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HomeDepartment of Language and Linguistic ScienceLanguages for AllShort Courses: Conversation and Intercultural Understanding courses

Short Language Courses in 2025/2026

Our eight-week language courses are available for Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Spanish and Ukrainian. Course types include introductory-level courses that allow you to familiarise with a new language, practice-focused language courses to improve your everyday communication skills and specialist language courses for specific purposes.

Course fees: 16 hours over 8 weeks

  • £116 University of York students

  • £150 University of York staff/Over 60s/Students from other HE institutions

  • £160 University of York alums

  • £175 Members of the public

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Languages for All

Register for an LfA short course

Course Dates 

  • October to December 2025 (English)
  • February to April 2026 (all languages): w/c 16 February to w/e 24 April

Registration for our LfA short courses will open in January 2026. If you wish to receive an email notification when registration opens, please fill in this form: Sign up for the LfA reminder email

Short courses per language (February to April 2026)

Arabic

  • Introduction to Arabic: ideal for absolute beginners who wish to familiarise with the Arabic language and Arabic-speaking cultures.

English

  • General English Conversation: ideal for students with at least a B1 level or equivalent in English who wish to improve their speaking and listening skills and their overall ability and confidence to communicate in English.

French

  • French Beginners Short Course: ideal for absolute beginners who wish to familiarise with the language for use in everyday communication.

  • French Post-Beginners Short Course: ideal for those with some prior knowledge of the language or those who have learnt some French through language learning apps or informally.

German

  • German Beginners Short Course: ideal for absolute beginners who wish to familiarise with the language for use in everyday communication.

  • German Post-Beginners Short Course: ideal for those with some prior knowledge of the language or those who have learnt some German through language learning apps or informally.

Italian

  • Italian Beginners Short Course: ideal for absolute beginners who wish to familiarise with the language for use in everyday communication.

  • Italian Post-Beginners Short Course: ideal for those with some prior knowledge of the language or those who have learnt some Italian through language learning apps or informally.

  • Italian Pre-Intermediate Short Course: ideal for students who have completed an LfA course or York Language Elective module in Italian at Beginner level and wish to practise and improve their skills further.

Japanese

  • Introduction to Japanese: ideal for absolute beginners who wish to familiarise with the Japanese language and culture.

Korean

  • Introduction to Korean 1: ideal for absolute beginners who have no knowledge of the Korean language or its alphabet.

  • Introduction to Korean 2: ideal for beginner-level learners of Korean who already know the Korean alphabet.

Medieval Latin

  • Medieval Documentary Latin: for those interested in familiarising with Medieval Latin through the analysis of Latin language as used in official records and documents from the Middle Ages.

Spanish

  • Spanish Beginners Short Course: ideal for absolute beginners who wish to familiarise with the language for use in everyday communication.

  • Spanish Post-Beginners Short Course: ideal for those with some prior knowledge of the language or those who have learnt some Italian through language learning apps or informally.

  • Spanish Pre-Intermediate Short Course: ideal for students who have completed an LfA course or York Language Elective module in Spanish at Beginner level and wish to practise and improve their skills further.

Ukrainian

  • Introduction to Ukrainian:  ideal for absolute beginners who wish to familiarise with the Ukrainian language and culture.

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Languages for All