This digest discusses the simulated oral proficiency interview (SOPI), a performance-based, tape-mediated speaking test. The SOPI follows the general structure of the oral proficiency interview (OPI) used by government agencies and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) to measure speaking proficiency. Whereas the OPI is a face-to-face interview, the SOPI relies on audiotaped instructions and a test booklet to elicit language from the examinee. Unlike many semi-direct tests, the SOPI contextualizes all tasks to ensure that they appear as authentic as possible. The prototypical SOPI follows the same four phases as the OPI: warm-up, level checks, probes, and wind-down. The warm-up phase, designed to ease examinees into the test format, begins with simple personal background questions posed on the tape in a simulated encounter with a native speaker of the target language. The examinee responds to each warm-up question during a brief pause on the tape after each question. The next phase of the test consists of tasks similar to the level check and probe phases of the OPI. These tasks assess the examinee's ability to perform different functions at the ACTFL Intermediate, Advanced, and Superior levels. The prototypical SOPI includes picture-based tasks that allow examinees to perform tasks such as asking questions, giving directions based on a simple map, describing a place, or narrating a sequence of events based on the illustrations provided. Other SOPI tasks require examinees to speak about selected topics or perform in real-life situations. (VWL)