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Language Instruction & Placement

The UNC-CH Language Requirements

Students are required to demonstrate proficiency or complete courses in the study of a foreign language through level 3, FREN/ITAL/SPAN/PORT 203. Certain majors may require additional levels. In the Department of Romance Studies, students can satisfy their foreign language requirement and pursue higher levels of study.

Placement can be determined by a score on the SATII Subject Test, AP exam, IB exam, or the appropriate departmental placement test. Regardless of placement, continuous enrollment, beginning in the first semester, is required until the Foundations foreign language requirement is completed.

  • Students who place into level 204 of their high school foreign language have satisfied the Foundations foreign language requirement and will receive placement (PL) but no credit hours for 203.
  • Students who place beyond 204 are awarded placement (PL) but no credit hours for 203 and 204.
  • Students who elect to study a new foreign language must complete through 203 of that language.

Language Placement Exam Details

FREN 101, 102, 105, 203, 204 and 401 are offered in Fall 2021 and FREN 101, 102, 105, 203, 204 and 402 in Spring 2022. If French was your high school language, you must take the online placement exam to determine the appropriate placement. AP, SATII, IB, and college transfer credits can be used to satisfy Gen Ed requirements. If you do not have placement based on AP, SATII or IB, and wish to continue your study of French, you must take the placement exam to ensure proper placement even if you have college transfer credit. You may only take the online exam once. Should you experience a technical issue, please contact Dr. Hosun Kim at hosunk@email.unc.edu.

FREN 101 is available to students who took French in high school and placed at this level or who studied a different language in high school. FREN 105 is designed for students who completed at least two levels of French but did not place into level three, FREN 203. FREN 105 provides an intensive review of levels one and two. It is not possible to place into FREN 102 which is for students who completed FREN 101 here at Chapel Hill.

For students who have experienced success learning other languages and wish to study French, FREN 401 and FREN 402 are also options. FREN 401 (levels one and two, Fall only) is designed for experienced language learners who have no previous study of French who wish to move quickly through beginning French. FREN 402 (levels three and four, Spring only) is designed for students who have completed FREN 401 or who have excelled in FREN 102 or 105 and wish to move more quickly through intermediate French.

For students who place beyond FREN 204, there are two courses available in fall: FREN 255 (Conversation I) and FREN 262 (Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in the French-Speaking World), and in spring FREN 255 and FREN 260 (Literature and the French-Speaking World) will be offered. At most two of these can count towards the French major or minor. For students with extensive background, FREN 300 (French Composition and Grammar Review), required for the major and minor, may be an option. (https://romancestudies.unc.edu/undergraduate/programs/).

For a complete listing of French courses and course descriptions, consult http://catalog.unc.edu/courses/fren/.

When you register for fall courses, you may enroll yourself if seats are available. If you have questions or concerns about your placement, please attend the first day of class and discuss those concerns with your instructor who will be happy to assist you. If you are unable to enroll, get on a waitlist as seats will become available during the drop/add period. Once waitlisted students are accommodated, remaining seats will be available on Connect Carolina. The French Language Program does not allow sitting in on classes (not officially enrolled).

If you have questions or concerns about enrollment in French courses, contact Valérie Pruvost pruvost@email.unc.edu.

ITAL 101, 102, 203, 204, 300 and 401 are offered in Fall 2021. ITAL 101, 102, 203, 204, and 402 are offered in Spring 2022. If you studied Italian in high school, you may arrange to take a placement test by contacting the Italian Advisor, Amy Chambless, at achamble@email.unc.edu. AP, IB, and college transfer credits can be used to satisfy the Gen Ed foreign language requirement, but if you wish to continue your study of Italian (for the purposes of study abroad or to major or minor in Italian), we recommend that you take the placement exam to ensure you enroll in the most appropriate level.

ITAL 101, 102, and 203 are the sequence of beginning to early-intermediate Italian courses. The focus is on developing language skills while learning more about life in Italy. ITAL 204 and ITAL 300 are the cycle of intermediate to advanced Italian courses. While refining and deepening language skills, you will learn to speak and write more fluently about cultural, sociological, and political topics, and as such these courses serve as a bridge to all upper-level content courses (literature, film, history, food, and others). Such upper-level courses can be used both to fulfill Gen Ed requirements and as electives for the Italian major or minor. ITAL 300 is the one required course for the major and minor program. https://romancestudies.unc.edu/undergraduate/programs/

For students with no prior knowledge of Italian but who have had experience with other languages and who are motivated to learn at a quicker pace, ITAL 401 is a good option. It is a beginning course; however it covers the content of ITAL 101 and 102 in one semester and can put you on a fast track for moving on to advanced courses or studying abroad in Italy.

For a complete listing of Italian courses and course descriptions, consult http://catalog.unc.edu/courses/ital/

When you register for fall courses, you may enroll yourself if seats are available. If you have questions or concerns about enrolling in an Italian course, contact the Italian Advisor, Amy Chambless, at achamble@email.unc.edu.

PORT 101, 102, 203, 204, 401, and 402 are offered in Fall 2021 and Spring 2022. If you studied Portuguese in high school or have learned it experientially, you may arrange to take a placement test by contacting the Portuguese Advisor, Richard Vernon, at rmvernon@email.unc.edu. AP, IB, and college transfer credits can be used to satisfy the Gen Ed foreign language requirement, but if you wish to continue your study of Portuguese, we recommend that you take the placement exam to ensure you enroll in the most appropriate level.

