Test di ingresso

The College Foreign Language Requirement requires all students to complete, with a grade of 2.0 or higher, two units of one foreign language before the start of the senior year. Students who choose Italian can fulfill the requirement by completing two sequential semester-long courses, either at the beginning level (ITAL 001-002) or, in case they have prior knowledge of Italian, at a higher level. 

Only those students who come to the College with prior knowledge of Italian are required to take a language placement test in the summer before the Fall semester to be placed in the upper-level courses appropriate to their language proficiency skills. The Italian exam is completed and submitted electronically on Moodle, and it consists of three sections: oral comprehension, reading comprehension, and grammar. The deadline to complete the exam is early to mid July, and the results are communicated to students individually over the summer and before registration for the Fall opens.

Students who complete the placement exam are also asked to meet with the Italian faculty at the Academic Fair during the Customs New Student Orientation week for a brief and informal conversation in order to ascertain fluency and confidence in Italian. Occasionally, to fine-tune their placement, students who have already begun their studies may be asked to submit a 400-word essay (as a Word document, dictionary permitted, no translators or other assistance permitted) on any topic after meeting with the faculty at the Academic Fair.

We understand that arriving at college can be intimidating. Nevertheless, we encourage students to trust the faculty’s placement and enroll in the course appropriate to their placement exam results. Students are strongly discouraged from selecting a level based solely on personal comfort and must register for the level they have been placed into.

More information:

• How to find the exam: Moodle > Course Search > Italian Placement Exam > Enroll.
• Additional information: Placement Exams.
• Time limit: up to 3 hours in total (over a single session).
• Policy: the test is closed-book, closed-notes, and must be an individual effort. Electronic devices, digital platforms, Gen-AI tools are not allowed.
• Contact us: Roberta Ricci and Luca Zipoli (rricci@brynmawr.edu and lzipoli@brynmawr.edu).