FAQ – Foreign Language Placement Exam for Spanish and French

Who needs to take the Foreign Language Placement Exam for Spanish & French?

Students with previous experience in Spanish and French (required if 3+ years previous experience)

Who does not need to take the Foreign Language Placement Exam for Spanish & French?

Students with no experience in Spanish or French.
Students who plan to study a language they’ve never studied
Native speakers of a language other than French or Spanish (see below)
Students who received credit for any BC language cataloged courses (Ex SPAN-1000, FREN-1000, SPAN-1020, FREN-1020, etc.) through dual credit, AP test, CLEP test, or transfer credit are not required to take the exam. Students who received elective credit (Ex SPAN-ELE, FREN-ELE) must take the exam to continue in the same language.
Students planning to complete the general education language requirement by studying in Italy (although those with previous experience in another language are encouraged to take the placement exam in case their plans change)

When?

Students with previous experience in Spanish or French should take the placement exam immediately or at least within one year of enrolling at BC
Offered during on-campus registration & fall orientation
Other dates for the academic year are listed in the Academic Calendar & Dept. of World Languages & Cultures webpage

How?

All students must take the placement exam in person during one of the proctored exam sessions. See the Department of World Languages and Cultures webpage for the list of dates on which the placement exam will be offered this academic year.
Students do not need to register for the placement exam; they can simply come to the testing location on one of the dates when the placement exam is offered.
Students are required to show identification (e.g., student i.d., driver’s license) to take the placement exam.

What about native speakers of languages other than English?

Native speakers of languages other than English who complete the ESL program satisfy the general education language requirement.
Native speakers of languages other than English who have a TOEFL or Duolingo score that places him/her out of ESL or who test out of ESL satisfy the general education language requirement. Admissions will communicate this information to the Registrar’s Office.

What about non-native speakers of languages other than Spanish or French?

A speaker of a language other than Spanish or French may take a proficiency exam to determine if his/her skills and knowledge are at an appropriate level (Intermediate Low / B1) to waive the foreign language general education requirement. The cost to the student is $250. Contact the Chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures to schedule the exam.

What about students who have a state Seal of Biliteracy?

Benedictine College does not recognize the Seal of Biliteracy. Students who have the Seal of Biliteracy but no other credit must take the Placement Exam.

Can students prepare for the Foreign Language Placement Exam?

The Foreign Language Placement Exam in Spanish and French measures one’s proficiency—what s/he can do consistently in the language. As a result, there is no study guide, syllabus, or list of grammar and vocabulary to a study.
The assessment for languages other than those assessed by the Placement Exam is also a proficiency assessment.

Can students take the Foreign Language Placement Exam more than once?

Can students enroll in the class they think they’ll place into and then take the Foreign Language Placement Exam after the fact?

No. Students must have their results from the Placement Exam to enroll in a course beyond the first-semester level.

Do students get credit for the courses they test out of?

No. Students satisfy having met the requirement of the class(es), but they do not earn credit.