<p>My son wants to start a new foreign language at USC. Therefore, he doesn't think he needs to take the foreign language placement test. I think he should take it as a back up in case he changes his mind. Any advice?</p>
<p>I would still suggest that he takes the test before orientation. How hard can it be? He can still take a different language class if he wants to.</p>
<p>mdcissp, my s is in the same situation and he emailed somebody at USC about it and they told him to take the placement test anyway.</p>
<p>Very helpful info. Thanks all for sharing it here.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your great responses. I will pass it on to my son.</p>
<p>Ya, as a student I would highly recommend taking the placement test anyway while the information is still fresh in your memory...you don't realize how fast you lose something like a language but it is quick...this way he will have at least the option of starting at a higher level when he wants to do his language or start a new one fresh from level 120...the worst would be to want to take the one he has already and have to take the placement test and test into a lower level because you forgot some of the nit-picky grammer a couple semesters down the road....</p>
<p>My son did not take any foreign language senior year. He said he wants to start a different language at USC (required for </p>
<p>yes....but the test is a lot of grammer...the first section they read a paragraph out loud to you and you answer questions in both english and the picked language...that always goes well...then there is a section where you read a paragraph in the language and answer questions in the language about it...that section was simple too...what killed me was the last section on the little grammer things they ask (verbs, nouns, sentence structure)...although "killing" was placing me into the 3rd semester...</p>
<p>Yes, a language I believe is required for everyone but business, engineering, and architecture...</p>
<p>I would just take it...I mean it can't hurt even if you can't remember and you may even surprise yourself with how much you do remember...then if down the road you determine that you want to start something new you can do that as well...it would just give you a back up...plus I believe the test is only an hour or hour and a half....not too big a deal</p>
<p>My D is in the same situation...took Spanish AP last year but nothing this year. She doesn't think she'll remember enough. May have to do some review before taking the test.</p>
<p>My D got a 5 on the Spanish AP but then didn't take the placement test until 8 months later. She tested into what was basically the level she had already taken in high school. They even used the same book. She was pretty annoyed with herself for not doing some reviewing. Then again, after finishing that Spanish class, she switched to another language entirely and was glad she'd already fulfilled her foreign language requirement with Spanish as it meant she could take just as much of the new language as she wanted. So my advice would be: do the review and take the test.</p>
<p>My son could review old notes, papers he wrote, etc. But, I don't know if that will really prepare him. I thought of checking out an SAT II foreign language book from the library to review. Do you think that is a good review book? Also, the foreign language placement test is on-line. How are they doing oral answering questions on-line? Does someone ask the question on-line (like a TV screen) and you choose the correct answer?</p>
<p>i.e. What should my son study if he changes his mind and decides to take the foreign language placement test?</p>
<p>md, Isn't his major engineering? I thought an engineering major does not have the language requirement.</p>
<p>I would wonder the same thing...CS is in the engineering department and they don't have to take a language...</p>
<p>It says in the Viterbi Engineering handbook that CS majors must take 3 semesters of foreign language.</p>
<p>Thank you to everyone for their advice and support. My son took the foreign language placement test and placed out the first two semesters.</p>
<p>Yeah I took the test, passed it but took another language class anyhow.</p>