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Placement Procedure

Please contact Dr. Tanno (Koji.Tanno@uky.edu) if you are taking the placement test.

Japanese Placement Test at UK

Placement is an assessment of a student's level of preparation within a given language. The purpose of the placement test is to help students enroll in a language course in which they have the appropriate skills and are most likely to improve their knowledge of the Japanese language. Please note that the placement test does NOT grant credit hours or grades and cannot be used to replace failing grades in any previously completed course. The placement test simply determines one’s proficiency level.

In order to enroll in a Japanese language course, students who do NOT meet the exemption criteria below must take the placement test. The test will be administrated only at the assigned time and day specified below. No make-up tests will be given. Although they will not be officially enrolled, all students waiting for placement are required to attend all class meetings of their anticipated placement level JPN course the first week of classes in order not to fall behind.

Who should take the placement test?

You must take the test if any of the following applies:

  1. You know some Japanese (e.g. you studied Japanese previously, or Japanese was spoken in your family, or you can read and write some Japanese) and wish to take a UK Japanese course OR want to be placed out of the language requirement at UK.
  2. You are a native speaker of Japanese who graduated from a U.S. high school and would like to place out of the foreign language requirement.
  3. You participated in a Japanese Language Study Abroad Program. You must see Professor Koji Tanno (Koji.Tanno@uky.edu), Coordinator of Japanese language instruction if you wish to take a UK Japanese course when you return.

Who should NOT take the placement test?

Do not take the test if any of the following applies:

  1. You do not know any Japanese and wish to begin taking elementary Japanese courses (i.e., JPN 101).
  2. You have a high school or college diploma from a country where Japanese is the official language, you are coded as International Student by Office of the Registrar, and you do NOT want to enroll in a UK Japanese course.

Native speakers are ineligible to enroll in UK Japanese language courses at the 100-200 level or in Japanese conversation courses. If you are not coded as International Student by the Registrar’s Office and believe you should be, please contact the Registrar at 859-257-3161.

What if I want academic credit hours for my Japanese knowledge?

You do not need to take the placement test. You should take special department exams for credit. Please note that elementary and intermediate Japanese credit (JPN 101-202) is not available on the basis of a special examination. Credit is only provided for JPN301, JPN302, and JPN410. Native speakers of Japanese may not take the special examination for Japanese language credit.

When and where is the placement test held?

   

The placement test is available online, but you need to contact Dr. Tanno (Koji.Tanno@uky.edu).  After the online test, you will be contacted for an oral interview.  Until the result of your oral interview becomes available, you are required to participate in the JPN level class that you believe you will place into. Once your result is evaluated, you will be eligible to officially enroll in the appropriate course.

How long is the placement test?

The online test and the oral interview will approximately take 1.5 hours and 20 minutes.  If you sign up for the test, you will recevie a link to the online test about one week prior to the oral interview.

Is there a fee for the placement test?

No fee is required if you are an admitted UK student.

How should I prepare for the placement test?

The test is roughly based on (but not limited to) the textbooks we use in our program (Genki I, II, IJ). However, you do not need to study these textbooks to prepare for the test. Rather, the best way to prepare is to review what you have studied so far, with a special emphasis on basic grammar understanding and productive skills (composition and oral interview).

What is the format of the placement test?

The test consists of an online test and an oral interview.

When will the placement test results be available?

Results will be emailed to you over the weekend following the test. While awaiting placement test results, you are required to participate in the JPN level class that you believe you will place into even though you aren’t officially enrolled in that course. Once your placement test results are evaluated you will be eligible to officially enroll in the appropriate course.

You are subject to the Japanese Studies curriculum honor code when taking this test. It is important that you DO YOUR BEST on this test. If it becomes evident later that you have intentionally done poorly on the test in order to place at a level lower than your actual level, you may face disciplinary actions for violating the Integrity Pledge, and you will be dropped from the course.

Examinees who require special testing conditions must provide Professor Tanno with a Letter of Accommodation from the Disability Resource Center (on the corner of Rose Street and Huguelet Drive in the Multidisciplinary Science Building, Suite 407, (859) 257-2754, drc@uky.edu).

I have taken the placement test before. How long is the test result valid?

The test result is valid only for one semester. If you do not enroll in a JPN language class the semester you take the placement test, you must take the placement test again if you decide to enroll in a future JPN language class.

For questions, please contact Prof. Koji Tanno at <Koji.Tanno@uky.edu>. Be sure to use your official UK email address, and include your student number in the message.