Arabic placement
The Arabic placement test is required if you have any prior knowledge of Arabic and wish to take Arabic classes at Carolina. If you do not intend to take Arabic classes, but just wish to satisfy the Global Language requirement, please refer to the Language Placement website to review the possible options for meeting the requirement.
The Arabic placement test is an online test that you can take at any time, but it’s human-graded, so the response will not be immediate. If you are a UNC student with a working Onyen, please click here to join the Canvas test site.
If you are a new incoming student, please wait until you have an Onyen and UNC email to take the Arabic placement test.
If you are not a Carolina student, you can still take our placement test, but we’ll need to manually give you access to the test site. Please email Mr. Bud Kauffman for help with this; explain who you are and why you want to take our Arabic placement test.
Arabic placement FAQ
— Paper and pencil;
— Camera or scanner; you will need to scan/photograph and upload your handwritten paper.
— Computer with working microphone so you can make a voice recording.
- Questionnaire to be answered in English: basic personal information and information about your Arabic language background;
- Listening comprehension;
- Reading comprehension;
- Short essay questions where you’ll handwrite (not type) your responses in Arabic and then upload a scan or photo of your paper;
- Speaking questions where you’ll record yourself speaking in answer to a prompt. You may use any type of spoken Arabic (formal or dialect).
That’ll be it for most people, but a few students may be asked to also do an oral interview (via zoom, or in person if during the semester).
This placement test is a proficiency test; there is no need to prepare for it. The result should indicate your current level of command of the language, and thus determine the most appropriate course placement for you.
| If you take the online placement test by | You should receive the result |
| Friday before FDOC in August | By FDOC |
| Friday of the first week of class | By the following Monday |
| October 1 | Before registration for spring begins |
| Friday before FDOC in January | By FDOC |
| Friday of the first week of class | By the following Monday |
| March 1 | Before registration for fall begins |
| April 30 | By May 15 |
The above times are minimum guidelines. It’s always possible you’ll receive your result much sooner, so we recommend taking the placement test as soon as you’re ready to do so.
If you are taking the placement test in order to possibly take a summer class, and it’s after April 30, please take the online test first and then contact Lori Harris. Include your name, PID, and which summer class you are hoping to place into.
Placement is not a perfect science by any means, and every year we do usually make a few adjustments. If you don’t think the class you were placed in is the best level for you, we are always happy to discuss it and re-evaluate. Ultimately, however, the department’s decision will be final.