakers have to complete role play situations just
like the Intermediate speakers, but these situations are not simple and include a
complication, conflict, or problem. Superior speakers, which is a level not avail-
able in Korea, are very good at speaking, and this is the level that most people
would consider “fluent”. These speakers are able to state and support their opin-
ions on a number of different topics, and they can also make predictions and hy-
pothesize about abstract topics as well. Superior speakers go beyond basic com-
munication and they excel in formal and professional situations.

13
 ■ Comprehensibility: Can People Easily Understand You?
The next area of concern is comprehensibility. In other words, can native speakers
of English understand you easily? Now, there are a lot of factors that will influence
your comprehensibility. These factors include your speaking speed, grammar,
pronunciation, and vocabulary usage. If native speakers of English can easily un-
derstand you, then you are at the Advanced and Superior Level. Advanced speak-
ers might make more grammar and vocabulary mistakes than Superior speakers,
and they sometimes have to rephrase their speech to make it more comprehen-
sible.

OPIc Tip: Your English doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s possible to make some
grammar mistakes and still get an AL!

If native speakers have some difficulty understanding you, then you are probably
at the Intermediate level. Native speakers who are used to communicating with
non-native speakers will be able to understand Intermediate speakers. In other
words, if your English teacher, a person who communicates with non-native
speakers on a regular basis, can understand you easily, then you are an Intermedi-
ate speaker. On the other hand, if somebody like your English teacher has diffi-
culty understanding you, then you might be a Novice speaker. Native speakers
who are used to dealing with non-native speakers usually have difficulty commu-
nicating and understanding people at the Novice level.

14
 ■ Complexity
The final area of evaluation is your speech organization, or complexity. This is per-
haps the most difficult area for English students to improve, which is why it is very
important for you to spend a lot of time practicing speaking. Unfortunately, there
is no secret trick or pill to swallow to improve your speech complexity. You have
to put in the time and effort, and you have to speak a lot of English without
memorization!

In general, Novice speakers will only use isolated words and very short phrases
while speaking. It is very rare for a Novice speaker to make a complete sentence
(with a subject, verb, and object) and if they do, the sentence is usually very short,
very simple, and most likely the sentence has been memorized. Intermediate
speakers are able to speak in complete sentences and also ask simple questions
for basic social interactions. They are able to create a series of sentences or a
string of sentences about a topic, and sometimes Intermediate speakers will use
“connecting words”, such as “and”, “but”, “because”, “so” in order to build
longer and more complex sentences.

Although Intermediate speakers can convey ideas with language and make sen-
tences, their speech does not have the organization and the cohesion of a para-
graph. Advanced speakers use paragraphs when they speak. Unlike a string of
sentences, paragraphs begin with a single focal point and make a progression
from beginning to end, and these speakers use transitions, examples, and elabo-
ration in order to make this progression flow smoothly from one idea to the next.

An Intermediate speaker, for example, might say a string of 10 sentences about

their pets at home. At the Intermediate level, these sentences can be reordered
and rearranged without losing any meaning or causing any confusion. If you reor-
dered the sentences in an Advanced paragraph, then the meaning would be lost
and it would be very confusing to understand, because the sentences in a para-
graph belong in a very specific place. If you remove it or if you put it in another
place, the paragraph stops making sense.

15
 Suppose you have an Intermediate-level OPIc question about pets. Here’s an ex-
ample:

“You’ve indicated on the background survey that you have pets at home. I’d like
to know more about your pets. Tell me something about your pets or the people
who take care of your pets.”

So, how would a Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced speaker answer this ques-
tion?

Well, a Novice speaker only uses words and phrases, so their response might
sound like this:

“Dog, two dogs, cute. I like. No like, dogs, father, no like. Dogs cute.”

Not only is the speaker unable to make sentences, but they were unable to com-
plete the task and most people would have a hard time comprehending this
speech. This sample is clearly by a Novice speaker.

An Intermediate speaker will probably sound like this:

“I have dogs. I like to play with dogs. Dogs are fun because they are so happy.
My father does not like dogs. Sometimes when I am at school, I think about my
dogs. My father does not think about the dogs, but I always think about them.”

16
 Clearly, this sample from an Intermediate speaker is much better than the Novice
speaker. There are complete sentences, and some of them use connecting
words. This speaker was able to complete the task, and most native speakers
would be able to understand this speech, although some of them, like the ones
who are not used to talking to English students, might be a little impatient or an-
noyed by the speed of this speaker. This sample is only Intermediate because the
sentences can be reordered and the meaning will not be lost. There is no sense
of a beginning, middle, or end to this response as is in an Advanced-level para-
graph. The sentences are grammatically correct, but there is not a lot of rich and
vivid details that “bring it to life.” It’s simple, it’s easy to understand, but it’s not
Advanced.

