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Placement

Placement Overview

Before registering for your first Foreign Language class, please stop by the Foreign Language Department for information on the placement test. After you have completed your first Foreign Language class at Radford University, you can enroll yourself in a sequel class during your permitted registration time. If you experience problems with registration, please contact the FORL Department by phone (540-831-5120) or email Trena Fields. You may also stop by the office in Hemphill Hall, Room 4304

Placement Test

Thank you for your interest in taking a foreign language! Please complete the Foreign Language Registration Form. When you have completed the form, please email it to Trena Fields. Your placement will be emailed to you within 48 (business) hours of receiving your registration form and test results.

  1. Set up your account and sign in.
  2. Select your language of choice (French, German or Spanish.) Answer ALL informational questions before proceeding to the first language question. The more information you provide, the more accurate placement we will be able to make. 

Placement Credits

You can receive Radford University foreign language credits for studying a language in high school without taking the AP or CLEP tests. 

Students who have taken a foreign language in high school and who begin their college level study of that language on the second year or above (above the first nine hours in Spanish) will receive an additional six semester hours of elementary language credit in that same language if the following conditions are met:

  • The student’s first two college courses in that language are completed at Radford University and are on the second year level or above (above the first nine hours in Spanish).
  • A GPA of 2.4 or better is received for those two courses.

Students already receiving AP credit for a foreign language are ineligible to receive this additional credit in that same language.

    Credits by Examination

    CAP and CLEP Guidelines: The university accepts credit by examination for the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) and AP subject exams for:
    (Please note: You can reach out to the Higher Education Center in Roanoke, Virginia to take any of the tests if desired.)

    CLEP AP
    College French  
    Minimum score of 50= FREN 100 for 4 credit hours Score of 3-4 = FREN 100, 200 for 8 credit hours
    Minimum score of 59 = FREN 100, 200 & 210 for 12 Credit hours Score of 5 = FREN 100, 200, 210 for 12 credit hours
    College German  
    Minimum score of 50= GRMN 100 for 4 credit hours Score of 3-4 = GRMN 100, 200 for 8 credit hours
    Minimum score of 59 = GRMN 100, 200 & 210 for 12 Credit hours Score of 5 = GRMN 100, 200, 210 for 12 credit hours
    College Spanish  
    Minimum score of 50= SPAN 101,102 for 6 credit hours Score of 3-4 = SPAN 100, 200 for 6 credit hours
    Minimum score of 63 = SPAN 101, 102, 201, 202, for 12 Credit hours Score of 5 = SPAN 100, 200, 301 for 9 credit hours

    Placement Tips

    Continue now; reconsider later. 
    If you discontinue your foreign language study now after only several years of high school study, your loss in abilities will be great. After a couple of additional courses, you will probably have abilities that you can keep for life.

    You haven't seen anything yet. 
    College level foreign language study will often be very different from your past experiences in high school. At Radford University, you will study the language both to learn about the culture and to really become fluent.

    Ask what foreign language study can do for you or your major. 
    The overwhelming majority of Radford University students studying foreign languages, including majors and minors, have other majors that are supported through the study of another language at Radford University and through the university's study abroad programs.

    One size does not fit all. 
    If you have studied the language in high school, then you’ll place beyond the first semester (101 in Mandarin, 100 in Spanish, French and German). The placement recommendation must match the specific details of your abilities. There is no safe placement extreme, either too high or too low.

    The chart’s good; the test’s better. 
    You don’t have to take the placement test in order to get into a foreign language course. Good placement recommendations can be made using the charts provided. The test just gives additional information for an even better placement.

    Take 12 or two. 
    There are two ways to fulfill the B.A. foreign language requirement: if you’re a beginner, take the first 12 hours, or if you’re a more advanced student, you only need to take two courses beyond the first nine hours in Spanish, beyond the first eight in all others.

    Get six freebies. 
    If you have never taken a college foreign language class before and if you take two courses on the advanced level as indicated in #6 and receive a B and a C (or better) on these first two courses, then you will be awarded six additional gratis placement credits on the beginning level.

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