The University of Chicago

About the AEPA Oral Proficiency™

The Academic English Proficiency Assessment (AEPA) Oral Proficiency is an authentic, highly structured English conversation between a prospective University of Chicago student, postdoc, or visitor and an English language specialist. An AEPA typically lasts 15 to 30 minutes and includes an academic role play. The language specialist’s goal is to elicit the test taker’s best possible sample of spoken English in academic context. The language specialist is interested in overall, functional speaking ability rather than only accuracy and grammar. Due to the spontaneous and customized nature of the AEPA, there is no official way to study for an AEPA. The AEPA is administered through an online video conferencing system, the details of which is sent to the candidates after the registration. The AEPA is recorded for the Office of Language Assessment, which will have exclusive use of it.

Academic English Proficiency Levels

Academic English Proficiency Assessment (AEPA) Oral Proficiency has five main levels as an indicator of the level of candidates’ academic English oral proficiency:

Excellent: Can hypothesize and support abstract opinions across an array of topics using extensive, organized discourse in a manner typical of an academically rigorous environment. May make occasional grammatical errors, but no patterns are present. Pronunciation is easily understandable to all.

  • Click here to listen to a sample performance at this level.
Proficient: Can speak fluently and at length across academic topics. Some breakdown occurs when hypothesizing or supporting an opinion. Grammatical and pronunciation errors are present but do not hinder communication.

  • Click here to listen to a sample performance at this level.
  • Watch the video below to learn more about the Proficient level and what you can do to work toward the Excellent level.
Functional: Speaker may be able to communicate academic ideas in some detail in a limited number of contexts. Language breaks down when discussing abstract or formal topics. Errors in grammar and pronunciation may require repetition or restatement for clarity.

  • Click here to listen to a sample performance at this level.
  • Watch the video below to learn more about the Functional level and what you can do to work toward the Proficient level.
Basic: Speaker may be able to communicate simple academic ideas, though frequent errors in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary may require an attentive listener. Speaker cannot support an opinion or hypothesize. Miscommunication may occur as a result of insufficient listening comprehension skills.

  • Click here to listen to a sample performance at this level.
  • Watch the video below to learn more about the Basic level and what you can do to work toward the Functional level.
Limited: Does not have functional academic English oral proficiency to successfully complete academic tasks at the University.

  • Click here to listen to a sample performance at this level.
  • Watch the video below to learn more about the Limited level and what you can do to work toward the Basic level.
Click here to view the chart representing the AEPA Levels.

Understanding the AEPA Oral Proficiency Format

The AEPA Oral Proficiency is an assessment that measures international students and scholar’s academic English oral proficiency. Understanding the AEPA Oral Proficiency format is a key to help you prepare for this assessment.

Click here to familiarize yourself with the format of the AEPA Oral Proficiency.

Understanding the AEPA Oral Proficiency Results

Interpreting the AEPA Oral Proficiency results correctly is a key to make accurate decisions based on these results.

Click here to understand what the AEPA Oral Proficiency results mean and how to interpret a candidate’s final rating.