All new first-year NWU students must write a compulsory academic literacy placement test (called TALL) at their campus within the first weeks of January. The placement test serves as a guideline to determine for which academic literacy module(s) a student will be registered. The student may choose to write this test in either English or Afrikaans. The language in which the student writes the test will also be the language of the Academic Literacy module(s) for which the student will be registered, depending on the results of the placement test.

As part of the NWU, CAPLP is furthermore a partner of the Inter-Institutional Centre for Language Development and Assessment (ICELDA).  This centre is responsible for the development and distribution of the TAG and TALL tests all full-time first year students must write. The test as well as the modules in Academic Literacy are offered in the interest of our students. The module is not a repetition of a language course taken at school or a university language course, but consists of practice in general academic skills. These skills are crucial to a student’s academic success and future career.

What is tested? 

The test measures the basic academic literacy skills needed to function optimally within the academic environment, such as the ability to read an academic text with comprehension.

Can I prepare for the test?

No, a student cannot prepare for the test. However, it is a challenging test and students can practice their academic literacy skills by following this link to a sample test: http://icelda.sun.ac.za/index.php/sample-tests.

I obtained distinctions at school; why should I take the subject?

There is not necessarily a correlation between the results of the test and matric results in language (or other) subjects. The test of academic literacy tests whether a student can cope with the language requirements of an academic situation. Language subjects at school have the sole objective of developing language proficiency.