Penn students
POLICIES & PROCEDURES
Penn students who request testing in one of the less commonly taught languages available at Penn, must contact Penn Language Center. Languages currently taught through Penn Language Center are:
| AMHARIC | ASL | BENGALI | CANTONESE | CZECH |
| MODERN GREEK | GUJARATHI | HAUSA | HUNGARIAN | IGBO |
| IRISH | GAELIC | KANNADA | MALAYALAM | OSHIWAMBO |
| PANJABI | PASHTO | PERSIAN | POLISH | PORTUGUESE |
| SHONA | SWAHILI | TAGALOG | TAIWANESE | TAMIL |
| TELUGU | THAI | TURKISH | TWI | URDU |
| VIETNAMESE | WOLOF | YORUBA | ZULU |
Students must fill out the attached registration form* and submit it online to Penn Language Center. The form can also be printed out and mailed or faxed to the address below. There is no fee for this service.
For all other languages, please contact the specific department. For a complete list of language departments and competency requirements, see http://www.college.upenn.edu/curriculum/requirements/language.html.
· Penn students who would like to satisfy the language competency requirement with a language not currently taught at Penn should contact Penn Language Center. Bilingual students may be exempt from the language requirement if they have completed their secondary education in the language and have obtained a high school diploma or transcript, or a Cambridge A- or O-level certificate. Please fill out the Competency waiver request form to request an exemption. Be advised that Penn Language Center requires original documentation (e.g. diploma, transcripts, grade sheet) before any final determination of an exemption can be made.
*PLEASE NOTE: The registration form for competency testing must be received by PLC office before a test can be scheduled. Please register early to ensure that the test results are available in a timely manner. Test reports will be e-mailed to you and your school advisor approximately within two weeks after the day of the test. Under no circumstances can score reports be mailed any earlier.
TESTING SCALE
Please read through the descriptions of the three levels of instruction offered for each language and fill out the information requested on the Registration Form. To fulfill the foreign language competency requirement, the test candidate must demonstrate intermediate level language skills.
DESCRIPTION OF LEVELS
Beginning level classes (2 semesters) are for students with no experience in or very limited familiarity with the language. These classes involve introduction to the most basic elements of the language. Development of communicative competency is strongly emphasized, so that students feel they can be productive in the language within a short time. The beginning level courses are also appropriate for students who want to try out a new language.
Intermediate level classes (2 semesters) assume a limited working knowledge of the language. Instruction at first focuses on reinforcing those skills already at the student's command. From there the classes introduce more advanced grammatical material. Although speaking and listening proficiency are considered paramount, students also have assignments designed to enhance reading and writing skills.
Advanced classes (2 semesters - optional) are for students who consider themselves to have a high level of competency in at least one aspect of the language (speaking and listening, reading, writing). Emphasis is placed on bringing student performance to a high level in all aspects. Advanced courses aim to raise communicative competency to fluency or near fluency in various topical contexts.
If you would like clarification or more detailed information about expected proficiency for each class level, please direct your questions to the Penn Language Center, attn. Lada Vassilieva. You may also e-mail to Ms. Vassilieva at mailto:vassilie@sas.upenn.edu, or mailto:plc@ccat.sas.upenn.edu. We will respond by mail or fax. Do not forget to give us your fax number if applicable.
For more information on PLC Foreign Language Testing please contact:
Penn Language Center
Attn.: Foreign Language Test Coordinator
202 South 36th Street, Room 302
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6227
(215) 898-6039 (phone)
(215) 573-2139 (fax)
E-mail: plc@ccat.sas.upenn.edu
Website: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/plc/