OK, let’s look at how an Advanced speaker would answer this question:

“My father, a man who likes to live a simple, orderly life, does not like my dogs.
If you are a dog owner, then you have to be comfortable with having a little bit
of chaos and messiness in your life. I’m not no so concerned with minor things,
so of course my dogs’ sloppiness and erratic behavior never bother me. Al-
though they make our house dirty and they break the occasional flower pot, I
never get tired of their friendly faces. Tiger, the larger of my two dogs, seems to
have a sixth sense, and he always knows when to cheer me up when I’m feeling
sad or depressed. I wish my father were more like Tiger!”

In this speech sample, we can clearly see a progression from one idea to the next,
and it would be impossible to reorder these sentences without breaking down
the meaning. This sample also has more complex sentence structures and in-
cludes more vivid vocabulary and phrasal verbs.

17
 So there you have it. Raters listen to 20 to 40 minutes of your speech in order to
gather evidence. They listen to the functions you can accomplish, they listen to
your comprehensibility, and finally, they listen to the complexity of your speech.
In order to get a score in one of the major levels, Novice, Intermediate, Ad-
vanced, or Superior, you must satisfy all three requirements and you must sustain
this performance throughout the test. For example, if you satisfy only two of the
three Intermediate requirements, then you will only get a score of Novice. If you
satisfy all three of the Advanced requirements but you can satisfy these require-
ments most of the time during the test, and not all of the time, then you are going
to get a score of Intermediate.

18
 Secrets from a Certified OPIc Rater

The author of this e-book is a certified OPIc rater and has completed a rigorous
training course and has rated a set of tests by ACTFL, the only organization au-
thorized to certify raters. Now you are going to learn exactly what OPIc raters care
about when they listen to your test. A lot of courses and textbooks do not go into
much detail, but knowing these secrets will help you prepare more effectively so
that you can get a better score.

■ Secret #1: Talk As Much As Possible

You will have about two minutes to record your response to each question. After
two minutes, the recording will automatically stop and the test will proceed to the
next question. The more you talk, the better! Raters do not care if you could not
finish answering the question within the two-minute time limit, and you will never
be penalized for doing so. In fact, talking too little will have a negative impact on
your score! If you respond to all of the questions in 30-60 seconds, then don’t
expect to get a great score.

OPIc raters are gathering evidence from your speech, and the more “evidence”
you give them, the easier it will be for them to give you a good score. IM and IH
are able to produce more language, in other words more quantity of language,
than IL speakers. So just by talking and producing more language, you can easily
increase your score! As you prepare for the OPIc, time yourself so that you can
get used to speaking for about two minutes.

OPIc Tip: You can’t take notes during the OPIc, but you can wear a wristwatch
to time yourself.

19
 ■ Secret #2: Under-Assess Your Ability
There are five versions of the test. If you take Form 1, the highest score you can re-
ceive is IL, and many of you probably need to get a higher score than that. If you
are aiming to get a score of IH or higher, then you can take any other test form.
Really! It’s possible to get an AL with just a Form 2, which is much easier than all
the rest. There’s no need to be cocky and boast about your English ability. The
raters honestly do not care about your Self-Assessment, and they are simply
going to listen to your audio files for evidence of a score. So just select the
second option on the Self-Assessment, and do the best that you possibly can.

20
 ■ Secret #3: Raters Don’t Care about What You Say
Raters don’t really care about your response on the Self-Assessment, and they ac-
tually don’t care about a lot of other things too. For example, they don’t really
care about you making a good first impression on the warm up question. Your
personality, enthusiasm, reason for taking the test, your charm or lack of charm
are all worthless on this test, and the raters do not care about any of these things.
Fortunately for you, being a clever, funny, or likeable person is not one of the re-
quirements on the ACTFL proficiency scale. What are some other things raters
don’t care about?

• They don’t care about why you are taking the test and what your ideal score is.
You will get the same treatment as everybody else.

• They don’t care how creative (or not creative) you are on the test. Sure, creativ-
ity makes their job a little more enjoyable, but it doesn’t matter at all!

