Tiffin University. English Language Proficiency Policy

Transcription

1 Tiffin University English Language Proficiency Policy 1. This policy will apply to all degree-seeking students for whom English is their second language and are admitted to seated TU degree programs in the United States or any foreign site. 2. Applicants from the following English-only countries do not need to prove English proficiency: Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada (except Quebec), Dominica, Grenada, Cayman Islands, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Liberia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and United Kingdom. 3. TU requires all students whose native language is not English, and who do not submit an acceptable English language proficiency test score, to take the following battery of tests for seated courses in any undergraduate or graduate program: a. Accuplacer ESL: i. Reading Skills ii. Sentence Meaning iii. Language Usage b. TU Integrated : (grading rubric attached) i. Reading passage ii. Related lecture/listening section iii. prompt requiring students to use material from both the reading and the listening in response c. TU Oral Interview: (grading rubric attached) i. Undergraduate students will be interviewed by the ELAC director and/or a faculty member from the school of their major. ii. Graduate students will be interviewed by the Dean and/or the program chair of their degree program. 4. Students entering degree programs who have achieved university-stated scores (found in the Academic Bulletin) on the TOEFL, IELTS, MELAB, Cambridge tests, or any other English proficiency test accepted by the university will not take the Accuplacer test.

2 Undergraduates will take the integrated essay test to determine their enrollment in ENG 140 or ENG 141 and/or other credit courses. Graduate students will take the integrated essay, the oral interview, and a plagiarism/citation quiz to confirm their ability to research, cite, and respond orally and in writing to the kinds of integrative questions used in graduate classes. Graduate students who have sufficient TOEFL or other scores, but who score below a 5 on the essay and/or below a 4.4 in the interview may be assigned specific support work by the Graduate Dean and the Program Chair of their degree program. 5. Graduate and undergraduate students who do not have a score from an approved proficiency test will take the Accuplacer, integrated essay, and oral interview. Students who have received certificates that indicate completion of English language training at other English-speaking universities or language schools will not take the Accuplacer, but will take the integrated essay and oral interview. Students who have taken English classes, but have not completed a formal program and have no TOEFL, etc., will complete the entire battery of tests to determine appropriate placement in classes. Graduate students who place into level 4 may have to take an additional plagiarism/citation quiz to confirm their ability to research, cite, and respond orally and in writing to the kinds of integrative questions used in graduate classes. 6. Placement levels are (depending on degree applied for): a. Undergraduate and Graduate: all regular classes b. Level 4: i. Undergraduate: ENG 141 (International section for non-native English speakers) plus 3-4 regular classes ii. Graduate: ELA 541 (International section for students who are unfamiliar with American academic writing formats) and ELA 542 (Professional communication and culture course), no regular classes. This is an 8-credit hour combination of class work and cultural experience. c. Level 3: ELA 109/130 and ENG 140 i. Undergraduate: plus 1 regular math class ii. Graduate: no regular classes d. Level 2: ELA 102/104/106/112/170, no regular classes e. Level 1: ELA 101/103/105/110/170, no regular classes

3 7. Promotions from ELAC levels will be based on the scores achieved in the TU battery of proficiency tests and assigned by the Proficiency Placement Grid. Students will be tested and placed upon arrival. When they are placed in ELAC courses they must pass those courses in order to earn admission to be retested at the end of the semester. Students who do not pass all of the ELAC classes in their level will not be allowed to take the proficiency tests. They must repeat the level. Promotions will not be granted simply because a student has attended class consistently. Each student must demonstrate the ability to read, write, and speak according to the requirements for each ELAC level on the Proficiency Placement Grid, e.g. a student in level 1 must achieve scores on the Accuplacer, essay, and oral interview that attain level 2 (or higher) in order to move to the next level (or the level their scores indicate; a student may move from level 1 to level 3 or higher if there is sufficient improvement). Once they have entered the ELAC program, students will not be allowed to move to the next level based on a more recent English proficiency test score (TOEFLL, IELTS, etc.); they will still be expected to follow the aforementioned promotion policy. 8. Students must pass each level within two consecutive semesters. Students are allowed to complete the 4 levels in four consecutive semesters, and they are allowed to enroll fulltime in regular classes upon completion of any level if they earned the scores defined in the Proficiency Placement Grid. 9. Once a student begins a semester of ELAC courses, he or she must complete the entire semester. This is especially important for graduate students. They may not enroll in ELAC level 1 or 2 and decide they want to move to graduate classes at the end of the first 7-week term. 10. Late arrivals: International students must arrive by the last day to add classes (as stated in the Academic Bulletin). Students who are able to be tested for English proficiency prior to the last day to add classes may enroll in regular classes (if so placed according to the Proficiency Placement Grid). Students who do not arrive in time to be tested before the last day to add classes will automatically be placed in Level 1 ELAC courses. Any student who anticipates arriving after the last day to add a class will have his/her enrollment deferred until the next semester.

