Language Centre course timetable

A chance to practice German conversation/pronunciation with a volunteer native speaker

A chance to practice German conversation/pronunciation with a volunteer native speaker

Speaking practice with an Italian native-speaker volunteer.

A chance to practice German conversation/pronunciation with a volunteer native speaker

Speaking practice with an Italian native-speaker volunteer.

This course will start at Basic level and move quickly through the basics of Italian grammar. Students with some background in the Italian language (Intermediate level) are most welcome to join the group in January (Lent term) when we start reading more complex, original texts.

Using close reading and translation of academic texts from their particular discipline, this weekly class is intended to help research students in the Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences to develop their skills in reading Italian documents that they have come across or may meet in their research.

Students will be encouraged to bring along their own texts and work in pairs to enhance the learning experience. For more detailed information about the course please visit our website.

Speaking practice with an Italian native-speaker volunteer.

The Programme offers general language tuition with a focus on communicative competence.

At advanced level the focus shifts slightly towards reading and writing whilst still offering plenty an opportunity for oral communication. The syllabus is more topical and the contents feature many a cultural, historical, political and current affairs theme. While the grammar is analysed within a context, explicit grammar instruction becomes an integral part of the course.

One of the aims of the advanced level courses is also presentation skills as the courses aim to cater for the academic needs (i.e. research, conferences) of the students.

More detailed information is available on our website.

NB: Advanced courses are official, award-bearing University qualifications.

Please also note that the certificates and transcripts are usually issued in July.

The concept underpinning this course is one of fostering the learning of higher Advanced German language through listening (mainly films), reading (mainly literature), speaking and writing (both film and literature).

Every session will offer a choice of extracts either from the German* literary canon or from critically acclaimed films, or indeed both, which illustrate the session’s theme. These passages will be analysed by means of listening, reading and communicative exercises and will lead to a discussion about their aesthetic, wider cultural, historical and political implications and relevance today.

More detailed information is available from the Language Centre website.

All courses offer general language tuition with a focus on communicative competence and where possible elements of scientifically relevant content.

At Absolute Beginners level, the focus is on every day and real-time, oral/aural communication. The course features a functional-notional syllabus and grammar points are analysed in context.

Please note that the descriptors below relate to the full 30 hrs course. You are now enrolling in the introductory part (1st third, 10hrs) of the whole course.

A 30 minute appointment with a Language Adviser to explore opportunities and resources to help you with your plans and aims for your language learning. We advise on learning strategies across a range of 180+ languages in our learning centre. Click here to view our current index of languages.

These appointments are for advice on learning languages other than English. Should you want support for language skills in English, please do not book into one of these appointments but send your request to adtis@langcen.cam.ac.uk instead.

(Please note that if you are seeking advice about our taught courses, you are encouraged to drop in to the Language Centre or book early in the term rather than wait for an appointment. See our website for details.)

Advising appointments can be used to:

• Decide on your short term and longer term goals
• Discuss learning strategies for independent language study
• Formulate a personal learning plan
• Evaluate your progress so far and identify your next steps
• Tackle more challenging aspects of your language learning, e.g., strategies for developing listening
• Talk about ways of shaping a self-study session
• Explore resources in specialist areas
• Consider how taught course options in Cambridge can fit in to a longer term plan
• Find out more about intensive language courses abroad

A 30 minute appointment with a Language Adviser to explore opportunities and resources to help you with your plans and aims for your language learning. We advise on learning strategies across a range of 180+ languages in our learning centre. Click here to view our current index of languages.

These appointments are for advice on learning languages other than English. Should you want support for language skills in English, please do not book into one of these appointments but send your request to adtis@langcen.cam.ac.uk instead.

(Please note that if you are seeking advice about our taught courses, you are encouraged to drop in to the Language Centre or book early in the term rather than wait for an appointment. See our website for details.)

Advising appointments can be used to:

• Decide on your short term and longer term goals
• Discuss learning strategies for independent language study
• Formulate a personal learning plan
• Evaluate your progress so far and identify your next steps
• Tackle more challenging aspects of your language learning, e.g., strategies for developing listening
• Talk about ways of shaping a self-study session
• Explore resources in specialist areas
• Consider how taught course options in Cambridge can fit in to a longer term plan
• Find out more about intensive language courses abroad

PLEASE NOTE: This course is PRIMARILY FOR CLASSICISTS.