• They don’t care about your knowledge or lack of knowledge about a particular
topic. They don’t care about your experience or lack of experience at work and
school. And actually, they don’t really care if your answers are factually accu-
rate or a bunch of lies. Doesn’t matter to them! If you say something ridiculous
such as being a billionaire, having eleven siblings, or owning a pet monkey,
then they honestly do not care!
Remember, the OPIc only measures your speaking ability, so no matter what
the question is, don’t stop and think about it! In fact, long pauses will be really
bad for your score. If you get a question and you don’t know what the real
answer is, then just make something up. As long as your response satisfies the
question or prompt, the details do not matter.

• Finally, they absolutely don’t care about your title or position at a company.
You could be the President of South Korea, and it would never influence their
score for you. They treat everyone exactly the same, no matter what your
name, social status, or position is. You can either speak English very well, or
not.

21
 ■ Secret #4: Don’t Repeat Your Previous Answers
On the OPIc, you will be asked questions based on your interests and hobbies
from the Background Survey. You will be asked 2 or 3 related questions in order
to imitate a real life conversation. For example, if you indicated that you enjoy
jogging, you will get an initial question about jogging and exercise and one or
two follow up questions. Although the questions might seem similar, they are ac-
tually not. Listen to each test question very carefully and do not repeat answers
from previous questions because you might receive a lower score.

OPIc Tip: Koreans tend to say, “As I said before…” to bring up old information.
Please avoid using this phrase on the test, and always try to offer some new
information or details.

■ Secret #5: Ask Direct Questions on the Test

One of the requirements of an Intermediate speaker is having the ability to ask
and answer questions in a very simple social interaction. Raters prefer that you
ask direct questions instead of indirect questions. For example, “Do you serve
Korean food?” is a direct question but “I wonder if you serve Korean food.” is an
indirect question. Indirect questions are not actually questions, but we use them
in order to get information. It is technically OK for you to ask indirect questions,
and you can still receive an Intermediate or Advanced score if you do, but it be-
comes more difficult for raters to give you a score if you ask a lot of indirect ques-
tions. Make it easy on the raters, and try using direct questions.

■ Secret #6: Don’t Memorize Answers Before the Test!

Never, under any circumstance, memorize what you are going to say! Do not
memorize anything or use rehearsed speech for this test. It is incredibly easy for
OPIc raters to identify rehearsed speech, and they will know if you are speaking
naturally or not.

22
 ■ Secret #7: Don’t Over-correct Yourself
You really can’t afford to correct yourself too much. First, it can take up a lot of
time. Second, it draws attention to your mistake. And third, it makes you look like
a less confident speaker.

If you catch yourself making a mistake, ask yourself whether the rater will under-
stand you or not. Even though you make a grammatical mistake, it’s usually still
easy for the rater to follow your meaning. If you’re afraid your mistake will make
what you said impossible to understand, then you can backtrack and try to ex-
plain yourself better.

So don’t worry about trying to catch and correct every little mistake you make. It
will just hurt your performance in the long run.˚

■ Secret #8: Don’t Use Any Korean Words

It’s quite easy to accidentally let slip a word from your native tongue when you are
having trouble expressing yourself in English. Even saying 뭐지 or 뭐라고 해야되지 to
yourself is a mistake. Using just one Korean word for anything at all for any reason
at all will damage your performance in the eyes of the rater. It shows that you
aren’t capable of having a conversation in English without reverting back into
your first language.

23
 ■ Secret #9: Don’t Freeze
What if you can’t think of a good answer to the question right away? Don’t just
freeze. A long period of silence will be painful for both you and the rater. How can
you avoid this situation? The first thing is to remember that you are allowed to say
things that aren’t directly related to the question. If you need time to think about
your answer, say so. You can say, for example, “Wow, that’s a really good ques-
tion. I’ll need to think about that for a second.” That will at least remove some of
the tension from the situation, and at the same time, make you seem like a more
natural speaker.

■ Secret #10: Don’t Get Stuck on One Word

Sometimes people get stuck on a word. You know how it is. Your mind goes
blank. It’s on the tip of your tongue but you just can’t spit it out. Some people can
spend a whole minute trying to remember a single word, which of course can be
disastrous for their score. So what should you do if you can’t think of a word? Just
talk around it! There are plenty of ways to get past a words you can’t remember.
If you can’t think of the word “cuisine”, don’t hesitate to just say “food”, or even
“things to eat”. Instead of “residences”, you can say “houses” or “places where
people live”. You will save precious seconds, you’ll sound more fluent, and if
you’re lucky, the rater won’t even notice that you took a detour.

