The first foreign languages proficiency test, organized by the College of Foreign Languages (CFL), will be held at 10:00 a.m. this Saturday, March 13. All students from the College who entered TKU in 2000 and will graduate this year should participate in.

In the past, there had always been an English proficiency test for English majors upon their graduation, who could only graduate once had they passed the test. It was considered a part of the tradition when TKU was known as the Junior College of English, Tamkang, but was cancelled later due to some technical reasons. CFL, nonetheless, always felt that this tradition should be resumed and expanded into other foreign languages in order to uphold a high quality of students’ language skills; in particular, in an era of globalization, a good foreign language skill would promote the learning ability of TKU’s students in a global environment. Therefore, CFL eventually translated this conviction into action demonstrating their dedication to foreign languages learning and made 2004 to be the beginning of a three-year trial run for a language test that includes most languages that are presently offered at the College. As before, all students are required to pass the test in order to graduate.

Each individual department will decide the contents of the test; for example, the English Department will model their exam on the TOFEL test, the French Department will follow the standard DELF format, whereas the Japanese Department will choose between the first and second level of proficiency test set up by the Association of International Education, Japan. On the other hand, the German Department, although having no existing test to model upon, will design a well-balanced content to reflect the true ability of the students.

The Dean of the CFL, Dr. Sung Mei-hua, sees the test as a wonderful opportunity to encourage learning and showcase TKU’s emphasis on foreign languages. All tests will last one hour and 40 minutes and will be graded according to Outstanding, Good, and Pass. In students’ academic transcript (both Chinese and English), it will state “A” for Outstanding, which is above 80 percent of the total score; “B” for Good, which is over 70 percent; and “C” for Pass when lower than 70 percent. It will be blank on the transcript of students who fail to attend.