EALC Language Programs
EALC offers serious and sustained training in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Carefully articulated four-year sequences of language study are offered in the three East Asian languages and the emphasis is on developing students' proficiency in all four skills.
Placement Exams
Placement exams are required for students with any prior exposure to the language either at home, through overseas experience, or at another institution. Only absolute beginners may place themselves.
Special Credit
Non-native speakers studying a foreign language can earn special credit for foreign language for the third and fourth semesters of language study. To earn special credit, students must take the placement test, complete a validating course on the IUB campus at the level into which they place (or higher) with a grade of C or better, and apply for the special credit. The course must be their first IUB course in that language. If a student earns a grade of C- or below in the validating course, s/he will not receive special credit. A transfer course cannot be used as a validating course.
Please note that students with native language fluency (i.e., students who learned the target foreign language in ways other than formal schooling/instruction) are not eligible to earn special credit in that language.
Minimum Grades
Students wanting to proceed to the next level of an East Asian language must earn a minimum grade of C in their current course. Any student earning a grade less than C and registering for the next semester of an East Asian language will be dropped from the class.
Proficiency Exams
Proficiency exams are offered to students who wish to demonstrate that they do not need any additional foreign language enrollment/study to meet the IU General Education World Language requirement and/or the College’s Foreign Language requirement. Proficiency exams are not tied to special credit. If you need to take a proficiency exam, click here to see more detail.
Instructions for Establishing Foreign Proficiency for Non-Native Speakers of English
You do not need to take a proficiency test if you are an international student whose native language is not English. Please follow the steps below to establish proficiency in your native language to satisfy the General Education World Languages Requirement and the specific foreign language requirement of your school (e.g., College of Arts and Sciences).
If you graduated from a high school where your native language (C/J/K) is the language of instruction:
- Complete the Application for Establishment of Foreign Language Proficiency for Non-Native Speakers of English. This form is available on the College Recorder’s webpage (Forms). Complete the form online and print out a copy. Deliver the copy to the College Recorder’s Office (Owen Hall 003).
- If you were admitted to IU in Fall 2012 or later, just submit the completed form to the College Recorders (Owen Hall 002).
- If you were admitted to IU before Fall 2012, submit the completed form to the College Recorders (Owen Hall 002) and an official document (e.g., a high school diploma or transcript (at least 3 years of classes), national exam results, leaving certificate, etc.) that shows that you had formal instruction in a language other than English.
If you completed the 6th grade or above but have not graduated from a high school where your native language is the language of instruction, submit to the EALC Department an official document that proves the completion of the 6th grade or above along with the Language Proficiency Certification Form (available at Department office, Global and International Studies Building, Room 2035).
If you did not complete the 6th grade or above in a country where C/J/K is not the language of instruction, you still need to take a proficiency test to establish your proficiency in your native language.
You will not receive course credit through this process, but you can satisfy the foreign language requirement for the College of Arts and Sciences as well as IUB’s General Education World Languages requirement this way. The College Recorder’s Office will process your form and contact you by email in 14 business days to let you know the results.
Reading Proficiency for Graduate Students
The main purpose of the reading proficiency requirement is to demonstrate that the student will be able to use primary sources written in their chosen language to conduct research in his or her field.