24
 Is Memorizing Such a Bad Idea?

■ It’s Impossible to Memorize Everything

On the OPIc, you will have to answer 12-15 questions and complete role play situ-
ations. These topics are determined in part by your responses to the background
questionnaire and self-assessment. The problem is there are thousands and thou-
sands of possible questions. Even if you and 10 friends answer the background
questionnaire exactly the same, you all will have different tests with different
questions.

■ OPIc Raters Will Know If You Have Memorized

OPIc Raters are not the “average” English teachers you’ll find in public school
and hagwons. The raters are expert language teachers with professional creden-
tials, and they have all been trained and certified by ACTFL, the organization that
created the OPIc test. The training is very intensive, and it is not easy to complete.
Many people fail the certifying exam and cannot become raters. In summary, you
cannot fool them! They will know if you are speaking naturally or just regurgitat-
ing memorized speech. If you use memorized answers, your test will be marked
“invalid” and you won’t receive a score. That’s 70,000 won down the drain!

■ Memorizing Sample Answers Is Inefficient

Learning a new language requires you to memorize a lot of new information. You
can’t simply listen to English songs and movies all day and then, voila!, capable
of speaking English. Of course, you’ll have to memorize vocabulary words and
phrases in order to communicate, and you’ll have to learn new grammar rules in
order to present your new ideas. Memorizing these small units of languages,
words and phrases, are OK but it’s never a good idea to memorize entire sen-
tences or paragraphs.

25
 SO WHAT'S NEXT?
This guide was intended to be a basic primer for the OPIc and to clear up any
myths you might have heard about the rating process. But now that you have the
basics down and know what to expect on test day, what can you do now to pre-
pare for this exam? The most important thing to remember is that the OPIc is a
proficiency exam, which means it only measures your ability to speak English.
Sure, it'll be helpful to brush up on some basic grammar and vocabulary, but just
because you know a lot about English doesn't mean you can actually use English
easily and fluently! The best way to practice for the OPIc is by practicing speaking
a lot, and by that, I mean unrehearsed and improvised speech. There's no such
thing as a "perfect answer" to an OPIc question, and you won't be able to write
down an outline or even notes during the exam. So why would you want to pre-
pare in such a way?

Thank you for taking the time to read this OPIc guide. We hope you found it to
be informative, and when the time comes, we wish you the best of luck on your
OPIc Test!

26
월스트리트 잉글리쉬를

선/택/하/는/이/유
초등학교부터 대학교에 이르기까지 꾸준히 공부를 해왔다고 생각하지만 쉽지 않은 영어, 많은 영어
학원을 전전하며 공부 해도 항상 제자리 걸음인 영어 실력, 왜일까요? 학원의 분위기, 강사의 실력,
학습 프로그램 등 차이를 만들어 내는 많은 이유들이 있습니다. 다른 학원들이 월스트리트
잉글리쉬를 따라올 수 없는, 많은 회원들이 수많은 영어학원 가운데 월스트리트 잉글리쉬를
선택하는 이유를 지금 소개합니다.
1. 세계적인 영어회화 전문학원
- 전 세계 29개국 450여개의 센터 규모 뿐 아니라, 세계 유수의 기업인 오라클, Dell, 3M, DHL, GE는 물론
현대카드, 한국관광공사, 두산 인프라코어, 신한지주 등 국내 공기업 및 대기업 임직원의 영어학습을
위탁하는 믿을 수 있는 학원입니다. 내가 취업, 이직하고 싶은 바로 그 기업이 원하는 영어 실력을
월스트리트 잉글리쉬에서 준비하세요.

2. 체계적이고 합리적인 영어학습시스템

- 깜박했던 중요한 약속이나 갑자기 잡히는 회식에도 일정을 자유롭게 조율할 수 있어 결석 없이 다닐
수 있으며, 센터간 transfer가 가능하여 이직이나 이사에도 불편함 없이 꾸준히 학습할 수 있습니다.
- 언어학계에서 인정한 모국어 습득원리를 통해 자연스럽게 영어를 익히게 되며, 모든 수업은 학생
스스로가 주체가 되어 말하는 능동적인 방식으로 진행됩니다.

3. 해외 어학연수와 동일한 100% 영어환경

- 수업의 유무와 상관없이 센터 내에서 100% 영어만을 사용하여 해외 어학연수 효과를 볼 수 있습니다.

4. 전 세계 온라인 커뮤니티
- 회원 커뮤니티 Village를 통해 전세계 29개국의 월스트리트 잉글리쉬 회원들과 친구가 될 수 있습니다.
- On/Off line이 통합된 'Blended Learning' 시스템을 통해 최고의 학습 효과를 만들어내고 있습니다.

