Language Studies Program Overview | Registration, Examinations and Other Procedural Information For December 2008

If you are interested in taking the proficiency exam, please pay careful attention to the information provided below.

Please note:  Students need to sign-up for language proficiency exams. The deadline to sign up for the exams is 3 days prior to the exam administration.  Walk-ins for language proficiency exams are not permitted.

New Students: Please contact the language program coordinator for your language of interest. The Coordinator will inform you whether or not you are eligible to sign up for the proficiency exam. Again all language program coordinators will be available during the language fair to speak with all students.

Returning Students: Sign up for the exam only if you have completed the fourth semester or level of language instructions at SAIS. Otherwise you need to contact the Language program coordinator to determine your eligibility prior to singing up for the proficiency exam

Please note: The Language  proficiency exams dates are subject to change due to the availability of the party guest examiners.  Please check the language studies, and individual language pages for updates 

December 2008: Exam Schedule

*Please Note: No Proficiency Exams will be offered in Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Russian, Persian & Chinese

CLASS AND STUDY HOURS

Language courses normally involve 5 to 6 hours of class instruction per week and study periods of 1 and a half to 2 hours in preparation for each hour of instruction. Until the requirements of the written and oral language proficiency examinations are met, students are strongly discouraged from taking more than four functional and area courses per semester.

SECOND LANGUAGE

Native English Speaking Students
Students who have satisfied the language requirements in one language may elect to take another language. 

Non-Native English Speaking Students
Foreign students who have passed the proficiency examinations in English and wish to take another language must obtain approval from the ESL Coordinator, Susan Olmstead R305. Since these courses are demanding, students are strongly urged not to take another language unless they feel they can carry the load for a full semester.

ATTENDANCE

While regular attendance is not compulsory in a graduate school, it is considered extremely important in the study of a language, where active and regular participation in class is a sine qua non for ultimately achieving proficiency. Thus, students are expected to attend language classes regularly.

GRADES

At the end of the semester students receive a letter grade. Students receiving grades of B- or above are usually placed in a higher level for the following term. Those who receive grades of C or lower in a language class may have the grades removed by passing the appropriate examination, repeating the course (if it is offered), or in any other manner approved by the instructor. The grade of "Audit" does not exist in language studies.

Ph.D. READING EXAMINATIONS

Ph.D. reading examinations are the same as the M.A. written proficiency examinations and are administered at least three times during the academic year.  Questions concerning requirements for these examinations should be addressed to the Director of Language Studies, Marco Campos (R330).

COUNSELING AND ADDITIONAL HELP

Please do not hesitate to discuss any language problems with your instructor or to turn to him / her for extra help.  You may also consult the Director of Language Studies, Marco Campos (R330)

MULTIMEDIA CENTER (R329)

Great emphasis is placed on oral and aural skills and students are expected to make full use of the Multimedia Center facilities.  The amount of time that should be spent in the Center depends to a large extent on the degree of preparedness and aptitude of the individual students.  Students should consult their instructors on this subject. 

The Multimedia Center procedures are as follows:

All materials obtained by the students remain the property of SAIS. They may be exchanged for a new CDs when necessary. A charge of 10.00 will be assessed for each damaged or missing CDs.  If graduating students do not return all tapes or CDs by the date of their respective oral examinations, the registrar's office will be notified 

The Multimedia Center offers access to satellite programming in over 11 languages, the award winning TELL ME MORE^® language learning software program, Chinese Odyssey multi media program, as well as a small lending library.

All of MMC workstations are equipped with Win TV,  and provide satellite access to programming in all of the languages offered here at SAIS

Students are encouraged to use TELL ME MORE^®     

• TELL ME MORE^® is an award winning software that applies speech recognition technology to Language Learning  
• The program centers on developing the specific skills needed to succeed in learning a language, including: reading, writing, listening, speaking, vocabulary, grammar, and culture.
• TELL ME MORE® offers hours of content, in a wide variety of activities and skill levels
• 37 types of activities are offered - comprising up to 2000 hour
• 70 Cultural Texts classified by theme (history, geography, arts, cuisine…), geopolitical and geographical maps
   Practice through diverse exercises: Cultural Quizzes, Patchworks and Map mania of learning.
•  Equally effective for the beginning learner or the advanced speaker, TELL ME MORE® promotes advancement at all stages of language learning.

TELL ME MORE^® is available at the MMC in the following languages

• Arabic
• English
• French
• German
• Italian
• Spanish  

Hours of Operation

Monday- Thursday   8:00 AM-     10:00 PM

Friday                         8: 00.AM-    7:00 PM

Saturday                   10:00 AM-     4:00 PM

If you have any questions or concerns, Please contact :

Marie Dorelus
Tel 202.663.5751
email: modrelus@jhu.edu