Language Requirement

If you are an undergraduate student at UT Austin who would like to receive a waiver of your UT foreign language requirement in a language that is not regularly taught at UT-Austin, the Texas Language Center proctors language proficiency tests and will make your language requirement waiver request if you test high enough. Please check the FAQs for any questions you might have.

If you want to take a language proficiency test in a language taught here, contact the appropriate language department to learn their policies and schedules.

Note: If you are not a UT-Austin student, we offer testing in the languages listed below as well as many others. Please refer to the FAQs or contact us at tlc@austin.utexas.edu or by phone at (512) 471-6574 about your testing needs.

The TLC offers testing in about 100 languages, and the testing process is different depending on the language and the test(s). Currently, all our language proficiency exams cost $110.

If you are interested in TLC's language proficiency testing, please read this information carefully and follow these steps:

• Determine the type of test offered for your test language (see the test language lists below). 
• Pay for the testing in the TLC's online TxShop store:

1. Go to the store. 
2. Click on Language Proficiency Tests. Be sure to select the appropriate test type (based on the information provided on the test language lists below). 
3. Select your test language in the pull-down menu at the bottom of the form. 
4. Enter 1 in the Quantity field. 
5. Click the ADD TO CART button. 
6. If you have a UT EID, you can click the Use UT EID Checkout button, which will prefill some information; otherwise, click the Check Out as Guest (Quick Checkout) button. 
7. Fill in your Billing Information, and then click the reCAPTCHA “I’m not a robot.” box.  
8. Click the Continue with Credit button. (The Purchase Order option is not valid for proficiency exams.) 
9. Continue the check out by filling in your credit card information. 

• Very important: Provide additional personal information via the Test Taker Information and Availability online form. 
• Wait for a confirmation email from the TLC, after which you will arrange a date and time to take the test in the TLC offices (BUR 230). 
• Take your test(s). 
• When the TLC receives your official results (and assuming they're high enough), we will request the language requirement waiver from your college/program.

Note: Please be aware that successfully completing these exams does not offer you credit hours. 

Test Languages

If you want to take a proficiency exam in one of the following languages, select Online Language Proficiency Exam in the TxShop store menu:

Albanian	Amharic	Armenian	Bulgarian
Cabo Verdean	Cambodian	Cantonese-Simplified	Cantonese-Traditional
Cebuano	Chin (Hakha)	Chuukese	Estonian
Fijian	Filipino	Finnish	Georgian
Greek (Modern)	Haitian Creole	Hakha Chin	Hawaiian ('olelo Hawai'i)
Hmong	Hungarian	Icelandic	Ilocano
Ilonggo-Hiligaynon	Indonesian	Kannada	Latvian
Lithuanian	Malagasy	Malay	Marathi
Marshallese	Mongolian	'olelo Hawai	Samoan
Somali Maay Maay	Somali Maxaa	Swahili (Somali Swahili)	Tagalog
Tahitian	Tamil	Telugu	Thai
Tongan	Vietnamese	Yup'ik	Zomi

This is a single online test that assesses your listening, grammar, and reading skills.

If you want to take a proficiency exam in one of these languages, select Paper Language Proficiency Exam in the TxShop store menu: 

Aymara	Cakchiquel	Guarani	Maori
Navajo	Quechua	Rarotongan	Welsh

This is a single paper test that assesses your listening, grammar, and reading skills.

If you want to take a proficiency exam in one of these languages, select Two-part Language Proficiency Exam in the TxShop store menu:

Bosnian*****	Gujarati	Igbo/Ibo
Punjabi	Slovak

This option involves two tests: one oral test assessing your speaking and listening proficiency and a written test assessing your reading and writing proficiency.

If you want to test in one of the following languages, please contact the TLC before ordering a test: Akan-Twi, Algerian, Azerbaijani, Baluchi, Burmese, Chavacano, Dari, Ga, Gujarati, Hausna, Javanese, Kazakh, Kikongo, Krio, Kurdish-Sorani, Kurdish-Kurmanji, Lao, Lingala, Nepali, Pashto, Sindhi, Sinhalese, Tajik, Tausag, Tigrinya, Turkmen, Uighur.