5. 전문 스태프를 통한 최상의 서비스

- 센터 내에 상주하는 퍼스널 튜터를 통해 영어학습에 관한 도움은 물론 지속적인 동기부여를 받을 수
있습니다. 특히 등록 전 전문 컨설턴트와 상담을 통해, 목표하는 수준까지 장기적인 계획을 세워
꾸준히 학습할 수 있습니다.

6. 검증된 원어민 강사들을 통한 최고 수준의 수업

- 휘트니스 센터에 트레이너가 있듯이, 월스트리트 잉글리쉬에는 나만을 위한 영어학습 트레이너가 있습니다.
- 검증된 Teaching System Material을 통해 항상 최고 수준의 수업을 받으실 수 있습니다.

7. 자유로운 학습환경
- 모든 강사가 원어민이므로 외국인에 대한 거리감 없이 자연스럽게 대화하는 습관을 기를 수 있습니다.

8. 다양한 Social Club으로 영어와 문화 동시체험

- 다양한 주제로 진행되는 Social Club을 통해 실생활의 상황에 맞게 배운 내용을 적용할 수 있는
기회가 많고 국내에서 경험하기 드문 외국식 파티나 문화를 체험할 수 있습니다.
월스트리트 잉글리쉬의 독자적인 영어학습법을 소개합니다.

Acquisition Cycle이란 무엇인가요?

월스트리트 잉글리쉬의 영어 학습법 Acquisition Cycle은 아이가 모국어를 습득하는 것과 동일하게
디자인된 프로그램을 통해 듣기 →말하기 →읽기 →쓰기 순으로 영어능력을 배양하고, 100%
영어환경이 제공되는 센터에서 원어민들과 함께하는 다양한 체험식 수업을 통해 영어를 모국어처럼
자연스럽게 익히게 되는 원리입니다.

Acquisition Cycle학습은 어떻게 이루어지나요?

Acquisition Cycle(애퀴지션 사이클)은 글로벌 영어회화 교육기관인 월스트리트 잉글리쉬의
독자적인 영어학습법의 핵심입니다. Multi-stage로 구성된 학습법인 애퀴지션 사이클은 학문적으로
검증된 ESL프로그램으로 전통적인 언어학습의 3P – Presentation, Practice, and Production
를 중심으로 구성되어 있습니다.
월스트리트 잉글리쉬의 매력
월스트리트 잉글리쉬 삼성센터에 수강하고 있습니다. 기쁜

수/강/후/기 소식이 있어서 월스트리트 잉글리쉬에 감사 드리려고

합니다. 지난 9월, TOEIC시험을 보았는데 그 전의 점수가
895점이어서 900점 대로 진입 하기 많이 힘들 것이라고
예상했는데 990점 만점을 받았 습니다. 따로 시험 준비를
밥 먹는 것과 마찬가지로 영어가 생활의 한 부분이라는 것을 하지 않았는데도, 100점 가까이 향상된 비결은 월스트리트
자연스럽게 깨닫게 해주는 분위기가 가장 큰 장점 입니다. 커리큘럼에 따라 꾸준히 학습했기 때문이라고 생각합니다.
영어에 대한 부담감은 덜어주고 할 수 있다는 자신감을 불어
명OO / 글로벌 PR커뮤니케이션 / 삼성센터
넣어주는 학원! 100% 영어 사용 환경 에서 머리로만 배우는게
아닌 뜨거운 열정으로 배울 수 있는 곳. 왜 영어를 해야 하는지
알 수 있게 해주는 학원! 나를 위한 맞춤형 수업이 가능한 이 곳 !

김OO / 성신여자대학교 / 종로센터

지금까지 제가 다닌 회화학원은 주로 책으로 이론적인 내용만을

다루어 실제 상황에서의 활용도는 그리 높지 않았습니다.
월스트리트 잉글리쉬에서는 매 주 소셜 클럽이 기다려집니다.
재미는 물론, 다양한 소재, 실용 회화의 적용, 문법의 올바른
쓰임새 등 소셜클럽의 장점을 알게 되면서 거의 모든 소셜클럽을
참여 하려고 노력합니다. 저보다 먼저 다닌 분들이 많이 도와줘서 학원에 있는 시간만큼은 정말로 외국에서 생활하는 것
어색함 없이 적응하고 친구도 사귈 수 있었습니다. 같은 기분을 느낄 수 있습니다. 새로운 사람들을 만나고
금OO / 영남대학교 / 대구센터 친해지는 과정에서 영어로만 대화하니 영어실력이 늘지
않을 수 없어요. 또 Casino Royal과 같은 이벤트 적인
수업도 많으니 다른 어학원과는 비교도 할 수 없죠.
월스트리트에서는 영어가 절대 지루하지 않아요!

