Advisers will see many students who are prepared to begin their language study at a higher level than the first level course. It is important that students are placed at the appropriate level and if possible, continue their language study with no interruption.
Students who wish to begin the most commonly taught languages—French, German, and Spanish—at the 3rd semester level or beyond must meet a second language entrance standard by passing a test to demonstrate the proficiency usually attained after the first 2 semesters of college study (usually three to five years in high school). For other languages, students should contact the departments to determine placement.
Research shows that language loss can be very rapid if the instruction stream is interrupted—even a break of a single year can make a student a beginner again after several years of high school instruction. Therefore, entrance proficiency tests should be taken close to the time language study is to be resumed; graduation proficiency tests should be taken close to the time of completion of the fourth semester of study.
Procedures
Generally a student determines placement one of three ways:
1) Placement Examination
French, German, and Spanish have a placement examination. Students begin the exam process by going to http://entrance.langtest.umn.edu/ and logging in using their X500 username and password. They take the reading and listening portions online. (A 28.8 kbps or faster connection is recommended for the reading test, as it is a timed test and a slower connection could impede a student’s ability to complete the test. The listening test requires a minimum 56 kbps connection, but DSL or cable modem is recommended.) Students take the reading test first. They get their score immediately. If they score below 19 points, they also get a placement and are done testing. If they score 19 or more, they are told to take the listening test.
The listening test login checks for the reading test score, so students must do the tests in the proper order. Students also get the listening scores immediately. If they achieve the reading/listening passing composite score, they are told to sign up for the in-person writing test. The system takes them directly to the writing test sign-up page, although they do not have to sign up immediately. The only way to sign up for the writing test is on the Web.
The writing test is offered periodically during the academic year and the summer. All the planned dates may not be open for sign-up, so students may want to check back later to see if additional dates are open.
Few students have technical difficulties with the reading test. Some students do have technical difficulties with the listening test. (It has been rewritten since fall 2001, so more students should be able to take it without problems.) However, students who cannot do the reading and listening tests from elsewhere, for whatever reason, can take it at the computer lab in 137 Jones Hall. Students who do experience technical difficulties must submit a Problem Report. They click on any of the several Problem Report buttons on the EPT Web site and report the problem. Students are not allowed to retest, so the test must be reset to allow the student to take the test again if they have a problem. This must happen even if the student plans to retake the test in 137 Jones. When a student submits the Problem Report, they get an acknowledgement at the U of MN email account and a response to the problem (again by email) within 3 days. Students can click a link on the EPT Web site to check their U of MN email.
Results from the EPT reading and listening tests are visible immediately after completion. Go to http://entrance.langtest.umn.edu/ and click on “Test Results.” Results from the EPT writing test are posted within one week of completion. Writing results are visible as soon as they are available, so there is no phone number to call for early results. The same web page that displays a student’s EPT results also shows the student’s course placement or, when the student has only partial EPT results, provides preliminary course placement information and instructions about what to do next.
The entrance placement test will place students in the 3rd or 4th semester of the language. If a student easily places into the 4th semester, they may take the LPE in order to determine placement beyond the second year of language instruction.
The Language Testing Program is a Web-based program. The office in 137 Jones is not always staffed; the phone is not always answered, except by voice mail. The preferred method of communication with students is the Web, via the Problem Report (for which students must log in) or an Inquiry (for which students do not have to log in). Responses are sent to the student’s U of MN email account. The phone number is listed on the Web page under Contacts. Callers should leave a message if they get voice mail.
Students planning to take the 2nd year of Spanish MUST pass the LPE. When they have passed, the language test center will place a student group on PS allowing the student to register for 1003, 1004.
There is no student group for French and German, so students may register for Fren 1003, 1004 or Ger 1003, 1004 without having completed the EPT, but they must have a passing score by the first day of class in order to continue.
2) Individual Consultation
Placement in the less commonly taught languages is provided through individual departmental consultation. Some departments like Japanese have a departmentally administered Placement Exam. However, most departments will have an instructor meet individually with the student to determine placement.
3) Adviser Consultation
Placement can be determined through consultation with a college adviser. This is common when the student has had 1-2 years of the language in high school. See Special Situations below, for more information.
At Orientation
New High School
NHS students who have taken the EPT prior to their orientation date may have a language placement on their placement report. If no score is yet available, if a placement test has not yet been taken, or if the language taken was not French, German, or Spanish, students and their advisers should estimate the most appropriate placement based on information given by the students and/or their high school record. It should be made clear to students that such a placement is tentative and must be changed if the test results or the departmental recommendation differs from the registered course.