4 11. Proficiency test scores These averages will be used for placement when the student is initially tested. They will also be applied when students are retested at the end of each semester to demonstrate progress in their proficiency. Students who average 79 or below on Accuplacer are placed in level 1. Students who average 80 or above take the integrated essay and oral interview. The three tests are evaluated together and placement is made based on the grid that is found below. a. Accuplacer i (average on RS, LU, SM*) Level 4/regular classes ii Level 3 iii Level 2 iv. 79- = Level 1 *RS=Reading Skills; LU=Language Usage; SM=Sentence Meaning b. Integrated essay score The essay is graded on a scale of 0-4 based on the rubric attached. c. Oral interview score The interview is graded on a scale of 1-5 based on the rubric attached.

5 Proficiency Placement Grid Accuplacer Interview Level /Regular* No Grad interview Undergrad: 3- No Grad interview Undergrad: or Below 0-1 No interview 1 *If a graduate student places into level 4, a quiz testing his or her knowledge of plagiarism and citation rules will determine whether the student will be required to take a level 4 ELAC research class before regular classes.

6 ELAC Integrated Rubric Understanding of task clear and insightful the question and competent the question and simplistic the question and/or mis the question and/or reveals no the question or Listening/ Reading comprehension demonstrates complete both the reading and listening demonstrates adequate both the reading and listening demonstrates some one or both the reading and listening demonstrates little comprehension of one or both the reading and listening demonstrates a lack of both the reading and listening Organization has a clear and coherent pattern that includes an and conclusion. has a somewhat coherent pattern that includes an and conclusion. has a pattern but is lacking an introduction or conclusion. has a confusing pattern and/or is lacking an and/ or conclusion. has no recognizable pattern and/or is lacking an and/or conclusion. Support has specific and relevant effectively develops the topic. has relevant but general develops the topic. has general and/or irrelevant somewhat develops the topic. has some does not effectively develop the topic. has very little or no effectively develops the topic. Grammar contains adequate sentence structure and agreement. Does not contain contains simplistic sentence agreement. Contains few contains errors in sentence agreement. Contains some contains several errors in sentence agreement. Contains several grammatical errors the essay. contains very little sentence agreement. Contains many Mechanics adequately follows the conventions for punctuation with very few errors. follows most of the conventions for punctuation with limited amount of errors. sometimes follows the conventions for punctuation and contains a number of errors. often does not follow conventions for punctuation and contains several errors. does not follow any conventions for punctuation and contains a great deal of errors.

7 Oral Interview Rubric Poor Below Average Average Above Average Excellent (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) English is broken, pronunciation is awkward Proper grammar is somewhat apparent, but pronunciation still lacks clarity Grammar and pronunciation are acceptable, but not at the level of clear communication Relatively Clear Pronunciations and fairly easy to understand Excellent Grammar, word pronunciation, and sentence structure Speaking is unclear very difficult to understand message of what is being said (ex. mumbling) Spoke too loudly or too softly Lack of eye contact Did not attempt to answer question or does not understand the questions Speaking is unclear lapses in sentence structure and grammar Volume is uneven (varied) Eye contact is made intermittently Attempts to answer questions but does not typically understand the questions Apparent mistakes in sentence structure and grammar Occasional loss of eye contact Short answers to questions or wrong answers Occasional mistakes in sentence structure and grammar Eye contact made Thorough answers to questions Somewhat engaged in conversation Easily understood speaks clearly Good volume and eye contact Thorough answers to questions Engaged in conversation Demonstrates confidence