한OO / 국민대학교 / 강남센터

월스트리트 잉글리쉬의 장점은 훌륭한 강사와

스태프라고 생각합니다. 개인적으로 학생에게 친절 하고
학습에 얼마나 많은 관심을 기울이 느냐가 중요 하다고
100% 영어회화 환경이 부담스러워서 문법을 먼저 공부하고 생각하는데, 월스트리트 잉글리쉬 강사와 스태프 들은
다녀보겠다는 친구들이 있었는데, 회화학원이라고 해서 기초 실력도 좋고 정말 친절합니다. 센터 라운지 에서 저를
문법이나 어휘를 배제하는 것이 아니라 멀티미디어 학습을 통해 알아보고 이름을 반갑게 불러 주는 강사와 스태프가 있어
듣고, 쓰고, 읽고, 말하는 것을 함께 배우고, 소셜클럽 시간이 즐겁게 영어 공부를 할 수 있어요.
있어서 원어민이 자주 쓰는 일상 영어까지 습득할 수 있습니다.
박OO / 법무법인 한영 변호사 / 일산센터
기초부터 탄탄한 영어를 원하시는 분들께 추천하고 싶습니다!

이OO / 아모레퍼시픽 / 부산센터

영화를 보면서 혼자 공부한 적도 있고, 친구들과 함께 스터디를 제가 원래 영어와 친하지 않아 거부감이 있었고, 직장
하면서 영어로 대화하려고 노력한 경험도 있지만, ‘영어로 때문에 시간이 없다는 핑계로 영어공부를 미뤄왔었습니다.
말하는 데에도 교육이 필요하구나’라는 깨달음을 준 곳이 그러던 중 자율수업제라는 월스트리트 잉글리쉬의 문구가
월스트리트입니다. 회화를 잘 하려면 우리가 생각하는 것 눈에 들어왔고, 평일 밤 늦게까지 센터가 오픈된다는 것도
이상의 문법적인 지식과 올바른 피드백을 줄 수 있는 가이드가 마음에 들어 바로 수강하게 되었습니다. 회사와 함께
필요합니다. 만일 독학을 한다면, 나와 같은 한국인 친구들이 다니기도 편하고 무엇보다 퇴근 후 편한 마음으로 부담
스스로 그 해답을 찾을 수 있을까요? 월스트리트는 사람들 없이 영어를 즐길 수 있다는 장점 덕에 영어와 점점
에게 쉽고 정확하게 영어를 말할 수 있도록 도움을 주는 최상의 친해지고 있습니다. 이제는 센터 스태프 분들과 함께 학습
가이드입니다. '제대로 된' 영어를 구사하고 싶다면, 월스트리트 플랜도 세워서 평일, 주말 쉴 틈 없이 재미있게 공부하고
를 꼭 찾으라고 말씀 드리고 싶습니다. 있습니다.
권OO / 동국대학교 / 분당센터 최OO / 삼덕회계법인 / 신촌센터

다양한 프로그램과 소셜클럽이 있어 즐겁게 영어공부를 할 하루에 1시간이든 10시간이든 제약 없이 마음껏 공부 할 수

수 있었습니다. 또한, 시간에 구애받지 않고 Free Talking에 있는 시스템이 직장인이나 휴학생에게는 더할 나위 없는
참여할 수 있기 때문에 휴학생들은 하루종일 월스트리트 강점이라고 생각합니다. 회원 중에는 학생 뿐 아니라 저 같은
잉글리쉬 센터에 있는 경우도 많고 바쁜 직장인은 점심 직장인들도 많아 다양한 사회적 이슈도 공유할 수 있고 모든
시간을 이용하는 모습도 자주 보았습니다. Free Talking을 회화가 영어로 이루어지기에 점차 향상되어가는 영어 회화
통해서 자연스럽게 회화 능력이 향상 되고 궁금한 것은 실력에 저 스스로도 놀라고 있습니다.
그때그때 선생님한테 물어봐서 바로 해결 할 수 있습니다. 이OO / 서울9호선(주) / 여의도센터
이OO / 연세대학교 / 삼성센터