Learn a foreign language

Whether you want to study for fun, prepare for an international placement or improve your career prospects, the University's Languages for All (LFA) programme gives you the chance to take a course in a foreign language alongside your studies.

All first year undergraduates are entitled to take a language course free of charge.

Which languages and at what level?

Courses currently offered by LFA, subject to demand and availability, include Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Modern Greek, Italian, Japanese, Classical Latin, Medieval Latin, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. If there is enough demand, more languages may be available.

LFA caters for beginners, intermediate and advanced students, and its aim is to help you develop oral and written language skills with practical relevance to real-life situations. Your success will be formally recognised with the award of an LFA certificate. Some LFA courses can also be taken as degree electives.

How will it benefit me?

LFA courses not only provide you with a knowledge of the language and the culture you study, they also give you a highly marketable skill. Together with the specialist knowledge of your main subject discipline which you develop at York, the ability to speak and write a foreign language will be an immensely valuable asset when you apply for jobs in today's increasingly international working environment.

The LFA programme also provides several types of specialised courses as part of degrees. Examples include foreign literature reading skills courses in French, German, Italian and Spanish for students of English; courses for History of Art students; and specialist language preparation for Erasmus exchanges with France, Germany and Italy.

Two students working together on a PC

Who to contact