General Language and Culture courses
Improve your language skills and cultural awareness among a diverse group of learners.
Our extracurricular LfA classes run in Sem 1 and Sem 2 for a total of 18 weeks of teaching over the academic year (8 in Semester 1 and 10 in Semester 2). They are open to everyone who meets the level requirements and can be taken on an extracurricular basis alongside your studies.
If you are a current University of York undergraduate student and wish to embed your language learning into your degree as a 20-credit elective module, please check the York Language Elective page.
Contact us
Department of Language and Linguistic Science
Informative talks in Refreshers’ Week and Week 1
If you have questions or would like to learn more about the different course types, please join us on any of the dates below:
- Wed 7 February at 12.00 in B/K/018 (Campus West)
- Thurs 8 February at 11.00 in ARC/014 (Campus West)
- Wed 14 February at 14.00 in PZA/129 (Campus East)
Semester 2 Course Dates 2023/24 - Lessons 9-18
- Start Week 1 (beginning Monday 12 February 2024)
- End Week 10 (finishing Friday 3 May 2024)
- Consolidation Week/Vacation (no LfA class): 25 March - 7 April 2024
Course Fees
Semester 1 & 2 (18 weeks):
- £245 University of York students*
- £325 Over 60s/students from other universities/schools
- £370 University of York staff/ members of the public
Semester 2 only (10 weeks):
- £138 University of York students*
- £180 Over 60s/students from other universities/schools
- £206 University of York staff/ members of the public
* Additional 10% discount for PG students
Register for a LfA general language and culture course
Registration for our year-long courses generally opens in September.
Registration for Semester 2 2023/24:
You can register for Semester 2 only if your current level aligns with the course level (see below) and there is capacity in the course. Please note that none of the courses in Semester 2 will be suitable for absolute beginners. If you are interested in learning a new language, please check our Semester 2 Short Courses.
To find out more about registering for Semester 2 please contact languages@york.ac.uk
The deadline for registering is Friday 23 February.
Languages and levels
We do not have specific entry requirements. Although we mention ‘prerequisites’ in our course description, this is more to guide students. Provided that you feel confident of your current level, you can choose to go into whatever course you feel is appropriate (e.g. if you haven't got a GCSE but have lived in a country for a year or so then you could still go in a Lower Intermediate course or above).
To choose which level is right for you, please consult our guide.
To help you self-assess your level you can take our entry test for the following languages:
- French (up to Upper Intermediate)
- German (up to Upper Intermediate)
- Italian (up to Upper Intermediate)
- Japanese (up to Intermediate)
- Spanish (up to Upper Intermediate)
For more information on our course aims and objectives click on the relevant link below. Please note that our descriptors make references to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).
Timetable
Please see the LfA General Language and Culture Timetable 2023/24 for an overview of our class times and to check whether there is capacity in your preferred course.
Contact us
Department of Language and Linguistic Science