Learning a language at the University of Bath is a rewarding experience. Whether you want to make the most of a holiday abroad, study for career progression, meet new people in a friendly and welcoming environment, or keep your brain active by doing something new, our language courses are the perfect choice.

When you study with us, you will join a vibrant learning community made up of members of the public and University staff and students. All of the courses that we offer to members of the public are also available to our students and staff, so your class will have an interesting and diverse mix of enrolled participants.

Our courses are designed to increase your cultural awareness and communication skills, and build your confidence to travel, work or live abroad, opening doors worldwide.

The course is outstanding, only surpassed by the quality of the teacher. I wish I had done this course years earlier! Member of the public, semester 1 2024-25

We offer courses in seven languages, all starting from beginner level. Where applicable, the course levels are based on the Common European Framework.

You can find information about the courses we offer by visiting the language page you are interested in:

• Arabic
• French
• German
• Italian
• Japanese
• Mandarin Chinese
• Spanish

Qualifications

Our language courses offer you the opportunity to gain a globally recognised qualification, giving you the chance to officially accredit your language proficiency. If you choose to enter for a language qualification, our teachers will provide exam preparatory workshops, included in the course tuition fees. The qualifications available to study for are:

• Arabic – Arabic Language Proficiency Test (ALPT)
• French – Diplôme d’Études en Langue Française (DELF)
• German – Goethe-Zertifikat (GZ)
• Italian – Projetto Lingua Italiana Dante Alighieri (PLIDA)
• Japanese - Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)
• Mandarin Chinese – Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK)
• Spanish – Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera (DELE)

More information about the opportunities for accreditation can be found on each language page.

How to enrol

Enrolments for semester 2 2024-25 close on Thursday 20 February 2025. You must have enrolled in your chosen class by this date; unfortunately, we are not able to process any enrolments after the enrolment deadline has passed.

To enrol in a class, click on the link above for the language you want to learn. You'll be able to check the timetable of classes for your chosen language and enrol from there.

Meet The Teacher sessions

If you're not sure which language to learn, or level to take, you can come along to a Meet The Teacher session to find out more. These are free to attend and there's no need to book - you can just turn up. Most classes will run a session during week commencing 3 February 2025.

Arabic

French

German

Italian

Japanese

Mandarin Chinese

Spanish

In addition to the class-specific sessions, you can join these drop ins:

Finding your way around campus

Please note that it can be tricky to park on the campus during the day. Before traveling to the University, we recommend reading our guidance on where to park if you are driving, and other ways of getting to the campus.

This campus map will help you find the right room for each session.

How our classes work

Most of our classes are in-person on campus, but some run remotely online. Lessons are generally 110 minutes long, but some may be 50 minutes long.

The timetable on each language page gives you more detail on the location and duration of each class that’s available:

• Arabic
• French
• German
• Italian
• Japanese
• Mandarin Chinese
• Spanish

We keep our class sizes small with a maximum of 25 participants per class, so that we can give as much individual support as possible. All classes are inclusive, accessible and will develop your language learning in a supportive and structured way.

Each class involves taking part in interactive learning activities tailored to the level of the class. Activities may include role plays, quizzes, presentations, and informal group discussions.

Homework

To achieve the intended learning outcomes, you will need to complete autonomous learning in addition to attending the lessons. Your teacher will tell you what is required.

Moodle is where you will find an overview of the course content and intended learning outcomes, along with a wide range of resources to support your learning. Please note that it can take up to a week between you enrolling in a class and you receiving full access to the resources on Moodle. To ensure that you have access to the system in time for your first lesson, we encourage you to enrol as early as possible.

Course fees

Fees include all tuition and course materials. Course fees must be paid in full at the time of enrolment, through our online booking system.

• 10 week course, 110 minutes per week - £190 per semester
• 10 week course, 50 minutes per week - £95 per semester

If you choose to enter external qualifications, you will be able to join exam preparation workshops in semester 2. These workshops are offered alongside the core foreign language course at no additional charge. You must be enrolled in a language class to be able to join the exam preparation workshops; they are not available to enrol onto as standalone classes.

(Examination entry fees will be payable to the respective awarding organisation; further details will be provided by your teacher.)

Terms and Conditions

For legal reasons, you must be 18 or older to attend our language courses.

Cancellation policy You have the right to cancel your enrolment within 14 days of the date that payment is made, and you will receive a refund of the course fees. Thereafter, if you withdraw from a course at any time, you will not be entitled to a refund.

Changes to the programme Whilst every effort is made to avoid changes to the programme, published details may be altered without notice at any time. We reserve the right to withdraw or amend any part of this programme without prior notice. In cases where we cancel a course, we will issue a full or partial refund of course fees, as appropriate.

Transfer of course Once a course has started, we may be able to transfer you to another class under certain circumstances. For example, if you have enrolled in a class and the level is not suitable and you wish to transfer to a different level of the same language.

Generally, we are not able to process transfers between language courses (for example, moving from Spanish to Italian).

If you wish to transfer to a different class, please contact language-skills@bath.ac.uk, stating the reason for your request and the class you wish to transfer to. We may require you to take a placement test to assess the suitability of your request.

Other ways to learn a language

As well as our Foreign Language courses, we also offer cultural events, student-led Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) sessions and Language Cafés. If you are enrolled on a Foreign Language course, you are welcome to take part in all these activities; please ask your teacher for more details after you have enrolled.