Placement test

You do NOT NEED to take a placement test for English  ...

If you have already taken a placement test at the UBT or if you wish to sign up for one of the following courses:

• SE020-SE050 Englischkurse für Anglistik- und Lehramtsstudierende (open to students registered on Anglophone Studies programmes)

• SE060-SE061 Schlüsselqualifikation Business English (open to students on Business programmes) 

• SE058 Vorstufenkurs Jura (JAPO §24.2; for Law students only) 

• SE261-267 English for Academic Purposes I (EAP I) (open to all students and UBT staff)

• SE230-231 English for the Workplace (open to all students and UBT staff)

• SE255-256 International Communication in English (open to international students) 

• SE280 Medical English (it is assumed that you have B2 level English) 

• SE285 English for Nutrition and Food Science (it is assumed that you have B2 level English)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You ONLY NEED to take the placement test ..

If you wish to sign up for a C1 course (UNIcert III or English for Academic Purposes II/EAP II) and you have not already completed a course or taken the placement test at the UBT. Here are the 'entry' level C1 courses, for which the placement test is mandatory: 

• SE112 Aufbaukurs Allgmein (General Academic English) 

• SE120 Aufbaukurs Jura (Legal English)

• SE130 Aufbaukurs Wirtschaft (Business English)

• SE272 Scientific & Technical Writing

• Yes. Language certificates (including Abitur) will be recognized provided they were issued no earlier than two years ago.
• If you wish to be exempted from the placement test, please upload your certificate via this link before registration for language courses begins. It may take up to two days for your documentation to be processed so where possible send us your documentation the week before term (lectures) starts.

The following certificate scores will normally qualify you for admission to C1 (Aufbau/EAP II) courses. If your score exceeds the minimum required level you may qualify for participation in an advanced course (see below). You will be informed of this when you send your documentation. 

• German Abitur: Grade average for English in continuous assessment (Halbjahresleistungen) OR English grade in final Abitur exam (Abiturprüfung)  > 10 points
• UNIcert II Certificate
• Cambridge Proficiency: Pass
• Cambridge Advanced: Grade C: 180-192
• Cambridge First: Grade B
• IELTS: Band 6.5
• TOEFL iBT: 80
• TOEFL IPT: 543
• Other certificates may also be recognized - just send us your certificates.

Depending on your score in the above certificates, you may also be exempted from the C1 foundation level courses (Aufbaustufe) and/or from EAP I level courses (e.g. Abitur 13 points or higher, TOEFL 95 points or higher). You will also be exempted from these courses if you can show that you completed a three-month internship/period of study in an English-speaking country AFTER leaving high school OR that you spent an academic year in an English-speaking country DURING high school. Just send us the relevant documentation.

You WILL NEED to take a placement test if...

• you are not an absolute beginner (ab initio) and wish to sign up for a course at a higher level than GK1 (Grundkurs 1/Basic).

You do NOT NEED to take a placement test if...

• you have already taken one in a previous semester. The first test you took will remain valid, although we recommend that you take a second test if you do not sign up for a course within two semesters.
• you have already successfully completed a language course at the Language Centre. You can simply sign up for the next course in the progression.         
• If you hold an (inter)nationally recognized language certificate - see 2b below.

The following certificates will be recognized:

• Chinese: HSK Level 3 and higher, UNIcert
• French: Abitur, DELF, UNIcert
• German: DSH, Goethe Institute Certificate, IIK Bayreuth (A1.1 only), TELC, TestDaF, UNIcert
• Italian: CELI, CILS, UNIcert
• Portuguese: CAPLE, CELPE-BRAS, UNIcert
• Russian: Russian as a Foreign Language (ТРКИ), UNIcert, TELC
• Spanish: DELE, SIELE, UNIcert
• Other languages: Write to sprachenzentrum@uni-bayreuth.de

If you hold one of the above certificates and this is not older than two years, then upload it via our formular before the end of the first week of term.

• When? You can register for a placement test in one or more languages from 4 October until 15 October. 
• Where? You can register via CMlife.
• How? Just enter the 'S...' code in the search field.

