actually means something. Curriculums vary a bit but, by language level 3, a student would have generally done all the verb tenses, including the subjunctive. Four usually involves substantial reading and writing to cement the grammar concepts-- it may involve intro to lit.

I would not expect a student who had taken 2 years of non-conversational modern language to be able to speak much. Really, you need 3-4 years to have a good hold of the language. Calling the course conversational makes it clear that the student is learning how to speak but not doing much reading/ writing/ grammar. In college, a student taking just conversational would probably start at the beginning or maybe skip 1 semester. A student who has taken French 2 in high school should be able to start at college level 2.