All Language Centre courses

CULP for Historians is a course that aims at supporting 1st year History students in reading German historical texts. The course complements the classes of the Themes and Sources option and features an online multi-media component, which is available on LC Online (Raven access). The online component of this course can be used for self-access learning by any member of the University of Cambridge.

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

At intermediate 1 level the focus is on every day and real-time, oral/aural communication. Each course features a functional-notional syllabus and grammar points are analysed in context.

More detailed information is available from the Language Centre website.

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.

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

At intermediate 2 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.

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

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.

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.

If you are thinking of finding a job, joining a research institute, doing an internship in a German-speaking country or simply doing business with German companies - this is the course for you!

Germany is the economic powerhouse of the European Union. The competitiveness of their products is well known, as is Germany's commitment to research and innovation. German is a key language in the European Union and increasingly significant for doing business in the new economies of Central and Eastern Europe. Being able to speak German provides you with excellent career opportunities. Learning German will improve your chances of success in today's job market and your business relations, it helps to build rapport and strengthen relationships with German-speaking colleagues, demonstrates goodwill and facilitates international communication at both a personal and organizational level.

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

This 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.

This course investigates Schubert's great song cycle Winterreise, D.911 (1827), from a variety of perspectives, but begins from a single premise: that it is impossible to study the music of the work without a detailed understanding of the poems by Wilhelm Müller that Schubert set, and of the interaction between music and poetic text.

With this in mind, the course is divided into two parts. The first part (to take place in Michaelmas term) will be devoted to the socio-political background in which Müller writes his poems, to the central topoi the Winterreise evokes, as well as to Schubert's setting of German, and to ways of approaching Lieder texts more generally. The first four classes will be introductory; students whose knowledge of German is equivalent to A-level or beyond are welcome to attend these classes, or can join the course for weeks 5-8. Anyone with German skills below A-level standard, or who took A-level German but has not studied the language recently, should attend from week 1.

The second part of the course (Lent term) will build on the material in the first half of the course to look at Winterreise as a cycle, and to study individual songs, as well as considering the piece in relation to Schubert's other late works, to the history of the Lied, to wider currents of musical and literary romanticism, and to its later reception and its performance history.

Greek is an Indo-European language and the only member of the Hellenic branch; it has been spoken in South-East Europe since early in the second millennium BC and has the longest recorded history of any Indo-European language. Ancient Greek, spanning from c. 1500 BC to 1600 AD and Modern Greek (c.1700 to the present) are two major developmental stages in the long history of the language.

Modern Greek is spoken by some 14 million people mainly in the Republic of Greece, where it is the official language and the Republic of Cyprus as one of the two official languages. It is also spoken by sizeable immigrant communities in the USA, Australia, Western Europe and elsewhere. Since 1981 is has been one of the official languages of the European Union as well.

More detailed information is available from the Language Centre website.

Greek is an Indo-European language and the only member of the Hellenic branch; it has been spoken in South-East Europe since early in the second millennium BC and has the longest recorded history of any Indo-European language. Ancient Greek, spanning from c. 1500 BC to 1600 AD and Modern Greek (c.1700 to the present) are two major developmental stages in the long history of the language.

Modern Greek is spoken by some 14 million people mainly in the Republic of Greece, where it is the official language and the Republic of Cyprus as one of the two official languages. It is also spoken by sizeable immigrant communities in the USA, Australia, Western Europe and elsewhere. Since 1981 is has been one of the official languages of the European Union as well.

More detailed information is available from the Language Centre website.

This is a continuation of the Greek Basic 1 course, suitable for students who have picked up the basics in their previous studies at the introductory level.

More detailed information is available from the Language Centre website.

This course aims to facilitate the reading of Latin through effective use of reference materials (published grammars, dictionaries and translations). Its focus will be on helping students understand the structure of a Latin sentence and the emphasis within it; this will allow students to understand a Latin text more sharply and clearly in its original language.

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

• The Introduction to Languages and Cultures courses feature some less taught languages and are designed to offer a sneak preview into the world of these important civilisations. While learning the basics of the language, you will be able to view and appreciate the ancient as well as modern character of the lands and peoples.

These courses will not be formally assessed and students who attend regularly (12/15 sessions) will receive a Certificate of Attendance.

CULP’s Introduction to Language and Culture Hebrew course, designed for absolute beginners, promises to offer a welcoming and exciting start to your Hebrew studies. Both spoken and written Modern Hebrew will be taught two hours per week during Michaelmas and Lent terms. You will be given the opportunity to express yourself, read and write in the target language, and develop your ability to understand native speakers. Realistic amounts of homework will be given and students will be encouraged to avail themselves of Hebrew media within the Language Centre.

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

The Introduction to Languages and Cultures courses feature some less taught languages and are designed to offer a sneak preview into the world of these important civilisations.

While learning the basics of the language, you will be able to view and appreciate the ancient as well as the modern character of the lands and peoples.

These courses will not be formally assessed and students who attend regularly (12/15 sessions) will receive a Certificate of Attendance.

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

With effect from August 2022 CULP Advanced level students will be included in the population for the HESA student return. We obtain much of the information required via the annual student registration exercise. CULP students, who are not currently following another course of study, will receive an email inviting them to complete Registration. At the start of the student registration process there is further information about the data collection for statutory purposes and the relevant privacy notices from the University and HESA.

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.

For more detailed information about the course please visit 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 Programme offers general language tuition with a focus on communicative competence.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

The Programme offers general language tuition with a focus on communicative competence. At intermediate 1 level, the focus is on every day and real-time, oral/aural communication. Each course features a functional-notional syllabus and grammar points are analysed in context.

More detailed information is available from the Language Centre website.

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

At intermediate 2 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.

More detailed information is available from the Language Centre website.

Italian through Film is a content-based language course for students who already have a good command of the Italian Language (at least B1 and preferably B2, for information about these levels please see the CULP enrolment 'Italian levels and assessment' page).

The course is based around classic Italian films that are readily available from the John Trim Centre for Independent Learning at the Language Centre.

Italian through Film will begin with a general introduction to the Italian language with special reference to film-related terminology. Every film will be introduced by a session (2 lessons) devoted to its linguistic features and a range of relevant listening, reading and subsequently communicative exercises. After the viewing of the film (students will do this in their own time at the John Trim Independent Learning Centre here at the LC) there will be a session devoted to the artistic (director, actors, style of expression etc.) context followed by a further discussion about the film's aesthetic, wider cultural, historical and political implications.

All teaching and discussions will be in the Italian language and students will be expected to actively participate and contribute.

This course features no assessment component upon completion.

A language course for students who have an upper-intermediate command of the Italian Language (completed B2), ideally suited to those students who have completed the CULP Intermediate 2 course or have taken Italian at AS Level. The level is upper-intermediate/advanced.

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

• Please note students need to contact CULP Administrator on culp@langcen.cam.ac.uk for the link to make a payment.

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

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

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

The courses are delivered in a blended-learning mode, face-to-face and online. The focus is on spoken, oral/aural communicative competence. Students are required to attend to online multimedia materials and read the proscribed texts in their own time so that the classroom time is dedicated to face-to-face communication/discussion.

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