French Placement Exam

Effective Fall 2024, the French Placement Exam will be offered online through Canvas, and no longer in-person by appointment. 

1. How do I enroll in a French course? 

There are no Prerequisite enforced for French 1A, 1AB, or 1ABSP (French for Spanish Speakers). You may enroll directly through WebReg if space permits. Please visit the Schedule of Classes to view course offerings and seat availability. 

A student who received a score of “3” on the Advanced Placement (AP) French exam is eligible to enroll directly into French 2A. 

A student who received a score of “4” or “5” on the Advance Placement (AP) French exam is eligible to enroll in any upper-division French course taught in French. 

If you have high school or heritage background, you can take the placement exam or contact Dr. Maryse Mijalski (mjmijals@uci.edu) to request permission to enroll. 

2. What is the purpose of the French advisory placement test? 

To help you decide which lower-division French course will best match your current skills and knowledge, consider taking the advisory placement test. You are not obliged to accept the placement indicated by the result of your test. This exam can place you in levels: French 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A.

3. Who needs to take courses in French? 

Language learning is an integral part of a university education and learning another language is a worthwhile endeavor for any student, whether that language is one’s heritage language or a completely new language. The acquisition of a second or even third language increases one’s global literacy and helps to foster a greater appreciation of diversity. In our rapidly changing and increasingly interconnected world, students with language skills in more than one language will be able to engage their world in more meaningful and productive ways.

Completion of French course work through the 1C level may be used to satisfy UCI’s Language Other Than English (Category VI) general education requirement. Students majoring in International Studies or students with a major in the School of Humanities must satisfy Language Other Than English requirements through the 2C level.

Please consult your academic advisor if you have questions about these requirements.

4. How do I prepare for the examination? 

If it has been a while since you have taken French course work, you may wish to review your high school or college material before the quarter begins.

You also may consult the following textbook used in first-year language classes:

Jansma, K. & Kassen, M. (2001). Motifs: An Introduction to French. Harcourt College Publishers

5. What should I study for the examination? 

Grammar:

• Verbs: regular/irregular, reflexive, tenses (present, passé composé, imparfait)
• Advanced levels: tenses (future, conditional), subjunctive, compound forms (plus-que-parfait, past conditional, future perfect)
• Pronouns: subject, tonic, direct, indirect objects
• Relative clauses
• Agreement: nouns and determiners, subject and verb

Reading and Vocabulary:

At the intermediate level (French 2A), you should be able to get the gist of a text, even if you don’t know all the words, by skimming, scanning, and intelligent guessing of meanings from the context. You should have an active vocabulary that enables you to talk and write about commonplace objects, people, activities, family life, school and studies, shopping, travel, etc. You should be able to ask for and give information; make, refuse, or agree to a polite request; describe people, places, and things; talk about your likes, dislikes, interests, etc.; tell a story in the past; talk about your plans for the future; and express an opinion and defend your point of view.

6. How long is the examination? 

The French placement test lasts 75 minutes and consists of 88 questions.

7. Is test registration required?

Yes. The French exam is available by appointment. You may schedule an appointment online through Campus Groups.

French Exemption Exam 

Effective Fall 2024, the French Exemption exam will be offered online through Canvas. Registration is currently unavailable. Please check back back during Week 0. 

The French Exemption Examination evaluates the advanced language skills of students with strong prior training in French. The examination’s result may be used to satisfy the Language Other Than English General Education Requirement (Category VI General Education Requirement Policy). 

You should take this test if you have a strong background in French and are NOT interested in taking additional coursework. Students with minimal training in the language should take the French Placement Test to be placed into an appropriate course. Students with no prior experience with French should enroll in French 1A.

Successful completion of the French Exemption Examination will result in a notation on the student’s record that indicates that the student has shown competence beyond the second-year level of French. Students who do not pass the examination should take the French Placement Test to be placed into an appropriate course. 

The exemption examination is an online 90-minute test that consists of two parts, followed by an oral interview for eligible participants. 

Part One: 52 Multiple Choice Questions 

Part Two: 2 Essay Questions 

Students who score 75% or above on the written part of the exam are eligible for an oral interview, and will be contact by French faculty for scheduling. A sufficient score on the written exam and a satisfactory performance in the oral interview will exempt students from French 2C.

This test may be taken only once. No University credit is given. There is no fee to take the test if you are a UCI student.