The English Proficiency Interview (EPI) is one of three ways that graduate students can demonstrate oral English proficiency prior to receiving a teaching assistant (TA) appointment for classroom or online teaching and holding office hours.

First-time examinees

International graduate students and graduate students for whom English is not their mother tongue, who

• scored 23 or below on the speaking subsection of the TOEFL iBT or
• scored 7.5 or below on the IELTS speaking subsection or
• have not taken the TOEFL or IELTS or
• have an expired passing score on the TOEFL or IELTS

Exemptions are described here.

Re-takers

If you fail the EPI and wish to retake it, you first must complete an English improvement activity during a semester after your previous EPI.

In most cases, no. Graders are exempt from demonstrating oral English proficiency if they have no oral interaction with students. Graders who have oral interactions with students (e.g., through office hours) must demonstrate oral English proficiency.

You are limited to three EPI attempts. If you are unable to pass after the third attempt, you may take the TOEFL or IELTS as often as needed to achieve the required minimum score.

You may take the EPI only once per semester and must complete an English improvement activity to be eligible to retake the EPI.

Your department or program will register you. Contact your department’s office administrator and tell him or her that you want to take the EPI. Following are the best times to register for the EPI:

 

I want to take the EPI during	Registration opens in
Fall semester	early September
January (before Spring instruction begins)	early December
Spring semester	early February
Summer session 1	mid-April
Summer session 2 and August (before Fall instruction begins)	early June

EPI dates are posted and updated regularly on the EPI Schedule section of this website. The EPI is offered each semester at the following times:

 

Fall: October through early December

Spring: March through early May

Summer: July and early August

 

The EPI may also be offered shortly before the Graduate Academy in January and August for the following graduate students: a) those arriving on campus for the first time who expect to teach in the upcoming semester, or b) for students who received a TA offer shortly before the beginning of a semester who must demonstrate oral English proficiency to be eligible to teach.

Start EARLY, at least one semester (3-4 months) before you plan to take the EPI, especially if this is your first semester in the US. If your most recent TOEFL iBT speaking score was 20 or below, consider taking an ESL oral skills course before you take the EPI for the first time. Or you may hire a tutor to help you identify areas you may need to work on.

Whether you take a class, work with a tutor, or prepare on your own, don’t wait until the last minute—give yourself time to assess and develop your English skills.

Click here for a list of ESL oral skills classes, tutor link, and other campus resources.

You can find many resources on campus to help you practice and improve your English and prepare for the EPI.

Click here to view a comprehensive list of English study resources.

All of these resources are designed for students taking the EPI for the first time or retaking it. Even if you have already passed the EPI, these resources can help you continue to fine-tune your English and teaching skills.

 

Tell your EPI department contact as soon as possible if you cannot keep your appointment. They will cancel your EPI appointment for you. If you do not show up and your department has not cancelled the appointment at least two business days before your scheduled interview, then the no-show will count as one of your three attempts at the EPI. Because of the very full testing schedule, we cannot guarantee that you can be re-scheduled to test the same semester.

You should bring a photo ID, such as your passport, iCard, or driver's license, and your 9-digit university ID number (UIN). You will be asked to leave any belongings (e.g., coat, backpack, phone) with the receptionist. Only an ID may be taken into the interview room.

Test takers should arrive 15 minutes before their scheduled interview.  The actual interview takes about 15 minutes.

The 15-minute interview begins with a warm-up, continues with the core section, and ends with a wrap-up. During the warm-up, you have a minute or two to adjust to speaking in English and accustom yourself to the interviewer’s pronunciation and way of speaking. During the core section of the interview, the interviewer will ask you general questions about a variety of topics. You also will be asked to explain two academic terms from the field of study of the desired teaching assistantship (the terms will be provided by the interviewer). The explanations simulate language tasks that are typical of an academic classroom setting.

During the interview, you may be asked to tell a story or describe an experience, support an opinion, and compare various sides of an issue.

EPI interviewers are trained language professionals who have strong backgrounds in teaching oral English skills, linguistics, or a related field. They all have experience working with international students and enjoy meeting and interviewing EPI examinees.

If you aren’t sure what the interviewer is asking you, then it is appropriate to ask for clarification or to restate what you heard for verification. Your final EPI score is based on how you perform throughout the entire interview. If you frequently give answers that don’t answer the question, then your final score may be affected.

You may take a few seconds, if needed, to think about your answer. But in general, you are expected to start your answer soon after the question is asked.

