L A N G U A G E T E S T I N G
A N D P L A C E M E N T
3
The Department of World Languages and Cultures
at TCNJ offers courses in Arabic, Chinese, French,
German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. The
Classical Studies Program offers courses in Latin.
American Sign Language is offered in the Education
of the Deaf & Hard of Hearing program, in the School
of Education, Department of Special Education,
Language & Literacy.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. Who needs to take a placement exam?
In order to enroll in a language course, all students
need to take the placement exam between
December 16, 2019, and January 13, 2020.
2. How do I take the placement exam?
For French, German, Italian, and Spanish, the test is
online at this link. The pre-test questions will direct
you how to proceed. Students are allotted 40 minutes
to complete the test.
Students who already speak one of these languages
because they grew up in a home where that language
was spoken should contact the director of that program
to determine their proficiency level.
French: Dr. Ariane Pfenninger apfennin@tcnj.edu
German: Karen Fenner fennerk@tcnj.edu
Italian: Dr. Simona Wright simona@tcnj.edu
Spanish: Dr. Joe Goebel, Jr. goebel@tcnj.edu
For Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian, the
program directors for those languages conduct the
exam in person.
Arabic: Nelly Taha tahan@tcnj.edu
Chinese: Jia-Yan Mi mi@tcnj.edu
Japanese: Holly Didi-Ogren ogren@tcnj.edu
Russian: Alex Berg berga@tcnj.edu
For American Sign Language, contact Dr. Steven
Singer at singers@tcnj.edu. For Latin, contact Cecilia
Colbeth at colbeth@tcnj.edu by December 20, 2019 to
make an appointment.
3. Who is exempt from the placement exam?
• Students who received a 650 or higher on the
College Board Subject Test.
• A score of 5 or higher on an AP test in any of
the languages covered by the online placement
test (French, German, Italian, and Spanish).
• Students who have completed the International
Baccalaureate Higher Level examination and
received a score of 7.
Students who are exempt from the placement exam
may continue with their study of the language at the
200 level, and apply those courses toward an academic
minor in that language.
4. How long do I have to wait to get my score?
Your test score will display immediately after
submitting your last answer. You will also get your
score in email. Scores will post to PAWS overnight,
at which time you'll be able to enroll in the
appropriate course.
5. What happens if I earn an exemption score
on the online test?
Students must validate their exemption score in
the World Languages and Cultures office before
Friday, April 3, 2020. These students should make an
appointment by writing wlc@tcnj.edu.
6. Placement and requirement information
and policies
Academic Integrity
Please review the TCNJ policy on Academic
Integrity. The policy notes: "Plagiarism occurs when
a student submits as his own the work of others ....
This includes but is not limited to copying from a
fellow student, copying from an internet source, and
copying from a book or other published work." It is
our assumption that you will complete the language
placement test alone without help from other people,
internet translators, or other internet resources. If you
receive help, you are violating the Academic Integrity
