Ðǿմ«Ã½

Language Placement

a professor and students study in the Language Center

​Ðǿմ«Ã½ requires every graduate to have developed intermediate proficiency in a second language. (We refer to this as the F10 requirement.) Students may fulfill this requirement in one of three ways:

  1. By continuing study at Ðǿմ«Ã½ of a language they began in high school and successfully completing a third-semester (201) or higher course (202 and above) in that language.
  2. Starting a new language at Ðǿմ«Ã½ and successfully completing the third semester (201).
  3. By passing an examination offered by the appropriate Ðǿմ«Ã½ department. For specifics, see below.

The language must be one that is offered by the Department of Modern Languages or the Department of Ancient Mediterranean Studies.

For now, however, as you develop your plan of study for next year and begin choosing classes, we want to place you in the appropriate class if you intend to continue with a language you have studied in high school.

For Ancient Greek, Latin, or Hebrew

If you have taken ancient Greek or Latin in high school or at another university, the Department of Ancient Mediterranean Studies will be happy to communicate with you via email and provide information about the appropriate course or courses to take this coming fall.  If you have questions about the placement process or our program in general, we invite you to contact Dr. Susan Satterfield, Chair.

You may, however, use the chart below to determine which course might be right for you. Note that individual experiences may differ; feel free to consult the instructor of the particular course for more details.

If you have taken . . .You might consider taking . . .
One year or less of LatinLatin 101: Elementary Latin
One or two years of LatinLatin 102: Elementary Latin
Three or four years of LatinLatin 201: Intermediate Latin
AP, IB, or Honors LatinLatin 265: Topics in Latin Literature
One year or less of GreekGreek 101: Elementary Greek
Two years of GreekGreek 102: Elementary Greek
Three or four years of GreekGreek 201: Intermediate Greek

Once you have chosen a course and determined it will fit into your schedule, add it to your saved schedule for the fall.  For any course other than 101, Workday—may its name be praised—will require a course override to confirm that you are qualified for the course. Go ahead and request the override on Workday, indicating to the instructor your preparation from high school in the comments section. You will hear back from the instructor, but probably not immediately.  We are not Amazon or Chat GPT or even Burger King but real people like you and your dog Sparky.

If you are interested in starting ancient Greek or Latin at Ðǿմ«Ã½, the ancient Greek sequence begins in the fall with Greek 101, which will meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10:00 to 10:50 am.  The Latin sequence begins with 101 in the spring semester. We will be offering Latin 102 this fall at MW at 2:00pm and TR at 3:30pm.  If you have had about two years of high school Latin, you should be prepared for this course.

If you have an extensive background in ancient Greek or Latin but do not intend to continue with your study of those languages at Ðǿմ«Ã½, you may fulfill your F10 requirement by taking the final examination from Greek 201 or Latin 201. These exams will be administered during Welcome Week; please consult the Welcome Week schedule. The exams are used to determine proficiency only, not placement.  If you plan on taking the Greek 201 examination, you should contact Professor Joe Jansen by email at jansenj@rhodes.edu. If you intend to take the Latin 201 examination, please contact Professor David Sick by email at sick@rhodes.edu.

For information on the Hebrew program at Ðǿմ«Ã½, please contact Professor Steve McKenzie at mckenzie@rhodes.edu . At present only biblical Hebrew is offered at Ðǿմ«Ã½. It is possible to fulfill the F10 requirement by completing Hebrew 201 or by passing the proficiency exam..

Placement Examinations for French, German, Russian, Spanish, or Chinese

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures offers an online placement examination for students who have taken French, German, Russian or Spanish. A paper placement examination is given to students who have taken Chinese. Even if you if are not planning on continuing a language you took in secondary school, you should take these tests to determine at what level you place for your own and your advisor's records. If you are beginning a language you have never studies there is no need to take the placement test in that language.

Because the exam is just a way for us to place you in the correct level for your language, you do not need to prepare for the exam and you will not need any reference materials (textbooks, dictionaries, etc.) to complete it. Should the exam indicate that you have placed into a 202 course or beyond, you will be required to meet with faculty in your language for follow up. In other words, you have not fulfilled the F10 language requirement simply by taking this test.

Please note that students who have taken two or more years of French, German, Russian, Spanish or Chinese in high school may not take a 101 class for credit in that language. Students in this category whose placement exam score indicates that 101 is the best level to start study at Ðǿմ«Ã½ have three options:

  1. enroll in a 101 course for no credit with the permission of the instructor
  2. do an intensive review at another institution before enrolling in 102
  3. consider beginning at 101 for credit in another language

For inquiries about modern languages (other than Greek and Latin), please contact: Dr. Han Li, Modern Languages and Literatures, at hanl@rhodes.edu.

If you are a student of Chinese language and seek to take a placement test, please do not take the Emmersion online exam. A paper placement test of Chinese is offered on the designated dates indicated on your Welcome Week schedule. You can also contact Prof. Han Li by email at ³ó²¹²Ô±ô°ª°ù³ó´Ç»å±ð²õ.±ð»å³Ü​ for any questions or information..

To take the online exam for French, German, Russian or Spanish - read the directions below.

The online placement exam is administered by Emmersion. Once you have read this page carefully you may follow the link below, which will take you to the Emmersion website, where you will create an account. The exam length varies for everyone since it adjusts to your responses. You may only take the exam once and you must acknowledge that your conduct abides by the Ðǿմ«Ã½ Honor Code before taking the exam.

Instructions

  1. Fill in your name, student ID, and email address in the appropriate fields. Create a password you will remember.
  2. You will have the option to take any language placement exam. Select the language you plan to continue taking at Ðǿմ«Ã½.
  3. Take both the pre-exam survey and the placement exam.
  4. When the exam is completed, a screen with your name, score, and a chart placing you into a level will appear. Print or write down the results and bring them to your first advising session.
  5. Exit the exam after printing off the results.
  6. If your exam session is interrupted, login again and click "Resume." 

Honor Code

By clicking on the Honor Code below, you acknowledge that you have read the Honor Code and promise to abide by it while taking the language placement test. Once you have done so, you will be automatically directed to the test site.