Foreign Language Placement and Proficiency Testing

On this page:

• Overview
• How to Demonstrate Foreign Language Proficiency
  • Native speaker of English without previous exposure to foreign languages
  • Native speakers of English with previous exposure to a foreign language
  • Native or heritage speaker of Arabic, Chinese, French, German, or Spanish OR if I scored Level 5 and above on the Avant Placement test for Arabic, Chinese, French, German or Spanish
  • Speaker of a language not offered at Wright State
  • Took an AP (Advanced Placement) exam
  • Taking American Sign Language (ASL) or Latin or Greek
  • Students with a documented disability preventing them from successfully learning to comprehend, speak, read or write a foreign language or American Sign Language
• Prior Learning Assessment Policy and Procedure

Overview

The placement test does not award credit or provide an exemption from language study. The proficiency exam can award credit.

There are multiple ways to demonstrate foreign language proficiency depending on your previous familiarity with foreign languages and cultures. To determine your path to demonstrating proficiency, review the description below that best reflects your experience with foreign language or languages.

Frequently Asked Questions

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How to Demonstrate Foreign Language Proficiency

Native speaker of English without previous exposure to foreign languages

Native speakers of English who have never studied or spoken a foreign language demonstrate proficiency in a modern language by taking a sequence of four progressive courses: 1010, 1020, 2010, and 2020 in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, or Spanish.

Please note: students who begin their language study at a level above 1010 may NOT go back and take lower-level courses for credit without permission from the Chair.

Placement testing is available in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, and Spanish. If you have studied these languages, you can take an online test administered via Avant Assessment to see what level course (beginning, intermediate, advanced) you should take. Note: There is a $10 fee per test.

To access Avant’s testing portal, a unique testing code and password are required. These codes are provided after purchasing the placement test.

• Purchase access to the testing portal
• Avant Assessment testing portal 
  • Please use your Wright State UID as a login name. This will enable the Modern Languages Program to locate your placement test score.
• Avant Testing Portal User Support and Instruction Guide (PDF)
   

Native speakers of English with previous exposure to a foreign language

You have studied a foreign language either formally (e.g. in high school or at another college or university), informally (e.g. by living or traveling extensively in a foreign country) or through some combination of formal and informal study (e.g. by taking language classes while living abroad).

As soon as you enroll at Wright State, you should either:

1. Take the Avant placement test in Arabic, Chinese, French, German or Spanish to determine your level of placement. Avant usually takes around 25-30 minutes. After taking the exam, see your recommended course, above, or,
2. Contact your advisor for placement.

Once you begin language study at a certain level, you may not skip courses in the sequence without permission from the Chair.

Placement testing is available in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, and Spanish. If you have studied these languages, you can take an online test administered via Avant Assessment to see what level course (beginning, intermediate, advanced) you should take. Note: There is a $10 fee per test.

To access Avant’s testing portal, a unique testing code and password are required. These codes are provided after purchasing the placement test.

• Purchase access to the testing portal
• Avant Assessment testing portal
  • Please use your Wright State UID as a login name. This will enable the Modern Languages Program to locate your placement test score.
• Avant Testing Portal User Support and Instruction Guide (PDF)
   

Native or heritage speaker of Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Russian, or Spanish OR if I scored Level 5 or 6 on the Avant test for Arabic, Chinese, French, German or Spanish

You grew up speaking one or more of those languages or you currently use them at home and consider yourself to be fluent.

If you learned a foreign language from relatives or parents, but have had little formal study of grammar or writing, or if you scored Level 5 and above on the Avant Placement test, you are eligible to take the oral and/or written Proficiency Exam to receive up to 6 hours of graded credits. Each exam requires a $150 registration fee.

Students who claim their native language as English but would like to take a proficiency exam in Arabic or Chinese may do so by arrangement with the department. Students can take one of these exams to exempt themselves from the COLA foreign language requirement, but cannot receive Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) credit unless they take an upper-level course and receive a "C" or better in that course.
The language proficiency exam is a three-step process. 

1. Visit the School of Social Sciences and International Studies in 325 Millett and ask for the Administrative Support Coordinator to aid you in completing the PLA Registration form. Submit the form to the Bursar’s Office in the Student Union with payment of $150 (cash, check, or cashier’s check made out to Wright State University; for credit card/debit card payments, ask the Administrative Support Coordinator for this form) into the dropbox (envelopes are provided at the dropbox.) When your form is returned to the School of Social Sciences and International Studies you will receive an email with the contact information of the faculty member who will administer your test. You will then need to contact the faculty member and schedule the date your test will be given.
   • Arabic: School of Social Sciences and International Studies
   • Chinese: Dr. Ksenia Bonch Reeves
   • German:  Dr. Elfe Dona (written), Dr. Renate Sturdevant (oral)
   • French: Dr. Kirsten Halling (written), Dr. Pascale Abadie (oral)
   • Italian: School of Social Sciences and International Studies
   • Spanish: Dr. Melissa Doran
   • Russian: Dr. Ksenia Bonch Reeves
2. Go to the School of Social Sciences and International Studies in 325 Millett the day that you have scheduled your exam with the professor.
3. The Administrative Support Coordinator will then send the form to the Office of the Registrar for processing. Your credits will be applied to your transcript during the grading period at the end of the semester. NOTE: You must be registered for classes at Wright State during the semester in which you take the proficiency exam.

