COUNCIL ON LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION

Placement

Students with prior knowledge of a language who have not taken the College Entrance Examination Board Advanced Placement Examination (AP Exam) and would like to continue their language studies, will have to take a language placement exams to determine appropriate placement. Departments teaching this subjects use the results of these exams to help plan an appropriate academic program.

Language placement exams are given over the summer or during Wildcat Welcome (depending on language). Go to Purple prep to learn more about placement exams.

STEP 1. Do I need to TAKE THE PLACEMENT EXAM?

Consult this Standard Ways to Fulfill the Language Requirement table on the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences website to confirm that a placement test is necessary; in some cases, a high AP exam score is sufficient to determine placement or verify proficiency.

Step 2. WHERE DO I TAKE THE PLACEMENT EXAM?

You are required to take the placement exams before you arrive on campus except for Russian and Japanese, which are available only during New Student Week and by appointment.

As a rule, online placement exams should be taken as early as possible; however, incoming first-year students should not attempt to take an online language placement exams until a supported test date is announced on the New Student & Family Programs web page, which is posted during the summer

Find the placement test information relevant to your language of interest:

Arabic

Take the online Arabic placement exam.
For more information, contact: mena-languages@northwestern.edu

Chinese

Firstly, take the online Chinese placement exam.
You will then be directed to take the validation test online, which comprises a handwritten essay and an oral interview.

• The written exam is expected to be completed by Sunday, August 23, 2020.
• The oral interview will be offered via Zoom from Monday, August 24, 2020 to Wednesday, September 2, 2020. You may sign up a for time slot that works for you. 

For more information, visit the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures placement page
For questions, contact Prof. Chin-Hung Chang: chin-hung.chang@northwestern.edu

Czech

To inquire about the Czech placement exam or to arrange for one, contact Prof. Elisabeth Elliott: eelliott@northwestern.edu

French

Take the online French placement exam.
For more information, contactProf. Aude Raymond: araymond@northwestern.edu

German

Take the online German placement exam.
For more information, contact Prof. Franziska Lys: flys@northwestern.edu

Ancient Greek

To inquire about the Ancient Greek placement exam or to arrange for one, contact Prof. Ryan Platte: ryan.platte@northwestern.edu

Hebrew

Take the online Hebrew placement exam.
For more information, contact Prof.  Hanna Tzuker Seltzer: hanna.seltzer@northwestern.edu 

Hindi-Urdu

• The Hindi written placement exam will be offered via Zoom on the following dates: 
  

  Monday, August 31, 2020	8:00AM - 10:00AM CDT
  Tuesday, September 1, 2020	1:00PM -3:00PM CDT

  Please email Prof. Rami Nair rnair@northwestern.edu about your intention to take the exam (including the date), and you will receive a zoom link for the exam. Oral validation exam will be conducted by a separate Zoom appointment that week. ​Be sure to bring a picture ID to the test, and have your Northwestern ID handy as well.
  
  
• The Urdu written placement exam will be offered via Zoom on the following dates: 
  

  Monday, August 31, 2020	10:00AM - 12:00PM CDT
  Tuesday, September 1, 2020	2:00PM - 4:00PM CDT

  Please email Prof. David Boyk davidboyk@northwestern.edu about your intention to take the exam (including the date), and you will receive a zoom link for the exam. Oral validation exam will be conducted by a separate Zoom appointment that week. ​Be sure to bring a picture ID to the test, and have your Northwestern ID handy as well. 

Italian

Take the online Italian placement exam.
For more information, contact Prof. Paola Morgavi: p-morgavi@northwestern.edu

Japanese

Take the online Japanese placement exam.
For more information, contact Prof. Junko Sato: jsato@northwestern.edu

Korean

• Students who want to use Korean to satisfy the Weinberg and the School of Communication’s two-year foreign requirement.
• Students who have prior exposure to Korean at home.
• Students who have prior knowledge in speaking, listening, reading or writing of Korean and want to study Korean at Northwestern.
• Students who have come back from study abroad and need to be placed into the appropriate level of Korean. 
• Students who have transferred from other universities and continue to take Koran at Northwestern.
  
  The above apply to all students in all schools and programs, including graduate and professional schools.

