How to Improve Your OPIc Score with Conversation Practice

A Student Result That Surprised Me

One of my students has been taking conversational English lessons with me twice a week for the past several months.

During that time, we have only done conversation lessons. We have discussed everyday life, travel, university, work, culture and many other topics. I have introduced her to natural vocabulary, idioms and phrasal verbs, but we have never specifically prepared for OPIc together.

A few weeks ago, she was delighted to tell me that she had retaken her OPIc test and improved her score. She felt that our regular conversation lessons had helped her achieve that improvement, which made the news even more rewarding for both of us.

Her result made me think about how regular conversation lessons can develop many of the abilities students need during OPIc, even when those lessons are not specifically focused on the test. Of course, one student's experience does not guarantee that everyone will achieve the same result.

Conversation Lessons Are More Than "Just Talking"

A good conversation lesson should not simply be two people talking until the time runs out.

In my lessons, students learn useful idioms, phrasal verbs and natural vocabulary connected to the day's topic. We then use that language while discussing personal experiences, opinions, everyday situations and cultural differences. Students build confidence and feel more comfortable after every lesson. Slowly but surely, they build their vocabulary and understanding without feeling overwhelmed.

Students are also asked follow-up questions that they have not prepared for. This teaches them to listen carefully, organise their thoughts and respond without memorising every sentence in advance.

Over time, they become better at:

• Understanding more complicated questions
• Listening without becoming overwhelmed
• Answering unexpected follow-up questions
• Giving reasons, examples and personal details
• Telling stories in a clearer order
• Expressing opinions more naturally
• Rephrasing an idea when they forget a word
• Continuing after making a mistake

These are conversational skills, but they are also extremely useful during OPIc.

How Idioms and Phrasal Verbs Improve Your Understanding

I have noticed another interesting improvement when I regularly teach idioms and phrasal verbs.

When students first see an expression such as put something off, bring something up or get away with something, they may try to understand each word separately. This can be confusing because the literal meanings of the words do not always explain the complete expression.

Instead of immediately giving students the answer, I often use the expression in a complete sentence and ask them to guess what it means.

The more we practise this, the better they become at finding clues in the sentence. They begin to consider the situation, the surrounding words and the speaker's intention.

This not only helps them learn one particular expression. It teaches them how to make sense of unfamiliar English without panicking.

That ability can also help during OPIc. A student may hear a long question containing an unfamiliar word, but this does not have to ruin the entire answer. If the student can understand the main idea from context, they can remain calm and respond to what they do understand.

Regular Conversation Makes English Feel Less Stressful

Many students know more English than they can comfortably use when someone suddenly asks them a question. They may understand the vocabulary and grammar, but stress makes it difficult to organise their thoughts. They start looking for a perfect answer, translating everything in their heads or worrying about making one small mistake.

Regular exposure to someone from another country can gradually make these situations feel less unfamiliar. Students become used to different pronunciation, natural speaking speed and the experience of expressing themselves to someone who does not share their first language.

Another long-term student recently had an interview that included an English section. She later told me that the interviewer reminded her of me. The interviewer was friendly and helped her relax, but our regular conversations had also made the situation feel more familiar. Instead of becoming stressed because she suddenly had to speak English, she was able to treat it more like a normal conversation.

The longer students have regular conversations in English, the more comfortable they become with listening, pausing, thinking and responding. They learn that they do not need to answer immediately or understand every word perfectly. They can explain something differently, correct themselves and continue.

Conversation practice does not only improve what students can say. It changes how they feel and react when they need to use English in a real situation.

That confidence and flexibility can help during an interview, an international conversation or a speaking test such as OPIc.

But Conversation Practice Is Not the Whole Test

However, natural speaking ability is only one part of OPIc.

Students also need to understand the test's different question types and know how to organise each kind of answer. Describing a place, explaining a routine, comparing the past and present, telling a memorable story and completing a role-play all require different approaches.

You do not need to memorise complete answers, but you should understand what the question is asking you to do.

Why OPIc Role-Plays Need Specific Practice

Role-play questions are a good example.

Asking a few questions may sound easy, but students need to listen carefully to the instructions, cover all the required information and arrange their questions in a sensible order.

Imagine that you need to call a hotel and ask for information. A logical order might be:

1. Ask whether a room is available.
2. Ask how much it costs.
3. Ask what is included.
4. Ask how to make the reservation.

The individual questions do not need to be complicated. What matters is that they are relevant, complete and organised like a real conversation.

If you jump from the price to parking, then return to room availability, the response can sound disorganised. You may speak reasonably good English but still fail to handle the task as effectively as you could.

This is why students need to practise the structure of OPIc questions as well as their general English.

How Focused OPIc Training Can Help You Reach Your Goal

Regular conversational English lessons build the foundation. Focused OPIc preparation teaches you how to apply those speaking abilities to the test.

I saw the value of test-specific preparation with another student several years ago. She was preparing for IELTS and later told me that although our practice had been challenging, it had helped her enormously. She understood the test format more clearly and knew how to approach and organise her answers.

The same principle applies to OPIc. General speaking ability is important, but understanding the test gives you an additional advantage. You become familiar with the types of questions you will hear, the information you need to include and the best way to organise your response.

Specific OPIc practice can help you:

• Recognise different OPIc question types
• Identify every part of the prompt
• Organise descriptions, stories and comparisons clearly
• Use STAR or PREP when appropriate
• Handle role-plays and unexpected situations
• Develop natural answers without memorising a script

Focused preparation cannot replace the English ability you develop over time. However, it can provide the extra direction and practice needed to help you move closer to your target score.

In other words:

"Conversation lessons help you become a stronger speaker. Focused OPIc training helps you use that ability more effectively during the test."

Practise Both the Language and the Test

You do not have to choose between improving your real English and preparing for OPIc. Regular conversation lessons build the listening, vocabulary and confidence you can use long after the test. Focused OPIc preparation then helps you apply those abilities to the test's specific question types.

Strong English gives you something meaningful to say. Good OPIc preparation helps you present it clearly.

For more focused test advice, read my OPIc AL Strategy Guide.