• SPT01: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish

Please note: You will only be able to sign up for a placement test in ONE of the above languages in any given test period. If you wish to take the test for more than one of these languages just mention this to our staff when you go along to the test venue. They will be able to accommodate you. 

If you cannot register for the English, French, German, Italian or Spanish tests because you are not yet fully enrolled at the University and have no bt123456 number - no problem. Just come along to the test centre (RW I Building, Computer Pool S60) at one of the times slots advertised in CMlife. A member of staff will be there to assist you. To save time, set up your temporary eLearning test account before you arrive by clicking on Test account and scrolling down to 'Create a new account'. The translator button German => English etc. is on the bottom left.

You will not need to set up a test account for the languages listed below: 

• SAAE0: Arabic
• SASE0: Swahili
• SCHE0: Chinese
• SJAE0: Japanese
• SKOE0: Korean
• SLAE0: Latin
• SNOE0: Norwegian
• SPLE0: Polish
• SPOE0: Portuguese
• SRE00: Russian
• SSWE0: Schwedish
• STRE0: Turkish

Placement tests are scheduled for 10, 14, 15, 16 and 17 October. Exact times and venues will be visible when you register for a test slot via CMlife.

• Please arrive at the test venue 10 minutes before the test is due to start (see 4 above). 
• Please bring your UBT student card with you.
• If you forget to bring your student card you may tender other ID but you will still need to have your bt123456 number and password (e-Learning) handy. Otherwise you will not be able to take the test.
  

• After you have logged in to your workstation the supervisior will explain the format of the test (see 7a below)
• You will then have 35 minutes to complete the test. .
• After you complete the test (or the 35 minutes are up) your c-test result will appear. 
  
• The supervisor will then check your score and direct you to your oral test.   
  

IMPORTANT: The oral test is mandatory in the case of French / German / Italian / Spanish. There is no oral test in English.

• The c-tests in English / French / German / Italian / Spanish consist of FIVE separate gapped texts/text extracts. Each text is roughly 100 words long and has 20 gaps. The texts are arranged in order of increasing difficulty. The first sentence in each text is unchanged. After that the second half of (usually) every second word is left blank for the tester to complete.   

• A mock test for each language is available here on E-Learning. You can take the sample tests as often as you like but note that in the 'real' test you will have five texts to complete.

• The mandatory oral test in French / German / Italian / Spanish takes place immediately after the c-test.
• At the end of the c-test you will be directed to the room where your oral test will take place.
• Based on your performance at the oral, the tester will either confirm your competence level as determined by the c-test or adjust your overall placement test result. This result is then binding.
• Your English / French / German / Italian / Spanish placement test result will then be processed so that you will be able to register for the appropriate course(s) of your choice via CMlife. Note that you are not thereby guaranteed a place on a course.   

• Please arrive at the test venue 10 minutes before the test is due to start (see 4 above). 
  
• Please bring your UBT student card or other form of ID with you.

• AOLs are languages taught at the Language Centre which differ topologically and/or graphemically from English / French / German / Italian / Spanish and/or where take-up is relatively modest. Placement tests in AOLs are not centralized and their format varies. You may be asked to answer questions on a text and then produce a text of your own.
• If you would like to have more specific information about the placement test in a particular AOL, please contact the respective language instructor.

• The format varies - see 6b above. The tester may simply ask you some questions about yourself, your study plans and your interests/hobbies. 

No. Your test result remains valid while you are registered at UBT. However, we recommend that you retake the test if you do not sign up for a language course within two semesters. If you have already commenced your studies in Bayreuth, are returning from a semester abroad and wish to earn language credits for this, hand in your documentation (transcript) to the relevant language coordinator. You will then be informed whether you can be exempted from Language Centre courses on this basis.

No, unfortunately not. Your test result cannot be adjusted.  ​

Yes. Our placement test determines your current level of competence and ensures that you sign up for appropriate course.

No. This is not an end-of-term exam so you will not receive any credit points for taking the placement test.

No. Placement tests results are not equivalent to standardized and comprehensive end-of-term exam grades and thus - unlike these - are not accepted for university admission or study abroad purposes.