CIWA/CLTA-WA 4-Day Full Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI)

Assessment Workshop

The Confucius Institute of the State of Washington (CIWA)

and the Chinese Language Teachers Association of Washington State (CLTA-WA)

will be hosting our second 4-Day Full Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) Workshop

with Dr. T. Richard Chi (齊德立教授) of the University of Utah.

Dates: Thursday, August 23 – Sunday, August 26, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Location: Lakeside Upper School, 14050 1st Ave NE, Seattle WA 98125

Cost:$400 per participant(CIWA is covering all other costs of the workshop; $400 covers the registration cost for participants to undertake the OPI certification process, which participants are required to do following the workshop.)

Coffee and tea will be provided daily. Participants are required to bring their own lunch or alternately can purchase take-out Chinese lunches to be delivered to the workshop site each day.

Upon completion of the course, participants are required to take part in the OPI Rater certification process, with the goal of creating a pool of certified OPI Raters for Chinese in Washignton State. More information at

Participants funded by this professional grant are required both to undertake the training and must commit to taking part in the certification process (and at a minimum, complete the practice round of rating samples).

About Dr. Chi:

T. Richard Chi is Professor of Chinese language and linguistics in the Department of Languages and Literature at the University of Utah. He has been a teacher of Chinese language, culture and linguistics for over 25 years. His research areas include second language acquisition, applied linguistics, curriculum and assessment design, language learning strategies, and teaching Chinese as a second language. Dr. Chi served as Department Chair from 1998 to 2004. He was also Director of the Chinese School at Middlebury College from 1993 to 2002. As an ACTFL-certified Mandarin oral proficiency tester and tester trainer, he has conducted numerous workshops on the OPI and proficiency-based language instruction.

Only current CLTA-WA members in good standing may apply. To apply, please send a completed application as an MS Word Document byJune 1to Adam Rossvia email (), including the following information:

  • Your name (Chinese, English or both)
  • Address
  • Affiliated School or Institution
  • A short statement of purpose about why you wish to attend this workshop and how you will gain professionally in your teaching (250 words maximum)
  • A statement to affirm that you will pledge to pursue OPI Rater certification upon completion of this workshop during the 2012-13 academic year.

Applicants will be notified by June 10 about their selection, and must confirm their spots with a payment of $400 in a check made out to “Alliance for Education: Confucius Institute Fund.” Note that up to one yearfollowing the training, all participants will be eligible to apply for certification as an ACTFL OPI tester with the full cost ($400) sponsored by the Confucius Institute. Applicants must be available to attend the entire 4-day workshop to be considered.

Please note:

We understand that circumstances may change over the summer which may result in your not able to participate in the full training session. In this case, please notify Adam Ross and get approved for partial participation or to be excused from participation. Only if other participants are able to re-fill a vacated spot according to these terms of participation can paymentbe returned.