Placement tests
General Information
WHY?
The placement test serves to evaluate the student's level of proficiency in French and determine which course is the most appropriate. All students have to go through the Placement test session, even Beginners. Students who have taken and passed equivalent courses at a CEGEP or another university have to be placed at the next level.
WHERE AND WHEN?
Supplementary sessions of placement tests for Fall 2013, for new and returning students
For all students:
Location:
Arts Multimedia Language Facility (AMLF),
MS-37, McLennan Library Building,
McLennan (basement level),
3459 McTavish Street.
Date: Wednesday, September 11th, 2013
Time: 2:30 pm
Date: Thursday, September 12th, 2013
Time: 10:00 am
N.B. Schedule and location are subject to change.
The tests can be taken without any prior arrangement or reservation.
Students are admitted to the placement test on a first-come, first-served basis.
WHO HAS TO TAKE THE FRENCH PLACEMENT TEST?
ALL students (including complete beginners) wishing to take an FRSL course are required to take a placement test. All French as a Second Language courses given at the French Language Centre (FLC), have limited enrollment and placement tests are mandatory for all students. Students having already completed a course at the French Language Centre (FLC) should go directly to the office (Arts Building, Room 265, 853 Sherbrooke Street West) to get a permit to register.
Special students, visiting students, or exchange students (for summer courses only) who are not available for testing on placement test dates should obtain a Pre-Placement Test from the French Language Centre by emailing flc [at] mcgill [dot] ca.
WHAT DO YOU NEED?
ALL STUDENTS wishing to take the placement test must have
- their McGill 9-digit student number;
- their McGill log on username (firstname [dot] lastname [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca) and password*;
- ear-phones such as those used for an MP3 player for the listening part of the test;
STUDENTS might need to show a copy of their previous French language courses transcripts.
GRADUATE STUDENTS who wish to take undergraduate FRSL courses must bring a letter of permission signed by an authorized person in their faculty or department, e.g. a program supervisor to the Secretary at the FLC (853 Sherbrooke Street West, Arts Building, Room 265) before 3:00 pm any day prior to the end of the add/drop period. Graduate students might be reoriented towards School of Continuing Studies after the Placement test.
*TO OBTAIN your McGill username log-in and password, please go to
View your McGill Username, change your McGill Password,
WHAT ARE THE STEPS TO FOLLOW?
Step 1: COMPUTERIZED TEST
Read THE INSTRUCTIONS carefully. If you skip them, you will not be able to go back. ALL students are required to write a composition. If your level of French makes it too difficult to write about the picture, please write 3 to 4 sentences of your own. The instructor won't attribute a course without knowing the level of writing.
Step 2: INTERVIEW with a professor
You will have a short interview in order to evaluate your oral skills. All students (except perfect beginners) have to go through this step in order to have a course assigned. Having then an overview of your French skills (speaking, writing, listening and reading), the professor will assign you the course(s) appropriate for your level.
N.B. Bring your personal schedule to check on Minerva if the chosen French course fits. Instructors won't have time to check it with you.
Step 3: E-MAIL CONFIRMATION and REGISTRATION ON MINERVA
All regular undergraduate students will receive an e-mail confirming the permission to register on Minerva. If a student doesn't receive this e-mail in the same day, please contact the FLC as soon as possible (flc [at] mcgill [dot] ca or 514-398-4172 ext. 0758).
• GRADUATE STUDENTS will not receive this confirmation. They will need to go directly to the FLC Secretary (853 Sherbrooke Street West, Arts Building, room 265) before 3:00 pm any day prior to the end of the add/drop period.
WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?
Since that for most of our courses the demand is greater than the offer, students who want to take a French class have to show up every day from the first day of class to the last day of the add/drop period in order to stay in the class. A student who is absent from class without an explanatory e-mail to the instructor will be asked to step out and give the spot to the next student on the waiting list.
If the class is already full,
- Put your name on the waiting list.
- Check Minerva as often as possible and keep trying. Some students may change their minds and may drop the course before the class starts.
- Come directly to class on the first day. Students on the waiting list are expected also to show up the first day of class to stay on the waiting list and stand a chance to register for the class.
N.B. We remind you that: all students are required to attend class without fail during the first two weeks of term in order to retain their places. If you decide to drop your French class(es), please do so as soon as possible on Minerva in order to allow another student to register for the course(s).