CA FOREIGN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS
For HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION and for UC/CSU ENTRANCE
1. California High School Graduation Requirement:
Must pass one year of either foreign language or visual & performing arts.
2. Minimum Foreign Language Eligibility Requirement for Entering
a Four-Year College (UC and CSU):
Two years required, three years recommended, of the same language with a
grade of “C” or higher.
The following information expands on this and is taken from:
http://www.ucop.edu/a-gGuide/ag/a-g/language_reqs.html
(e) Language Other Than English (LOTE)
Two units (equivalent to two, one-year courses) of coursework in a single language.
Three units are recommended.
• Minimum Performance Objectives. Courses should emphasize speaking and
understanding, and include instruction in grammar, vocabulary, reading, and
composition. At this level, emphasis should not be on the ability to describe
grammatical features of the language. In any language studied, the minimum
performance objectives after two years of high school study should be the following:
o The ability to sustain a brief conversation on simple everyday topics
demonstrating good use of the whole sound system (good pronunciation),
and the basic structural patterns in the present, past, and future tenses, the
subjunctive, and commands
o Summarize orally and in writing the main points of a relatively simple reading
passage not involving specialized vocabulary
NOTES:
• Classical languages (e.g., Latin, Greek) are acceptable to fulfill the "e" requirement.
• American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language and can be used to fulfill the
"e" requirement, but signing English is not acceptable and will not satisfy the
requirement. NOTE:
Some private colleges and universities and/or out-of-state public colleges and
universities may not accept ASL as meeting the foreign language eligibility requirement.
• College prep courses in languages taken in 7th and 8th grades with grades of "C" or
better may be counted toward the subject requirement [but not for the graduation
elective credit]. However, the principal of the high school from which a student
graduates must certify on the transcript that the 7th and 8th grade courses are
comparable in content to those offered at the high school. This certification is
indicated by the high school awarding credits on the transcript for the 7th and 8th
grade courses. Alternately, when an applicant has successfully completed advanced
work in an area of sequential knowledge (mathematics, language other than English)
with a grade of "C" or higher, the student is presumed to have completed the earlier
course work even if the earlier courses do not appear on the student's academic
record.
04/08