2. What does the Korean placement exam look like?
There are two forms in the placement test: Online placement exam and Validation test.

• The online placement exam consists of four sections: vocabulary, grammar, reading and listening.
• The validation test consists of two parts: writing and oral interview.

3. When and where can I take the Korean placement exam?
The online Korean placement exam will only be available at the designated times and dates. You may choose the time that works best for you.

Once you enter the test, you have to finish it within two (2) hours since you cannot enter it again and you are allowed to take the test only once. The online test result will initially show as “Validation Required” on the same test site since the validation test is required to complete the placement process. 
Take online Korean placement exam.

4. To complete my placement, when and where do I take the Korean Validation Test?
The validation test (writing and speaking) will be offered via Zoom, and you will be assigned either of the following dates.

​Be sure to bring a picture ID to the test, and have your Northwestern ID handy at the Zoom meeting.

5. How long does my Korean placement remain valid?
The Korean placement result is valid for one (1) year.

6. What about next quarter?
Placement for Winter 2021 is by appointment only.

7. Now, I am ready !
Take online Korean placement exam.
For more information, contact Prof. Ihnhee Kim: Ihnhee.Kim@northwestern.edu

Latin

Take the online Latin placement exam.
For more information, contact Prof. Francesca Tataranni: f-tataranni@northwestern.edu

Persian

To inquire about the Persian placement exam or to arrange for one, contact the Director of the MENA Language Programs, Prof. Franziska Lys: flys@northwestern.edu

Polish

Take the online Polish placement exam.
For more information, contact Prof. Kinga Kosmala: kinga.kosmala@northwestern.edu

Portuguese

Portuguese Placement Evaluation will be online only: take the online Portuguese placement exam.
After they have taken the online Placement text, students will receive an email for a Zoom Interview. They will be reassessed during this interview.
No campus interview or exams will be given.
For more information, contact Prof. Ana Thomé Williams:  ana-williams@northwestern.edu

Russian

Take the online Russian placement exam.
For more information, contact Prof. Elisabeth Elliott: eelliott@northwestern.edu

Spanish

Take the online Spanish placement exam.
For more information, contact Prof. Shannon Millikin: s-millikin@northwestern.edu

Swahili

Take the online Swahili placement exam.
For more information, contact Prof. Peter Mwangi: peter.mwangi@northwestern.edu

Turkish

To inquire about the Turkish placement exam or to arrange for one, contact Prof. Oya Topçuoğlu: oya.topcuoglu@northwestern.edu

STEP 3. How DO I TAKE THE PLACEMENT EXAM?

1. To begin, you will need a Northwestern University Network ID (NetID) and password to gain access to the testing system.
2. After logging in to the system for the first time, you will be asked to complete a short profile, which also requests your student ID number.
3. After completing the profile information, you will be presented with a list of available language tests.
4. After selecting a placement exam, you will review the testing agreement that affirms your adherence to the Northwestern honor code and then begin the exam. Some departments make a practice exam available which you should feel free to take.
5. You must finalize the exam if you wish it to be reviewed by a placement coordinator. After finalizing your exam, you will receive a confirmation number that can either be printed out or written down.

• Access the online placement exams and view the instructions. Access placement results.
• For technical support, please email pthelp@madstudio.northwestern.edu   or call 847/491-3101 (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CDT).

HOW LONG ARE MY PLACEMENT RESULTS VALID?

Each language department determines the length of validity of its Placement exam.

Students participating in summer, semester or year-long language programs in the U.S. or abroad are generally required to retake the placement exam.

Students should contact the particular department for advising, especially if continuing language study after a break in language study.

Valid 1 year

Chinese, Czech, French, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Urdu.

Valid 1.5 years

Latin (Each case is evaluated individually), Portuguese, Spanish

Valid 2 years

Arabic (if Placement grade is B or above)
Hebrew (if Placement grade is B or above)
Turkish (if Placement grade is B or above)

Valid 4 years

German
Placement results in Czech, Polish, Turkish, and Russian that demonstrate native or near-native proficiency levels remain valid the entire four years.

Contact the departments, for information regarding test validity of Ancient Greek (classics@northwestern.edu), Swahili (african-studies@northwestern.edu).