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Course Placement and Transfer Credit

AP Articulation

Students who receive a 5 on an AP exam in a language that is offered in World Languages and Cultures will receive ELEC 2** credit for that exam.

If a student wishes to receive subject credit for that exam (i.e. SPAN 2**, FREN 2**, etc.) he or she will need to validate the score by placing into the 5th semester language course. For 300 level Spanish AP credit, students must place into topics level courses (SPAN 355).

To validate: Take the appropriate exam as outlined below.

Your academic advisor will ask you for your AP Exam score when it is time to do so.

If a student validates, the pre-requisites for the next level of language will be waived by the department and the validation will be reported so that students can obtain subject credit.

Transfer of Foreign Language Courses

Foreign language courses from previous institutions will be entered on a student's record with the 1xx language level articulation. If a transfer student wishes to apply the course towards a degree language requirement or receive AU equivalent credit, the student must take the appropriate language placement exam and send the results to the WLC Program Advisor at wlcprogramadvisor@american.edu for review. If a student does not demonstrate minimum proficiency for the subject articulations by passing the language validation exam, the courses that are not validated will remain as 1xx language credit. If the student wishes to continue with foreign language study at AU, the student will be required to repeat courses for which proficiency has not been met. 

Course Placement

To enroll in any course above Elementary I, students with previous background or knowledge of a foreign language must first take the appropriate placement exam and report the results to their academic advisor for review.

Placement exam results are valid for one semester. Students may not take the exam more than once within a 4 month period. Students who need to retest should email clear@american.edu. The Department of World Languages and Cultures reserves the right to make final decisions about placement.

Arabic Examination

Please email clear@american.edu in order to register, with subject line: "Arabic Placement" and include your name and AU ID. (The examination takes place online in Canvas.)

Chinese Examination

Please email clear@american.edu to register, with the subject line: "Chinese Placement" and include your name and AU ID. (The examination takes place online in Canvas.)

French Examination

The online generated Language Placement Test for French takes approximately 30 minutes, but has no time limitations. The test may be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection. Please remember that the goal of the CAPE is placing you in an appropriate language level and, therefore, multiple attempts to achieve an inflated score will not be taken into account. The WLC department will only honor one attempt (your first) at the test within each semester.

To create a TrueNorth account to take the test:

  • You will need your AU ID number and your American University email address 
  • Please print a copy of your results when finished

To begin, create your TrueNorth account for the French Examination.
 
If you have questions, need assistance, or require special accommodations, please contact CLEAR at 202-885-2357. Please allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodations.

German Examination

The online generated Language Placement Test for German takes approximately 30 minutes, but has no time limitations. The test may be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection. Please remember that the goal of the CAPE is placing you in an appropriate language level and, therefore, multiple attempts to achieve an inflated score will not be taken into account. The WLC department will only honor one attempt (your first) at the test within each semester.

To create a TrueNorth account to take the test:

  • You will need your AU ID number and your American University email address 
  • Please print a copy of your results when finished

To begin, create your TrueNorth account for the German Examination.
 
If you have questions, need assistance, or require special accommodations, please contact CLEAR at 202-885-2357. Please allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodations.

Hebrew Examination

Please email clear@american.edu in order to register, with subject line: "Hebrew Placement" and include your name and AU ID. (The examination takes place online in Canvas.)

Italian Examination

Please email clear@american.edu in order to register, with subject line: "Italian Placement" and include your name and AU ID. (The examination takes place online in Canvas.)

Japanese Examination

Please email clear@american.edu in order to register, with subject line: "Japanese Placement" and include your name and AU ID. (The examination takes place online in Canvas.)

Korean Examination

Please email clear@american.edu to register, with the subject line: "Korean Placement" and include your name and AU ID. (The examination takes place online in Canvas.)

Persian Examination

Please contact instructor, Professor Zohreh Mirsharif, at  mirshari@american.edu.

Russian Examination

The online generated Language Placement Test for Russian takes approximately 30 minutes, but has no time limitations. The test may be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection. Please remember that the goal of the CAPE is placing you in an appropriate language level and, therefore, multiple attempts to achieve an inflated score will not be taken into account. The WLC department will only honor one attempt (your first) at the test within each semester.

To create a TrueNorth account to take the test:

  • You will need your AU ID number and your American University email address 
  • Please print a copy of your results when finished

To begin, create your TrueNorth account for the Russian Examination.
  
If you have questions, need assistance, or require special accommodations, please contact CLEAR at 202-885-2357. Please allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodations.

Spanish Examination

For transfer students only:

In person at CLEAR, please email clear@american.edu in order to make an appointment with the subject line: "Spanish Transfer Placement" and include your name and AU ID number. Students new to AU will need a Canvas account.

For Incoming Freshmen and Current AU Students:

The online generated Language Placement Test for Spanish takes approximately 30 minutes, but has no time limitations. The test may be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection. Please remember that the goal of the CAPE is placing you in an appropriate language level and, therefore, multiple attempts to achieve an inflated score will not be taken into account. The WLC department will only honor one attempt (your first) at the test within each semester.

To create a TrueNorth account to take the test:

  • You will need your AU ID number and your American University email address 
  • Please print a copy of your results when finished

To begin, create your TrueNorth account for the Spanish Examination.
 
If you have questions, need assistance, or require special accommodations, please contact CLEAR at 202-885-2357. Please allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodations.

Swahili Examination

Please contact instructor, Professor Elias Magembe, at magembe@american.edu.