Speaker of a language not offered at Wright State

If you are fluent in a less commonly taught language, such as Hindi, Tagalog, Turkish, Swahili, etc., please contact the Administrative Support Coordinator for help with arranging a proctored test in the school office. Students who demonstrate proficiency can be declared exempt from the College of Liberal Arts language requirement, but cannot receive Prior Learning Assessment credits. 

Students who claim as their native language a language not offered at Wright State can be tested by a qualified professor at another local college or university who speaks that language and officially verify to the Chair that they are proficient. In this case, the student can be declared exempt from the College of Liberal Arts language requirement, but cannot receive Prior Learning Assessment credits. Please see the Administrative  Support Coordinator for assistance.

Students who claim a language other than English as their native language may complete their COLA foreign language requirement by passing ENG 1100 and 2100 with a grade of C or better.

Please contact the English Program for further information.

Took an AP (Advanced Placement) exam

Wright State University follows the Ohio Board of Regents Advanced Placement (AP) policy governing the application of transfer credit for a score of 3 on AP examinations. Course equivalencies for this score have been identified by individual academic departments in accordance with the guidelines in the statewide policy.

Individual academic departments have determined the equivalent courses for which credit will be granted for scores of 4 and 5. Learn more about AP Credit and Credit by Examination.

Taking American Sign Language (ASL) or Latin or Greek

You may fulfill the language requirement by taking four semesters of ASL or Latin or Greek. For class availability, consult the schedule of classes or contact the professor. 

Students with a documented disability preventing them from successfully learning to comprehend, speak, read or write a foreign language or American Sign Language

Please contact the Office of Disability Services.

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Prior Learning Assessment Policy and Procedure

The Modern Languages Program believes that students that have learned a second language in high school, through living abroad, or by any other means have the right to earn prior learning credit in that language.

I. Beginning and Intermediate Language Skills

Those students who place into language classes between the 1010 and 2020 levels, and attain a grade of C or better may earn “Pass” credits for sequenced courses below that level.

In order to qualify for these credits, students must fill out a “Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) Registration Form” (available in the School of Social Sciences and International Studies in 325 Millett). By the 9th week of the semester, 1020, 2010 or 2020 students should submit their PLA form to one of the school's Administrative Assistants to obtain the Chair’s signature. Once approval has been obtained, students will take the PLA Registration form to the Bursar, along with a check for $150. As long as the student passes the class with a C or better, this payment will ensure the receipt of PLA credits, which will be added to the student’s transcript and will count toward graduation. See the following chart for details:

Student takes:	Student passes with a C or better	Student submits PLA form to ML Dept.	Student takes form & $150 to Bursar	Student earns ____# credits on transcript	Courses Earned
1010	√	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
1020	√	√	√	3 credits	1010
2010*	√	√	√	6 credits	1010, 1020
2020**	√	√	√	9 credits	1010, 1020, 2010
Any 3000/4000-level course	√	√	√	12 credits	1010, 1020, 2010, 2020

*For PLA purposes, Intermediate SPN 2110 or 2210 are equivalent to SPN 2010

**For PLA purposes, Intermediate SPN 2120 or 2220 are equivalent to SPN 2020

Some students may have already earned credit for AP or CLEP. This credit will not be duplicated.

If students have any questions about which level is appropriate for them, they should speak with their instructor for guidance.

Transfer Credit

Transfer students wishing to have PLA credits transcripted will do so in their first semester at WSU. If this is missed, the student may start the process later.

Students who began studies at Wright State prior to Fall 2015

Students who qualified for credit under the pre-PLA policy may apply for credit under the current PLA policy.

II. Native and Near-native Language Skills

Proficiency Testing:

Native and near-native speakers of Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, or Spanish* may take the Language Proficiency Test in two areas (Conversation and/or Composition) and receive Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) “Pass” credits for 3110 and/or 3210 without physically sitting in the classes. If the 3210 course carries IW designation, that designation will be maintained. See the following chart for details:

Student Type	PLA Form Submission	Oral Proficiency Exam	Rating	Payment	Credits	Course Earned
Student has native or near-native oral proficiency	Student submits PLA form to ML Dept.	Student takes Oral Proficiency Exam with designated evaluator	Student is rated as Proficient	Student takes form & $150 to Bursar	Student earns 3 “Pass” credits on transcript	3110
Student has native or near-native writtenproficiency	Student submitsPLA form to ML Dept.	Student takes Written Proficiency Exam with designated evaluator	Student is rated as Proficient	Student takes form & $150 to Bursar	Student earns 3 “Pass” credits on transcript	3210

*Native and near-native speakers of Italian or Russian may take the 2020 final exam to earn PLA “Pass” credit for 1010, 1020, 2010 and 2020. See the following chart for details:

Student Type	PLA Form Submission	Oral Proficiency Exam	Rating	Payment	Credits	Courses Earned
Student has native or near-native proficiency in Italian or Russian	Student submits PLA form to ML Dept.	Student takes 2020 Final Exam with designated evaluator	Student is rated as Proficient	Student takes form & $150 to Bursar	Student earns 12 “Pass”credits on transcript	1010, 1020, 2010, 2020