New Advanced Standing
Students must take the EPT if they wish to begin their language study at the U at the 3rd or 4th semester level, even if they have had previous coursework at the college level. If they have taken 4 semesters of language at the college level, they might have already completed the CLA Second Language Requirement (see Second Language Requirement). If they wish to have further proficiency certification noted on their transcript, however, they should attempt the LPE as soon as possible. To satisfy the CLA requirement, students must either pass the LPE or pass a four-credit fourth semester course in a language with a grade of C- or higher (see Second Language Requirement). (Some majors require the LPE regardless of whether the student has completed a fourth semester course in a language; see Second Language Requirement and major requirements). Students may register for a language course based on their previous study but they need to be aware that such a placement is tentative and must be changed if the test results or the departmental recommendation differs from the registered course.
Special Situations
Spanish
Span 1001: Only offered in fall term. Intended for students with no background in Spanish. Departmental permission required.
Span 1002: For students who have completed Span 1001 at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus. Only offered in spring term. Departmental permission required.
Span 1022: Students who have had 2-3 years of high school Spanish or more but with a break of over 3 years are encouraged to take Span 1022: No placement test or departmental permission needed. Offered every term.
Span 1003: and Span 1004/1014/1044: Offered every term. Students must have completed 1002/1022 with a C- or higher or place into the course by the EPT.
French & German
Both departments offer an Alternate Second Semester (Fren/Ger 1022). Unlike Spanish, 1022 should be taken when students have had 2 years of high school study without a break (i.e., their junior and senior year). Students who have 2 years of language study in high school and have had a break should be placed into the first semester (Fren/Ger 1001).
Japanese
If a student has taken high school or college courses in Japanese and believes they are prepared for the second year, it is especially important for them to take the placement test offered by the department.
The method used to teach Japanese at the Department of Asian Languages and Literatures is unlike the method used in other area schools. Most students, even if they have previous college course work, are not prepared for second year language courses.
Chinese & Hmong
Both Chinese (Mandarin) and Hmong offer accelerated beginning and intermediate language courses meant for students with basic proficiency in speaking and understanding the language, but with little or no exposure to reading and writing. Often, these students are “heritage speakers.”
Chn 1015: Accelerated Beginning Modern Chinese. Offered in fall, instructor consent required.
Chn 1016: Accelerated Intermediate Modern Chinese. Offered in spring, 1012, 1015 or instructor consent required.
Hmng 1015: Accelerated Beginning Hmong. Offered in fall, ability in basic spoken Hmong required.
Hmng 1016: Accelerated Intermediate Hmong. Offered in spring, 1015 and ability in basic spoken Hmong required.
Foreign Study
Placement for students with fewer than three months of foreign study should be determined by the level of high school study and/or placement test results.
If the student has had additional high school study after foreign study, and the high school course was appropriate to his or her language level, the student’s placement should be based on his or her last high school level and/or placement test.
Students whose foreign study followed high school study may place higher than their high school transcript would indicate. In general, 3-6 months of formal foreign study is equivalent to one high school level. If the combination of high school and foreign study indicates that a second-year course may be appropriate students should take the EPT or consult with the department.
Students whose language-learning background includes both high school and foreign study and have had a break of more than two years since the last language course may have a significantly lower placement.
Native and Heritage Speakers
Spanish
If students use words or phrases in their home but do not carry on full conversations in Spanish, placement should be determined by the student’s level of high school study and/or placement test results. If the primary language of communication in their home is Spanish and includes frequent opportunities for writing Spanish, (and if they wish to begin Spanish study at a high level of language skill), students should contact the CLA Language Testing Program at 612-624-0862 to discuss their options. (Students seeking exemption from the CLA requirement based on their bilingual status should contact their adviser.)
Other Languages
International and some refugee students whose native language or primary language of secondary education is not English are exempt from the requirement. They may not earn credit in skills courses in their native language or language of secondary education but may earn credits for literature, linguistics, or culture.
Students who are bilingual, e.g., grew up in the U.S. but speak a language other than English, should meet with an adviser in their college office to determine which language may appropriately be designated their primary language.
Related Information
The CLA Language Program
Second Language Requirement
Automatic Credit: Second Language
Modification of second language requirement, see Exceptions to Degree Requirements
