SSU's Foreign Language Department is currently developing a new certification exam program to provide accurate program placement and a competency-level certificate for foreign language students. Philip Beard, chair of the Foreign Languages Department, is overseeing the development of the new program. It will incorporate forms of testing used by the University of Wisconsin for French and Spanish students, while incorporating the 'Wisconsin' testing into the current model of testing based on the Goethe Institute for German students.
The testing itself includes an oral proficiency section that will be the basis for awarding competency certificates for students at the basic, intermediate and advanced levels. Based on testing results, students will be placed into an appropriate course level and given academic credit for previous coursework completed where applicable. This academic credit feature will circumvent the current ëchallengingí method in place for students seeking credit for previous coursework in a language. The new program will be in place for the Fall semester of 1999.
For more information, contact the Foreign Languages Department at
664-2351.
