Dear New W&J Students,
As a part of preparation for the upcoming academic year, you will be asked to provide information about your foreign language proficiency. W&J has an online system that you must complete from home prior to arrival at LAUNCH in June. We ask that you complete this survey as soon as possible so that we can determine placement into various languages we offer. If you don't complete the questionnaire prior to LAUNCH, it can affect your ability to register. All students must complete the language placement profile, regardless of whether or not you intend on taking a language in your first semester.
The system will be made Available Wednesday, May 15 and you should complete the survey at the absolute latest by Friday, May 31.
You will receive your placement in the folder you receive at check-in at LAUNCH. Students who place into the first three semesters of the languages (105, 106, and 207) need not attend the language placement session at LAUNCH.
If you place above the intermediate level, i.e. above the proficiency level for the language requirement, you will need to meet with a professor at LAUNCH to confirm your placement through a quick conversation in that particular language.
If for some reason you wish to discuss your placement or think that it is not correct, you are also welcome to meet with a language professor during LAUNCH.
To get started after Wendesday, May 15, please visit the online placement URL at http://langprofile.washjeff.edu/. You will need your W&J student ID number, which you received on the letter confirming your deposit payment to the College and welcoming you to W&J, to log in. (Please note: Your W&J student ID will not work to log in until Wednesday, May 15. If you have any difficulty logging in, contact the W&J ITS helpdesk at 724-503-1001, ext. 6022.)
This procedure replaces the traditional 'exam' and helps us get a better idea of your abilities and place you better into foreign language classes. We are interested mostly in your experience with the language and your current ability to express yourself in written and possibly oral forms.
Three things to remember:
1. The writing sample gives you an opportunity to show us your abilities, so write as well as you can!
2. If you have taken an AP foreign language exam, you may receive credit for this and get advanced placement. Once you receive your graded AP exam, feel free to contact a professor in your language area if you have questions about how this could affect your placement. If you score very high on this exam, this could allow you to major or minor with fewer courses!
3. This placement is only for languages you have taken already. At LAUNCH you are free to register for any of the seven languages W&J offers including Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. However, you still must complete this questionnaire in the language in which you already have experience before registering into any language courses.
You can find professors at the Modern Language department web site in their respective area.
If you have any questions or experience any problems with the online questionnaire, you may direct them to me.
Sharon C. Taylor, Ph. D
Associate Professor of French and Chair of Modern Languages
Washington & Jefferson College staylor@washjeff.edu
