Undergraduate Students who are Native or Heritage Speakers

Native Speakers

You are a native speaker if you have grown up speaking the language and have had formal education in the language and/or if you have a high school degree from a country where the language is the language of instruction.

If you are a native speaker and would like to take an advanced course (300 or 400 level) in your language, you should request a Prerequisite Override from the Department of Modern Languages. Please come to the main office and we will assist you.

If you are a native speaker and would like to receive credit for your prior knowledge without taking a course at UL, you should take the Credit Exam, for a fee, for a conversation or grammar course in your lanaguage. We can help you in the Department of Modern Languages.

Heritage Speakers

You are a heritage speaker if you have grown up speaking the language with family and friends but have not had any formal education in the language and graduated from a high school where English is the language of instruction.

If you are a heritage speaker and do not have any college credit in the language, you should take the Placement Exam administered at the beginning of each semester by the Department  of Modern Languages.

If you are a heritage speaker and do have some college credit for the language but that credit is below your proficiency level, you will need to take the Credit Exam, for a fee, for the course that best matches your proficiency level.