Rather than focusing on the length of your answers, focus on whether you are adequately answering the question. Also consider: Are you elaborating on and supporting your ideas? Are you providing an example, if appropriate, to help show what you mean? You are encouraged to say as much as you can about a topic. It is possible, though, that the interviewer may interrupt you in order to complete other required parts of the interview.

The EPI is designed to assess how effectively you communicate when speaking English. Drawing or writing on the board to illustrate a key concept is, of course, an important part of effective teaching, but is not part of the EPI.

The terms that you will define during the EPI come from the department that plans to hire you as a TA. The department selects terms typically taught in introductory undergraduate courses.

One place to start is to simply practice defining terms and concepts that you encounter in everyday life: while reading research articles, while talking with advisors or colleagues, or from your classes. Another way is to practice defining some of the basic terms or concepts from a course you expect to teach. Remember that you will not be evaluated on your knowledge of the term, but rather on your ability to explain it in a way that a novice could understand.

During the interview, if you have no knowledge of all five terms on the list from your department, you may request a list of General Academic Terms. These are terms that anyone in an Illinois graduate program should be able to define.

The EPI score is a holistic score. This means that the score reflects your overall ability to communicate in English in a teaching context. The EPI assesses examinees’ speaking ability in terms of five features: Fluency, Linguistic Accuracy, Discourse Management, Question Handling and Listening, and Listener Effort.

Your EPI score will be sent to your department contact, the person who registered you for the EPI. If you haven’t received your score from your department by 2 weeks after your EPI, please contact your department.

A short video that describes how to interpret your score appears here (scroll down the page to see the video).

Carefully read your Official EPI Score Report. In addition to your final score, it contains information on additional ESL coursework that may be required, and provides information on areas of strength and weakness in your oral English skills.

On the lower part of the score report (see following example), look for pluses (+) to indicate a key strength, and minuses (-) to indicate an area where further improvement is needed. The score report also tells you which ESL courses are best suited to helping you improve for each language feature. In this example, weaknesses included Fluency and Discourse Management. Both of these areas are addressed in ESL 506. A tutor can also assist with both areas.

Sample score report feedback:

 

Scores of 5 or 6 are passing scores. Your next step is to attend the Graduate Academy for College Teaching before the first semester you expect to teach. Your department will register you. The Graduate Academy is offered each year during the week before the Fall and Spring semesters.

 

A score of 4CP is a “conditional pass” which allows you to become a TA provided you enroll in ESL 508, which is designed to provide oversight, support, and guidance as you transition to teaching. ESL 508 must be completed prior to or during your first semester of teaching. To register for ESL 508 contact Dr. Suzanne Franks. Students who receive a 4CP also must attend the Graduate Academy for College Teaching before their first semester as a TA.

 

If you do not pass the EPI (scores of 2, 3, or 4): Campus policy requires that you successfully complete an English improvement activity before retaking the EPI. To fulfill this requirement, you may take a pronunciation course (ESL 504 or 510) or a course focused on classroom culture and oral English skills for teaching (ESL 506).

 

In lieu of taking a class, you may elect to complete at your own expense at least 10 hours of approved tutoring. 

If you select tutoring for the improvement activity, the following requirements apply:

• You must meet with the tutor at least once a week for a minimum of 8 weeks.
• If you received a 4 on the EPI, you must complete a minimum of 10 hours of tutoring.
• Students with an EPI score of 3 must complete a minimum of 20 hours of tutoring before retaking the EPI.

 

And lastly, students who do not pass the EPI may take the TOEFL iBT or IELTS (academic exam) as often as needed to achieve the minimum score required for teaching.

Click here to see a list of dates by which tutoring must start for students to be eligible to retake the EPI.

If you select tutoring for your English improvement activity, the following requirements apply:

• Students must meet with an approved EPI tutor at least once a week. Also, students must meet weekly for a minimum of 8 weeks. Important: Plan ahead! You likely will need to start your 8 weeks of tutoring early in the semester during which you plan to retake the EPI. Start searching for a tutor at least 4-6 weeks before you plan to start tutoring--this means before the semester starts.
• Students who received a 4 on the EPI must complete a minimum of 10 hours of tutoring.
• Students with an EPI score of 3 must complete a minimum of 20 hours of tutoring before retaking the EPI.

Students who receive a score of 4CP on the EPI may teach provided they enroll in (and successfully complete) ESL 508: Seminar for International TAs. They may take this course prior to their first semester of teaching OR may take it concurrently with their first semester of teaching. Contact Dr. Suzanne Franks for details.