Foreign Language

Guidelines for Foreign Language Placement

  1. Incoming students with no previous language training or only one year of high school study are placed into the 110 level courses (see E below).
  2. Students with two years of recent (within the last 4 years), successful (B or better) high school language study or one semester (C or better) at another college belong in the 111 courses, the second level elementary course.
  3. Students having completed 3 or 4 years of recent, successful high school foreign language study, or one year college level, are placed into the 201/202 Intermediate level courses.
  4. Students who have recently and successfully completed the full sequence of foreign language study at their high school (4-5 years), belong in the Advanced 250 level courses.
  5. Students with 3 or more recent years of successful foreign language study or native speakers cannot take 110 courses for credit without the approval of the department. High school transcripts will be checked and misplaced students will be transferred to the appropriate level or dropped from the course. A placement test is offered to these students through the Testing and Placement Office of the College. In general, native and heritage speakers must begin at the intermediate (201/202) level. Auditing elementary level courses is permissible for review purposes. Students who do not wish to do upper-level work are encouraged to begin another language. Students may seek to earn credits for intermediate language courses by taking the C.L.E.P. examination. Anyone with questions should contact the Division of Language & Literature at (215) 968-8150.