For students who have experienced success learning other languages and wish to study Portuguese, PORT 401 and PORT 402 are options. PORT 401 (levels one and two) is designed for experienced language learners who have little or no previous study of Portuguese and who wish to move quickly through beginning Portuguese. PORT 402 (levels three and four) is designed for students who have completed PORT 401 or who have excelled in PORT 102 and wish to move more quickly through intermediate Portuguese.

For students who place beyond PORT 204, there is one more advanced course available for fall: PORT 310 (Advanced Communication in Portuguese: Media & Entertainment). For a complete listing of Portuguese courses and course descriptions, consult http://catalog.unc.edu/courses/port/. For information about the Portuguese major and minor consult https://romancestudies.unc.edu/undergraduate/programs/.

When you register for fall courses, you may enroll yourself if seats are available. If you have questions or concerns about enrolling in a Portuguese course, contact the Portuguese Advisor, Richard Vernon, at rmvernon@email.unc.edu.

SPAN 100, 101, 102, 105, 203, 204 and 401 are offered in Fall 2022 and SPAN 102, 105, 203, 204 and 402 in Spring 2023. If Spanish was your high school language, you must take the online placement exam to determine the appropriate placement. AP, SAT-II, IB, and college transfer credits can be used to satisfy Gen Ed requirements, but still, you must take the Spanish placement exam. You may only take the online exam once. Should you experience a technical issue, please contact Dr. Hosun Kim.

Note that SPAN 100 is a review of level one and only available to students who took Spanish in high school and placed at this level. SPAN 101 is designed for true beginners and only available to students who studied a different language in high school. SPAN 105 is designed for students who completed at least two levels of Spanish but do not place into level three, SPAN 203. SPAN 105 provides an intensive review of levels one and two. It is not possible to place into SPAN 102 which is for students who completed SPAN 100 or 101 at UNC-CH, or who transfer in credit for SPAN 101. SPAN 205 is a course for students who have grown up speaking Spanish and who place into SPAN 204 on the placement test.

For students who have experienced success learning other languages and wish to study Spanish, SPAN 401 and SPAN 402 are also options. SPAN 401 (levels one and two, Fall only) is designed for experienced language learners who have no previous study of Spanish who wish to move quickly through beginning Spanish. SPAN 402 (levels three and four, Spring only) is designed for students who have completed SPAN 401 or who have excelled in SPAN 102 or 105 and wish to move more quickly through intermediate Spanish.

For students who place beyond SPAN 204, there are two courses available: SPAN 255 (Conversation I) and SPAN 261 (Advanced Spanish in Context).

Romance Studies also offers Spanish classes designed for heritage learners–students who have been exposed to Spanish in their homes or communities from a young age. These courses address the learning goals of students who have a personal connection to the Spanish language, expand their language skills for a variety of contexts, explore topics related to Latinx heritage and bilingualism, and build community on campus. Heritage learners who place into SPAN 204 in the placement test are encouraged to take SPAN 205. Heritage learners who place beyond SPAN 204 are encouraged to take SPAN 267 (Advanced Spanish in Context for Heritage Learners). (https://romancestudies.unc.edu/undergraduate/programs/).

For a complete listing of Spanish courses and course descriptions, consult http://catalog.unc.edu/courses/span/.

When you register for fall courses, you may enroll yourself if seats are available. Note that a set number of seats are reserved for each registration session. Any remaining seats will be released in August. If you have questions or concerns about your placement, please attend the first day of class and discuss those concerns with your instructor who will be happy to assist you. If you are unable to enroll, get on a waitlist as seats will become available during the drop/add period. Once waitlisted students are accommodated, remaining seats will be available on Connect Carolina. Due to high demand, the Spanish Language Program does not allow sitting in on classes (not officially enrolled).

If you have questions or concerns about enrollment in Spanish courses, contact Dr. Anastacia Kohl.

 

Language Requirement and Placement for Native and Experiential Speakers of a Foreign Language

Native speaker of a language other than English: For academic purposes, a native speaker is a student raised in a country outside the United States and formally educated through all or most of high school in a language other than English. Native speakers cannot use By-Examination (BE) credit in their native language to reduce the requirements for a major in that language and will not receive credit for 101 through 2044 of their native language(s). However, upon recommendation of the appropriate language department, they may receive credit for courses taken at UNC-CH beyond 204 if those courses are heavily based on literature, film, culture, or other content. Native speakers of languages other than English may use ENGL 105, or its transfer equivalent, to satisfy their General Education foreign language requirement.

Experiential speaker of a language other then English: Students who have learned a language experientially (i.e., having grown up speaking the language in the home or having lived several years in another country) and who are conversant and literate in that language and in English, may take a placement test in that language for placement (PL) only and not for credit hours if that language is currently offered at UNC-CH. If the student places beyond 203, the student can use that language to fulfill the General Education foreign language requirement, but again, no credit hours will be awarded.UNC Language Placement

Approach to Teaching Lower-Level Language

In Romance Studies, language classes are conducted in the target language. Students are exposed to the cultures of the areas of the world in which the languages are spoken and are encouraged and supported in the development of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing through out-of-class preparation and active participation in class. All lower-level language classes meet three hours per week with the exception of SPAN 100, an online review of level one that meets virtually once per week, and SPAN 101 and 102 hybrid courses that meet twice weekly.