Short courses

Bite-sized language courses from beginners level to advanced. Open to all.

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We are committed to allowing everyone to study a language whatever their language learning background.

Our “Languages for All” offer will allow you to pick up a language you have studied previously or start a new one. We have several years of experience teaching students who are learning a language for the first time, as part of, or in addition to their degree.

Part I Language Modules

Our Part I language modules are open to minor students from other departments who wish to continue a language taken at A-Level, for their GCSEs, or who are completely new to languages (depending on availability on their degree scheme) - choose from Chinese, French, German, Spanish and Italian for the beginners/post-GCSE level.

You will acquire a strong base on which to build and develop familiarity with linguistic concepts and foster a ‘reflective attitude’ on how language works. This will enable you to develop your own autonomous learning strategies. Our teaching encompasses a broad range of carefully thought-through activities that develop mixed forms of learning, as well as guided independent work, and an introduction to cultural aspects in context. At the end of the first year, you can choose to add Chinese, French, German and Spanish to your degree, whereas you can continue to study Italian as a minor (depending on availability on your degree scheme).

For more information, please email global-affairs@lancaster.ac.uk.

Extracurricular Courses

Our Extracurricular courses are open to all - students who cannot take a Part I module, colleagues & members of the public. Our courses take place in the evening, once a week during term time. Our courses are taught in person and are designed to focus on communicative skills relevant to the level of the course.

We currently offer the following languages:

  • French, German, Spanish: beginners, intermediate & advanced level
  • Dutch, Italian: beginners & intermediate level
  • Arabic, Korean: beginners level

Each level is sub-divided into two courses and corresponds to 16 weeks of study.

There are two main sessions per year, each lasting for 8 weeks: an ‘Autumn’ session in October-December and a ‘Winter’ one in January-March. We may run a ‘Spring’ session with a more limited offer in April-June.

A certificate of attendance is issued by the School upon completion of the course, provided that students have attended 6 of the 8 classes.

The indicative timetables for the ‘Autumn’ (w/c 21st October to w/c 9th December) and ‘Winter’ (w/c 27th January to w/c 17th March) sessions are available below.

Registration for these sessions is open via the online store.

Please note that Any enrolment received later than one week after the start of a course will be considered as an enrolment for the following session (unless specifically agreed with the Languages for All team).

For specific questions about extracurricular courses, please email languagesforall@lancaster.ac.uk.

Courses in Chinese are offered by the Confucius Institute. Please visit Confucius Institute: Extracurricular Classes for more details on their offer.

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Confucius Institute

The Confucius Institute offers various extracurricular classes that are open to members of the public, as well as students and staff:

  • Mandarin Language Classes
  • Lancaster Chinese weekend classes for children
  • Calligraphy & Painting
  • Tai Chi
  • Chinese Culture
For more information visit the Confucius Institute website