Placement and Testing
Graduate Students
(Reading Proficiency Exam)
Undergraduate Students (Placement &
Proficiency)
Chinese | French |
German | Italian | Japanese | Latin
| Portuguese | Russian | Spanish
BASIC INFORMATION:
The University of South Carolina requires that all students achieve
proficiency in one foreign language. When a student enters USC, his/her
foreign-language proficiency is measured by a placement test in the
language studied previously (usually the language studied in high
school).
Each College sets the level of proficiency required for graduation
from USC. If a student gets a high enough score on the Placement
Test to satisfy his/her College, then no further course work in
foreign language is required.
If the student's score is not high enough to satisfy the College
requirement, then additional course work in a foreign language will
be necessary. Before taking a foreign-language course at USC, a
student must have a foreign-language proficiency score on record.
The placement score will indicate the level at which the student
should begin studying a foreign language at USC.
If a student wishes to study a second foreign language at other
than the beginning level, he/she should also take the test in that
language for placement purposes.
TAKING THE TEST:
The Orientation and Testing Office administers placement tests
to new
undergraduates on two Saturdays in April, just prior to Summer Session
1, each Summer
Orientation date, plus just prior to January and August Orientations.
As a courtesy for current USC students who have missed the regular
testing dates, and who have no placment score, the Placement test
will also be administered by the Department of Languages, Literatures,
and Cultures.
For Chinese, please contact
Dr. Charles Alber at
803-777-2509.
For French Phase I: Only for students
who have never taken the USC French Placement Test.
Friday, January 7, 2005, 4:00-5:15. Humanities Classroom
302
Be there at 3:45; doors locked at 4:00.
Picture ID mandatory.
Results by e-mail by Sunday 5 p.m.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005, 4:00-5:15. Humanities Classroom
302
Note date change!
Be there at 3:45; doors locked at 4:00.
Picture ID mandatory.
Results by e-mail by Thursday noon.
Students must bring a picture ID and a number 2 pencil. Students
must be on time; once available spaces are full, no other students
will be admitted. No advance registration required; just come.
For all French placement questions please e-mail:
Professor Elizabeth Blount
blount-liz@sc.edu
Messages: 803.777.4881
109 RETEST: Students who already have a French
Placement score, who have at least a B in FREN 109 and who may be
eligible to test to exempt FREN 110 must contact Prof. Lucille Mould
at mouldl@sc.edu. You cannot
take the French Placement Test again; this is a different test,
and you must register in advance to take it.
Friday, Jan. 7, 2005, 1:30-2:30 pm, Humanities Classroom
101 (Sony Lab).
Some questions about placement can be answered by the office of
the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures: 803.777.4881
Phase I of the French Placement Test is a 50-minute test and consists
of a total of 45 multiple-choice questions: 25 questions for listening,
and 20 questions for reading.
No specific information, grammar or vocabulary is tested; instead,
the test evaluates your skill in understanding natural speech and
authentic written texts. You will listen to taped dialogues where
speakers discuss everyday topics in a natural way at normal speed.
The passages you will hear are broken up into short segments and
each segment is repeated. The reading passages are taken from sources
such as French newspapers. Articles that are not very long or complicated
have been chosen, and the questions focus on the main points and
some of the more obvious details. This test reflects our curriculum
at the FREN 122 level.
INTERPRETING THE RESULTS:
Students scoring F-1 should register for FREN 109; F-2, for
FREN 121; F-3, for FREN 122.
Students scoring F-4 must take the second phase of the test.
Phase II consists of an interview and two short compositions.
Students should take the Phase II exam before registering for
a French class. You will be guaranteed a place in a class at the
correct level after you take the Phase II. For more about Phase
II, see below.
A student may take the French proficiency/placement test only
once: a second score in the same language is not valid. The results
of the placement test are binding; that is, a student may not
take a course at a lower level than his/her proficiency score
indicates.
For more information, contact Elizabeth Blount, Director of French
Placement: BLOUNT-LIZ@SC.EDU
Phase II:
If you have scored an F-4 on the French Placement Test, you are
in the highest category for the multiple-choice part of the exam.
This means that you have qualified for the second part of the
placement exam but have not yet taken it. You are required to
take this part of the test in order to receive a permanent score
on your records. You will therefore need to take Phase II of the
French Placement Test.
The Phase II exam consists of a short writing test (about 30
minutes) and a brief oral interview (10-15 minutes). If you would
like advice about courses offered by the French Department, that
will also take about 15 minutes.
BENEFIT FOR YOU: If the Phase II examiner determines that your
level of spoken and written French is sufficiently high, a placement
score of F-5 will be recorded for you, and you will have satisfied
the foreign language requirement for any college at USC. Then,
if you take one of the qualifying upper-level French courses and
earn at least a B, you will be eligible for seven hours of "advanced
standing" credit (for French 121 and 122).
The examiner may determine that a score of F-3 should be recorded
for you. In this case you will be advised to take French 122.
If you earn a grade of B or better in French 122 you will be eligible
for four hours of "advanced standing" credit (for French
121).
Plus, your performance on Phase II of the exam will help us know
how to advise you on which French courses would be at the best
level for you.
WHAT TO DO: You need to make an individual appointment to take
Phase II of the exam. Contact Professor John Duffy: e-mail him
at jjd@sc.edu, call him at 777-2377,
or leave a message for him at the Department of Languages, Literatures,
and Cultures (777-4881).
For German Phase I:
Please contact Paulette Jimenez
at 777-4882 to schedule a test.
German Phase II: Contact buerstne@gwm.sc.edu
The writing part will take about 30 minutes; the oral interview
will take about 15 minutes; and if you want advice about which
course to take, that will take about 15 minutes, as well. Bring
a pencil or pen.
For Italian, please
contact Dr. Pauluzzi at 803-777-2686.
For Japanese,
the next test will be given January 6, 2005 (Thursday) in the Ted
Mims Foreign Language Learning Center, Humanities Classroom Building,
Room 101. Bring a picture i.d.
For Latin, please
contact Kathleen Ross at 777-0816.
For Portuguese,
please contact Dr. de Oliveira
at 803-777-2575.
For Russian,
please contact Dr. Kalb at
803-777-9615.
For Spanish Phase I:
Wednesday, December 1, 2004
10:00 am Humanities Classroom Bldg., Rm. 201
5:00 pm Humanities Classroom Bldg., Rm. 201
Thursday, January 6, 2005
1:00pm – 2:00pm Humanities Classroom Bldg., Rm. 201
5:00pm – 6:00pm Humanities Classroom Bldg., Rm. 201
Student must bring with them a No. 2 pencil and a photo ID before
they will be allowed to take the placement test. This test takes
approximately 50-60 minutes.
SPANISH PHASE I RE-TEST DATES
Thursday, January 6, 2005
3:00pm – 4:00pm
Humanities Classroom Bldg., Rm. 201
The following conditions must exist in order to qualify for the
SPAN 109 retest:
1. Your major is in a School or College other than the College
of Liberal Arts, Math and Sciences, or Music.
2. You completed SPAN 109 with a grade of B or higher.
3. You previously took the regular version of the Spanish Phase
I Placement Exam and received a score of S1.
SPANISH PHASE II TEST DATES
Friday, January 7, 2005
10:00am – 12:00pm Gambrell Hall, Room 153
Appointments are required. Contact Dee Dee Coleman in the Spanish
Program at 777-4884 to make an appointment. Students must bring
something to write with and a photo ID. The test consists of an
oral interview in Spanish and writing samples in the present and
past tense and also a mechanical check of the student’s
control of the subjunctive. The test should take around one hour.
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