Proficiency Exams Students must 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. Language proficiency exams are administered at the beginning and at the end of the Fall semester, and at the end of the Spring semester. Occasionally, some languages may offer the proficiency exams at the beginning of the Spring semester if there is a significant number of students who did not pass the exams in the Fall term. Please click here for more information on language proficiency exams. Ph.D. Reading Examinations The Ph.D. reading examination is the same as the M.A. Reading proficiency exam. PhD students must pass this exam in order to meet their second foreign laguage requirement. Students should sign up for this exam during the regular administration dates of the proficiency exams. Questions concerning requirements for these examinations should be addressed to the Director of Language Studies, Dr. Marco A. Campos (R330). Placement Exams You need to take a placement exam if you have some background in a language you intend to study or if you intend to sign up for the proficiency exams without having passed the fourth semester of language courses at SAIS. Please click here for more information on language placement exams. Language Courses New students need to contact the academic coordinator of the language they intend to study prior to registering. Please check the webpage of the specific language you are interested for detailed information. Please be aware that language courses normally involve 5 to 6 hours of class instruction per week and study periods of 1 hour in preparation for each hour of instruction. Students can take a maximum of 8 hours of language instruction per semester (i.e., one pre-proficiency course and one post-proficiency course in another language). Non-native English speakers who have not passed the ESL first semester exam are strongly discouraged from taking another language until they have cleared this ESL requirement. Please contact the LSP Director If you have not passed the ESL first semester exam, but need to start a foreign language because you are a regional concentrator. 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. Students who are taking language classes in order to prepare for the proficiency exams are advised to maintain their performance at a level of B+ or above. Grades for language classes will not affect your GPA, but will appear in your transcripts. Audits Auditing language classes is not permitted. 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). If you have any questions or concerns, Please contact :
Darlene Jackson Tel 202.663.5751
email: djacks69@jhu.edu | 