This weekly class is intended to help research students in the Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences to develop their skills in reading German documents they need to deal with in their research. Each session will be divided into two parts:

The first part will consist of grammar, tasks to develop insight into the reading process, help with dealing with complex sentence structures, academic conventions, abbreviations, etc.

The second part will be devoted to the translation of original German texts from different periods and covering a range of topics. Each week you will be asked to attempt a translation into English of a German passage. Students will be encouraged to bring along German texts from their own research to translate.

For more detailed information about the course please visit our website.

A one-to-one practice speaking session with a volunteer native Japanese speaker

These Portuguese reading courses are designed for researchers, graduate students and staff who have a particular interest in Latin American, Brazilian, Portuguese or Lusophone language, culture and heritage.

They offer linguistic tools that will enable students to comprehend complex texts and produce critical readings and interpretations.

The classes are going to be conducted primarily in English, even though there will be plenty of opportunity for oral and listening practice. The courses feature a listening and speaking component as to prepare student to conduct field work in Portuguese.

The Basic course does not require any knowledge of the language while the prerequisite for the Intermediate course is a CEFR A2 level. The courses offer the possibility of progression and Basic students are strongly encouraged to continue with the Intermediate course.

Please note that these courses are attended by a number of very able, Spanish speaking students of Latin American studies and that the class dynamics are likely to be fast paced. For the rest of the students this might be challenging but also very rewarding and conducive to sound progress.

The courses will start from a Basic level and will aim at:

• Solidifying strategies of reading of academic texts;
• Recognition of the compositional structures of the texts;
• Recognition of basic use of Portuguese grammar units The students will be asked to perform weekly readings of a wide variety of texts.

Alongside that, they will be requested to do grammar exercises related to the basic structures of the language, such as verbs and their complements.

For more detailed information about the course please visit our website.

A one-to-one practice speaking session with a volunteer native Japanese speaker

A 30 minute appointment with a Language Adviser to explore opportunities and resources to help you with your plans and aims for your language learning. We advise on learning strategies across a range of 180+ languages in our learning centre. Click here to view our current index of languages.

These appointments are for advice on learning languages other than English. Should you want support for language skills in English, please do not book into one of these appointments but send your request to adtis@langcen.cam.ac.uk instead.

(Please note that if you are seeking advice about our taught courses, you are encouraged to drop in to the Language Centre or book early in the term rather than wait for an appointment. See our website for details.)

Advising appointments can be used to:

• Decide on your short term and longer term goals
• Discuss learning strategies for independent language study
• Formulate a personal learning plan
• Evaluate your progress so far and identify your next steps
• Tackle more challenging aspects of your language learning, e.g., strategies for developing listening
• Talk about ways of shaping a self-study session
• Explore resources in specialist areas
• Consider how taught course options in Cambridge can fit in to a longer term plan
• Find out more about intensive language courses abroad

A one-to-one practice speaking session with a volunteer native Japanese speaker

Independent language learners unite!

If you prefer learning in company or would benefit from having a slot in your calendar set aside for language study, please join us!

This would particularly suit those learning languages outside of taught programmes and graduate students focussing on developing their academic language skills for reading and/or fieldwork.

N.B. this is a peer support group and is not facilitated by Language Centre staff. It is not necessary to attend every week, but we do ask that you register to join the group.

Those registered for the Study Group will be invited to join a closed Facebook group which you can also use to exchange ideas, to raise questions with Language Centre staff about resources and to provide ongoing peer support outside of weekly meetings.

Thursdays at 17:00-18:30 during term-time Thursdays at 16:30-18:00 in the vacations

Venue: the John Trim Centre (in the Language Centre’s building on Downing Place)

Tea and coffee making facilities and biscuits are made available.

Speaking practice with a Polish native-speaker volunteer

Speaking practice with a Polish native-speaker volunteer

Speaking practice with a Polish native-speaker volunteer

Language courses for Y4 students of the School of Clinical Medicine.

Language courses for Y4 students of the School of Clinical Medicine.