Second Language (SL):  All students who matriculate with less than the equivalent of four terms of college-level, second language proficiency will improve their second language proficiency by at least the equivalent of two terms’ college-level instruction.

Students who come in with three terms’ proficiency will be required to complete only one additional term. 

Students can continue a language they have previously studied or complete two terms in a new language.

Students’ initial course placement and eventual proficiency assessment will be determined by language-specific exams designed and/or approved by SMU faculty.

Students may fulfill the second language proficiency through coursework or through such means as 1) being literate in a native language other than English; 2) matriculating with AP scores of 4 or 5 on a language exam; 3) developing the necessary incremental proficiency through using the language in research, community service or internships abroad; and 4) studying the language online, ideally using recommended learning materials.

Note: Student Learning Outcomes vary according to the language being studied.  The following SLOs are typical of proficiency in the languages of contemporary Western Europe:

Second Language Proficiency: Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Speaking: Students will be able to convey basic personal information and engage in simple social interactions.
2. Speaking: Students will be able to respond to simple questions, and formulate simple questions.
3. Writing: Students will be able to create simple statements and formulate basic questions.
4. Writing: Students will be able to use the present tense with relative accuracy, and some past tense, perhaps with some errors.
5. Writing: Students will be able to employ limited vocabulary, and somewhat repetitive or simple sentence structures.
6. Reading: Students will be able to understand linguistically noncomplex texts dealing with basic personal and social needs.
7. Listening: Students will be able to understand sentence-length utterances related to a limited number of content areas, particularly if supported by the situational context, and if simple instructions and directions are given in the context of a face-to-face conversation.