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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
The Department of World Languages and Cultures
at TCNJ offers courses in Chinese, French, German,
Italian, Japanese, 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?
All students who wish to enroll in a French, German,
Italian, or Spanish course need to take the placement
exam between May 5 and May 28, 2021.
To enroll in Chinese or Japanese, only students who
have studied the language before, or already speak the
language because they grew up speaking it, should
contact the director of that program to determine their
proficiency level. Students who have no background with
the language do not need to take a placement test and
can be enrolled in CHI 151 or JPN 151.
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 Chinese and Japanese, the program directors for
those languages conduct the exam in person.
Chinese: Jia-Yan Mi mi@tcnj.edu
Japanese: Dr. Holly Didi-Ogren ogren@tcnj.edu
For American Sign Language, contact
Dr. Steven Singer at singers@tcnj.edu.
For Latin, contact Cecilia Colbeth at colbeth@tcnj.edu
to make an appointment.
3. Who is exempt from the placement exam?
Students who have received any of the following:
• 650 or higher on the College Board Subject Test
• 5 on an AP test in any of the languages covered by
the online placement test (French, German, Italian,
and Spanish)
• 7 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level
• Intermediate Low or higher on the ACTFL exam
and validate their exemption score with an oral
proficiency interview will have fulfilled their language
requirement. Students who wish to take a language course
still need to take a placement exam.
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 with
an oral proficiency interview; email Dianne Miles
at wlc@tcnj.edu to set up an appointment.
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