This option will likely be an oral test of your speaking and listening proficiency. We will add a special item to the store with your name on it.

UT-Austin Students FAQ

What languages are regularly taught at UT-Austin?

For a full list of languages, please click here.

Will I get course credit if my test results are high enough?

No, the TLC does not award course credit. The TLC proctors tests for languages not offered at UT-Austin. Since there are no associated course numbers for such classes, there is no way to award credit. If you score well enough on the exam (that is, your proficiency level meets or exceeds that required by your college or school), the TLC will request a waiver of your foreign language requirement from your college or school. 

What score do I need to get a language requirement waiver?

If your degree program requires two semesters of a language, your proficiency level needs to be at or above the ACTFL Novice High level. For four semesters, your proficiency must be at or above the ACTFL Intermediate Mid level. The TLC considers a passing score on both levels in the BYU test as at or above ACTFL Intermediate Mid level or the four semester level at UT-Austin. Here are the current ACTFL proficiency guidelines.

Which languages do you test?

See the Test Vendors section (above) for the current list. The TLC proctors tests only for languages not offered at UT-Austin where there is a test available from our test vendors. If the language is taught at UT-Austin, please contact the corresponding language department regarding testing. 

Are practice questions/exams available anywhere?

The TLC does not have practice exams or test preparation materials. The best way to prepare is to practice your reading, listening, and speaking of the language.

Where and when is the exam be held?

You will take your exam at the TLC offices, which is located at BUR 230 in the west wing of the second floor of Burdine Hall.  We will work with you to arrange a day and time during our office hours for you to take the exam.

How long do I get to complete the exam?

The time for tests depends on the source of the test. LTI oral proficiency interviews are 30 minutes. You are allowed up to 2 hours for NYU written proficiency tests and 2 ½ hours to complete the BYU tests.

How long does it take to get results?

The amount of time varies substantially depending on the test vendor. The entire process can take up to four weeks for BYU online tests and more than eight weeks for NYU tests. If you need to fulfill a foreign language requirement for graduation, sign up for your test as early as possible; do not wait till the last minute as there are no options to “rush” this process.

If I don't score high enough on the test, can I take it again?

You can retake a language proficiency exam after six months.

I have more questions. Who do I contact?

If you have read the Language Requirement page and reviewed these FAQs, but you still have questions, please feel free to contact us at tlc@austin.utexas.edu or by phone at (512) 471-6574.

General Public FAQ

Will I get course credit if my test results are high enough?

You will not get credit from UT-Austin regardless of your test results. You will get a certificate with your official results that you can submit to your own institution (and receive whatever credit they offer). The TLC recommends you contact your advisor before you register for testing to make sure your institution will award you credit or offer a foreign language waiver based on your performance on the proficiency exam(s) we administer. 

Which languages do you test?

The TLC can proctor tests for non-UT-Austin students in any language available from our test vendors. In addition to the languages listed in the Test Vendors section (above), the TLC can also proctor BYU online tests in the following languages (cost is $110).

Arabic	Mandarin-Simplified
Czech	Mandarin-Traditional
Danish	Persian-Farsi
Dutch	Polish
French	Portuguese-Brazilian
German	Portuguese-Continental
Greek	Russian
Italian	Spanish
Japanese	Swedish
Korean	Ukrainian

In addition, if you want ACTFL-certified ratings in a language, we can proctor oral proficiency interviews (OPIs) and written proficiency tests (WPTs) for a number of languages. The cost for both tests is $230. If you want certification in one of the following languages, you have an option to take one of the computer-based OPIs and it combined with the WPT costs $160:

• English
• French
• Spanish
• German
• Korean
• Arabic
• Russian
• Mandarin
• Pashto
• Persian-Farsi