About the Oral English Proficiency Program

The Oral English Proficiency Program works with international graduate students whose departments wish to hire as teaching assistants.  After the department identifies students as potential TAs, the students are scheduled to take the Oral English Proficiency Test, to make sure that the TA's level of spoken English is adequate for a teaching position.

Students who are scheduled to take the test should be sure to use the on-line practice test, or borrow the OEPT Tutorial CD from their department or the undergraduate library reserve desk.  Students should have at least 48 hours to review the practice materials.  It is also important that students who are newly arrived on campus have time to rest and recover from jet lag prior to being scheduled for the OEPT. 

After the student takes the test, the test is reviewed by at least two trained raters.  A student scoring a 5 or 6 is certified for oral English proficiency, and may accept a position with direct undergraduate student instructional contact.  A student who scores a 3 or 4 is not certified, and is placed on the waiting list for ENGL 001T, "Classroom Communication for International Teaching Assistants."  Students who are not certified may be hired for teaching assistantship positions that do not involve undergraduate student contact, such as grading papers, doing research for a professor, or computer programming.  After taking ENGL 001T, students are re-assessed for oral English proficiency and may be certified, or asked to repeat the course.

Students who would like more information on taking the OEPT, or enrolling in ENGL 001T, should check with the graduate office of their department.  All scheduling is done between the student's department and the OEPP.

Students who would like ESL instruction are also encouraged to consider the options listed on our list of Community Resources in ESL.  On this page you will find information about the OEPP's conversation groups and other English language schools in our community.