Placement Guidelines for Language Classes

The following information is to aid in Student Placement in Spanish and Portuguese Courses at UCSB.


1. For students who have not taken any Spanish classes and are not native speakers of Spanish: Take Spanish 1.


2. Students who have taken some High School Spanish courses but did not take the AP test or scored lower than 3: Take the Spanish Placement Exam.

All exams are given at 9:00 AM in Kerr Hall 2160 and a schedule for all Placement Exams is found in the Schedule of Classes under "Pre-Instructional Activities"

Exam dates for Fall 07

Wednesday Sept. 12, 2007

Wednesday Oct. 17, 2007

Wednesday Nov. 14, 2007

Wednesday Dec. 12, 2007

If you miss the exam or would like further information on the grammatical content of First Year Spanish Courses, at the end of this section is a list of the grammatical points covered in Spanish 1-3 to further aid you in choosing class.

3. For students who have taken the AP exam:

If you scored 3: Take Spanish 6.
If you scored 4 or 5: Take Spanish 30, 100, 102A or B, or 25.

4. For transfer students who have taken Spanish at an institution with semesters:

If you have taken First Semester: Take Spanish 2 or 3.
If you have taken the equivalent of the Second Semester: Take Spanish 4.
If you have taken the equivalent of the Third Semester: Take Spanish 5 or 6.
If you have taken the equivalent of the Fourth Semester: Take Spanish 30 and 100 (also take Spanish 102A or B if you do not feel ready to write a research paper).

5. Students who either learned Spanish at home or abroad and are proficient in spoken Spanish and can read and write but have not taken formal Spanish classes: Take Placement Test or 16A or B.

6. Portuguese Students with no prior experience in Portuguese should take Portuguese 1. Students with some background in Portuguese, either in High School, study abroad, or native speakers, should consult the Lower Division Coordinator, Professor McGovern  Phelps 4313.


Spanish 1-3 Basic Grammar

The following descriptions are provided to help students place whose Spanish study has either lapsed a considerable amount of time, or took Spanish in High School and have missed the placement exam.

Spanish 1:
Present Tense of -ar, -er, ir verbs (including irregular verbs)
Ser, estar, tener, and haber
Comparatives
Reflexives
Vocabulary: Clothing, Foods, the Family

Spanish 2:
Preterit and Imperfect Tenses (all forms and uses)
Direct and Indirect Pronouns
Superlatives
Commands
Por and Para
Subjunctive (forms and used with expressions of influence)

Spanish 3:
Present and Imperfect Subjunctive
Gustar and verbs like Gustar
Perfect Tenses
Future
Conditional
"If" Clauses

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