Language Placement, Department of Asian Studies, University of Texas at Austin
Languages offered by the Department of Asian Studies:
For information on upcoming placement exams for language courses, contact Instructional Assessment and Evaluation.
Students may not register for any language courses that are at a lower level than courses for which they currently have credit, without the specific consent of the undergraduate advisor. For example, a student who has credit for CHI 412K (Second-Year Chinese I) may not register for CHI 507 (First-Year Chinese II).
Bengali
Students who speak Bengali, but cannot read or write, should register for BEN 506. Students who would like to test out of Bengali can purchase the DAE (Departmental Administered Exam) form from Instructional Assessment and Evaluation and take the final exam for BEN 312L in May with the rest of the class. Please contact the Department of Asian Studies for more information.
Chinese
"Heritage Speakers" of Chinese (students who speak proficiently but cannot read or write) are required to take the accelerated CHI 604/612 track. The Chinese language instructors recommend that heritage speakers begin with 604, even if they have tested into 612.
Students who have completely tested out of Chinese and would like to study the language further may contact Dr. Wen-Hua Teng at whteng@mail.utexas.edu to set up an evaluation. If the student lived in China or Taiwan until age 12, and went through their education system, they most likely are too advanced in their knowledge of Chinese to take any of the language classes we offer. However, these students are welcome to schedule an appointment with Dr. Teng to discuss their options.
If a student speaks Cantonese instead of Mandarin, sometimes the 604 class is appropriate for them, and sometimes 506 is the best choice. If a Cantonese speaker has strong reading and writing skills, we might not offer an appropriate class for them. These students should contact Dr. Teng before even taking the placement exam.
Hindi
There are two separate placement exams for Hindi: one for 604 and one for 612. The test for 604 is multiple choice and the test for 612 consists of an essay.
Students that can speak Hindi, but cannot read or write should register for HIN 506. HIN 506, 507, 312K and 312L are informally grouped into sections for heritage speakers and sections for non-heritage speakers. These groupings, which are indicated in the course description, are mostly guidelines to help place students with similar backgrounds together in the class.
Japanese
Students who have studied Japanese previously, but do not have college credit for Japanese should take the Japanese placement exam at Instructional Assessment and Evaluation.
Students transferring in credit from ACC or UTSA will most likely need to repeat some courses here. ACC uses the same textbook as UT, but we finish the textbook during the fourth semester, and ACC goes only halfway through. Most students who have 4 semesters from ACC will want to pick up here with JPN 412K. Students from UTSA will most likely want to repeat whatever the last semester is that they took at UTSA. They should always let the instructor know that they are coming from another university on the first day, so, if necessary, they can get into a higher or lower level before the 4th class day.
Korean
Revised July 2008
All students with any knowledge of Korean, however acquired, who plan to enroll in a University of Texas at Austin Korean language course for the first time must take the UT-administered Korean placement exam to help determine their most appropriate course level. The Korean placement exam is administered by the Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment.
In fall 2008, the test will be given on August 27. Students with prior knowledge of Korean who wish to register for Korean-language courses for the first time in fall 2008 should plan to take this exam. The Korean placement exam consists of the SAT II Korean and a UT Austin written exam. Students who have already taken the SAT II Korean in high school will be able to take just the written exam portion in order to receive credit and placement.
Lower-level courses: Based on exam results, students will be placed initially into the correct level of first-year Korean (KOR 506/507) or second-year Korean (412K/412L). In general, students are expected to enroll in the highest level course for which they qualify; instructors reserve the right to transfer students between levels if appropriate.
Accelerated First-/Second-year Korean: The one-year, KOR 604/KOR 612 sequence is designed primarily for students who understand and speak but do not read or write Korean. To enroll in KOR 604, a student must be ineligible for KOR 507 based on placement test results; students registering for KOR 604 may not simultaneously claim credit for KOR 506.
Students otherwise appropriate for the accelerated sequence who feel that their vocabulary is too limited may, with instructor permission, take KOR 506 instead. More generally, students unsure about their appropriateness for the accelerated Korean sequence must take the placement exam but should also contact the course instructor with their questions.
Based on course performance, it is possible to switch from the accelerated sequence to the regular lower-level sequence and vice versa, at the recommendation or with the permission of course instructors. Thus, students who experience difficulty with KOR 604 might subsequently switch to the regular 412K/412L second-year sequence, while students completing KOR 507 may possibly be eligible to switch to the accelerated second-year course, KOR 612, if they wish to.
Upper-level courses: Students who receive four semesters/18 hours of credit through the Korean placement exam who wish to register for a third-year (320K/320L) or fourth-year (330) Korean course must consult with instructors directly in order to be placed in the correct course. In general, students may register for an advanced Korean course only after receiving a grade of C or better in its prerequisite or with instructor permission (after taking the placement exam).
Additional notes:
- Returning students who have improved their Korean through summer study or some other means, without transferable credit, are strongly encouraged to consult the undergraduate advisor and Korean instructors in order to determine their best course level.
- Asian Studies majors have a priority on waitlists for Korean courses in the event of course closure. Students minoring in Korean/Asian Studies do not have any priority.
- It is never possible to enroll in two or more levels of Korean courses simultaneously.
- Students who qualify for fourth-year Korean based on placement test/instructor interview results or successful completion of KOR 320L may take the semesters of KOR 330 in any order.
Malayalam
Students who speak Malayalam, but cannot read or write, should register for MAL 506.
Students who would like to test out of Malayalam can purchase the DAE (Departmental Administered Exam) form from Instructional Assessment and Evaluation and take the final exam for MAL 312L in May with the rest of the class. Please contact the Department of Asian Studies for more information.
Sanskrit
Contact the Department of Asian Studies for more information.
Tamil
Students who speak Tamil, but cannot read or write, should register for TAM 506.
Students who would like to test out of Tamil can purchase the DAE (Departmental Administered Exam) form from Instructional Assessment and Evaluation and take the final exam for TAM 312L in May with the rest of the class. Please contact the Department of Asian Studies for more information.
Telugu
Students who speak Telugu, but cannot read or write, should register for TEL 506.
Students who would like to test out of Telugu can purchase the DAE (Departmental Administered Exam) form from Instructional Assessment and Evaluation and take the final exam for TEL 312L in May with the rest of the class. Please contact the Department of Asian Studies for more information.
Urdu
Students with spoken and written proficiency in Urdu should take the placement exam through Instructional Assessment and Evaluation. The test is offered twice a year, once in November and once in April. Please contact the Instructional Assessment and Evaluation or Dr. Akbar Hyder shyder@mail.utexas.edu for the exact date, time, and procedure.
Students with spoken knowledge of Urdu, but no reading or writing skills should take URD 506.
Vietnamese
All students wishing to enroll in Vietnamese are required to take the Vietnamese placement exam through Instructional Assessment and Evaluation. After they receive their exam results, they should contact the instructor, Mr. Huang Ngo in WCH 4.114 for placement in the accelerated or regular track.
Languages Not Offered at UT
Effective December 11, 2008, the College of Liberal Arts will no longer allow students to "test" out of their language requirement for languages we do not teach or for which there is no standardized national exam that measures proficiency.
However, students may transfer in credit to UT from another college or university for a language that is not offered at UT. The student should consult his/her advisor to find out if the credit will count towards his/her degree.
