Foreign Language Proficiency

Why Study a Foreign Language? 
How to Demonstrate Foreign Language Proficiency
Note to Incoming Transfer Students
Foreign Language Proficiency and Disabilities Affecting Foreign Language Acquisition
More Information

Why Study a Foreign Language?

Knowledge of a foreign language is of immediate practical value in a world in which international commerce in goods and ideas is commonplace. The study of a foreign language also helps you understand cultures different from your own, become more sensitive to the nature of language, and develop a deeper appreciation of your own language. If you decide that you would like to study or work abroad, facility with a language other than English will increase your options.

Consistent with widely-accepted current approaches to foreign language learning, the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences (WCAS) views foreign language proficiency as consisting of a broad set of abilities, including:

• the ability to read and write a foreign language
• the ability to speak and understand a foreign language
• knowledge and understanding of the history and culture of the community or communities in which the foreign language is spoken
• the ability to function in culturally-appropriate ways within a community or communities in which the foreign language is spoken

In fulfilling the WCAS Foreign Language Proficiency Requirement, all students are required to achieve some measure of ability in each of these areas. The level of proficiency required to fulfill the WCAS foreign language requirement is equivalent to two years of college-level language instruction demonstrated in one of the following ways.

How to Demonstrate Foreign Language Proficiency

1. Demonstrating proficiency through AP scores or department testing . Some students are able to demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language before they begin their classes at Northwestern. You can do this by earning a high enough score on aCollege Board Advanced Placement foreign language examination or on a Northwestern University foreign language placement examination. Many placement exams are available on-line.  Information on placement examinations is sent to incoming freshmen during the summer.

2. Demonstrating proficiency through Northwestern coursework . Many students have not yet achieved proficiency in a foreign language when they finish high school. Some choose to begin a new language at Northwestern, while others choose to continue studying a language they started in high school. If you plan to continue with a language you have already started, be sure to take the appropriate placement exam so that you will know where to start. All incoming freshmen receive information on placement testing during the summer.

Weinberg College offers courses in Arabic, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Chinese, Czech, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Turkish and Yiddish. Though most language instruction includes development of both written and spoken languages, courses that concentrate primarily on reading are offered in some languages. Some language programs offer individualized instruction or accelerated classes which students may take to attain proficiency more quickly. Several language departments also offer an intensive summer program enabling students to complete a full year of the language during the summer session. For more information on the language programs and foreign language instruction at Northwestern, please check the Language Brochure.

To demonstrate foreign language proficiency through coursework done at Northwestern,you need to complete the third quarter of the second-year language sequence with a grade of C- or better. All earlier courses must be taken for a grade; they cannot be taken P/N .

A table showing courses that fulfill the foreign language proficiency requirement is available online.

3. Demonstrating proficiency in languages not taught at Northwestern or based on coursework in a high school where English was not the primary language of instruction . Some students demonstrate foreign language proficiency by submitting evidence that they have completed their secondary school coursework at a school where a language other than English was the primary language of instruction. Others pass a proficiency examination in a language not taught at Northwestern.

• The students in the former circumstance should first go to the WCAS Office of Undergraduate Studies and Advising (1922 Sheridan Road, 847-491-7560) in order to have their foreign language proficiency validated based on their high school transcripts. If the WCAS Office of Undergraduate Studies and Advising is not able to validate or evaluate the proficiency, the students should complete the Petition for Proficiency Validation.
• Students who seek proficiency validation in a language not taught at Northwestern should also complete the Petition for Proficiency Validation.

For both of the above circumstances, the petition must be filed no later than 4 PM on the last “drop date” during your first regular quarter (i.e., fall, winter, or spring) on campus .

Note to Incoming Transfer Students

New transfer students who have not yet satisfied the WCAS foreign language requirement or who have questions about foreign language study at Northwestern should consult the language coordinators in the relevant language departments. For information on language coordinators, please check the language brochure at the Council on Language Instruction's website.

Foreign Language Proficiency and Disabilities Affecting Foreign Language Acquisition

Foreign Language Proficiency and Disabilities Affecting Foreign Language Acquisition: In certain cases of diagnosed and documented disabilities affecting foreign language acquisition, students may apply to seek to satisfy the WCAS foreign language proficiency requirement by using both language and non-language classes.  In such circumstances, the students should read the Instructions for Seeking Accommodation in or Substitution of the WCAS Foreign Language Proficiency Requirement Based on a Diagnosed and Documented Disability Affecting Foreign Language Acquisition and contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) (Scott Hall, 601 University Place, Evanston).

More Information on Foreign Language Study at Northwestern

Everything You Need to Know About Learning Languages at Northwestern, a language brochure is available to students, advisers and faculty. Please consult the brochure for any information regarding foreign language courses and language study at Northwestern.

The Council on Language Instruction facilitates language instruction, placement, and proficiency evaluation at the university. Please see the Council website for more information.

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updated by JL, August 2005