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This site:
German Homepage
Romance,
German, and Slavic Homepage
E-mail Contacts:
German
Language Program
German Literature
Courses
Romance, German,
& Slavic Dept.
Faculty
German
courses
German major and
minor
FLEX and tool exams for ESIA and
CCAS grad students
Related sites:
Language Center
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GERMAN LANGUAGE
AND LITERATURE
GRADUATE PROGRAM FLEX AND TOOL
REQUIREMENTS
If your graduate program has a foreign language
requirement, and you choose to complete it through the German Program,
this is the page you need to read. Click on the statement that applies to
you:
I am an undergraduate in the Elliott
School. If this statement applies to you, stop here. You have
no separate foreign language exam to pass. You do, however, have a
three-year foreign language requirement. You may seek to have this
requirement waived on the basis of language already learned. For German,
contact Prof. Heidrun Franz (994-6335; hfranz@gwu.edu).
I am a
CSAS graduate student with a foreign language requirement in
German...
I am an ESIA graduate student with a
foreign language requirement in German... (Continue
reading)
Dutch? Norwegian? Swedish? Danish? The German
and Slavic Department cannot test any Germanic languages other than
German. However, we will certify test results in those languages received
through qualified outside testers.
ELLIOTT SCHOOL (ESIA)
EXAMS
Elliott School students must score the equivalent of ACTFL Intermediate
High in Speaking and ACTFL Advanced in
reading.
Take the Diagnostic
before the Exit Exams!
When you enroll in the Elliott School, you are required
to take a short diagnostic during ESIA orientation. The diagnostic helps
you determine how close you are to passing the foreign language exit exam
and what sort of preparation you need to be within shooting range.
The diagnostic runs between 15-20 minutes. It consists of a brief
oral proficiency interview and a short version of the foreign
language reading exam. Click here for a Sample German
Test
We will tell you immediately after the diagnostic what you need to do
to prepare for a full-blown foreign language exit exam.
When and how to take the
foreign language exit exams
ESIA Students must pass a
foreign-language exit exam
during the last two semesters of
coursework.
The foreign language exit exams consist of two separate parts:
- Oral Proficiency Interview, administered by
appointment. Contact Prof. Margaret Gonglewski (994-3072; e-mail: margaret@gwu.edu).
- Reading Proficiency Test. Both the German and
Russian reading proficiency test are administered once each semester,
usually in mid-October and mid-February or March. Occasionally,
additional exams are scheduled for August.
What will be
tested?
Reading Proficiency
Test
The purpose of the Reading Proficiency Test is to
determine whether you can read and understand standard German prose about
international affairs without a dictionary. At no point are
you required to demonstrate any skill other than the ability to understand
what you read in the foreign language.
ESIA students are expected to understand both the main facts and
some of the details from straightforward articles dealing with issues of
general interest pertaining politics, history, current events,
socio-economics, and military affairs (more than just the gist - ACTFL Advanced). On
the current exam, you reach the Advanced rating by scoring 50%.
The exams consist of between ten and fifteen short passages in the
foreign language taken from German or Russian newspapers and magazines.
Each article is followed by a number of comprehension questions in English
which require short answers in English (one sentence or less). The exam
contains between forty and fifty questions.
You have ninety minutes to complete the exam. A fluent (but non-native)
reader of German or Russian can complete the exam in about 35 minutes.
You may not use a dictionary.
You can see a sample test in German.
Oral Proficiency
Interview
The Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) is a 20-30 minute
face-to-face conversation with a tester, recorded on audiotape. The tester
will warm you up with simple questions (where you live, what courses
you're taking, your interests, etc.) and then move on to more substantive
topics, including coping with everyday situations in which you have to
explain something (like replacing a lost library card) simple
descriptions, basic descriptions of current events, and so on. To reach
the appropriate exit score, you must demonstrate proficiency at the
Intermediate High level: the ability to narrate, describe, and
explain concrete, factual topics in cogent paragraphs most but not all
of the time.
Hints for doing well on the Oral Proficiency
Interview
- Talk a lot! No one ever lost points for
talking too much. The more you say, the better off you are.
- Say what you can, not what you can't. Let's
say that the tester asks you to name the most burning issue in the world
today. And let's assume that your chief interest is the plight of the
snail darter. If you know all about the snail darter in the target
language, fine. Talk about snail darters. If not, concentrate on a topic
for which you have the words.
- Don't sweat the grammar. Yes, grammar counts
some. But this is not a written exercise. Saying a lot at a good tempo
gets you more mileage than stopping to make a mental check of every
grammatical ending.
- Engage the tester in conversation. The OPI is
a face-to-face conversation, not an interrogation. Feel free to engage
the tester in a give-and-take flow of talk. In the same vein, you do not
have to answer questions with which you are personally uncomfortable.
Just say so. For example:
Tester: How would you react to
the rise of religious faith in the U.S.
Examinee: I would rather not talk about my own religious
beliefs.
- Don't be afraid to ask for repetition or
clarification. Even in your native language, you often stop your
conversation partner to ask, "Sorry, what was that?" or "I'm not sure
what you mean by 'nuclear plaything'". There's nothing wrong with making
the tester explain things that you didn't catch.
What is the best way to
prepare for the foreign language exit exams?
Preparation for the Oral
Proficiency Interview (OPI)
The German and Slavic Department offers a number of
courses to help prepare students for the OPI.
|
COURSE |
PROGNOSIS |
|
|
GOOD
STUDENT |
AVERAGE
STUDENT |
|
Ger 9 and 10, 3d yr. German (3
cr/sem) |
Intermediate High |
Intermediate Mid |
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Ger 109-110, 4th yr German (3
cr/sem) |
Advanced |
Intermediate High |
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Ger 195, Conv. practice* (1 cr/sem) |
Advanced |
Intermediate High |
*This course, available for one credit specializes on
international affairs topics. Those who sign up for it should be close to
Intermediate High.
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