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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 Arabic, 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 6 and May 30, 2022.
To enroll in Arabic, 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 ARA 101, 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 Arabic, Chinese and Japanese, the program directors
for those languages conduct the exam in person.
Arabic: World Languages and Cultures wlc@tcnj.edu
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 Oral
Proficiency exam
and 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 Dee Dee Miles
at milesd@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