What is the teaching like?

How will I be taught?

You will be taught by experienced language instructors who are all (near) native speakers of the language they teach. The target language (Arabic, French, German, Mandarin or Spanish) will be used as the primary medium of instruction and interaction, to enable you to practise speaking, listening, reading and writing from the beginning. Multimedia materials are regularly used in class and to support teaching.

How much work will be involved?

As a rough guide, you should aim to spend three hours in private or guided study activities for every hour of class time. Continual reinforcement is essential in language learning, and to encourage this, regular assessed assignments are set during the course of the year. The positive consequence of this is that you should find that the end of year revision is less demanding than for more exam-based modules.

Is the number of places restricted?

Yes, there is a limit of 18 students per language group.

Where can I find out more about the module and resources available to me?

All module descriptions can be found online. Once you are enrolled on the programme, you will be given access to the Undergraduate Handbook on the School intranet (current LSS students will have access to the intranet already).

What other resources are available to me?

You can support in-class tuition by watching news bulletins in the foreign language, listening to the radio and accessing interactive software in the School of Languages and Social Sciences open-access computer laboratory. Resources within our e-learning centre are also available to all students.