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Languages
Beginners’ Chinese: a taster course
Learn about Mandarin Chinese as a tool for communication and gain insights into Chinese society and culture. This free course, Beginners’ Chinese: a taster course, provides a brief introduction to the Chinese language, its scripts and sounds, and how words are formed. You will hear short conversations where people greet each other and introduce ...
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Languages
Italian for travel: Test your skills
Test your Italian language skills as you immerse yourself on an interactive journey through Italy.
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Languages
Write it right: seven common writing mistakes
Tutors told us that students make several of the same common writing mistakes which can impact the grades they receive for their Open University assignments.
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level 3: advanced icon
Languages
Advanced German: Fragen der Identität
Identity – your own and that of others – is the focus of this free course, Advanced German: Fragen der Identität. You will hear German speakers from different backgrounds talk about their regional and national identities, and you will consider what it is that makes us who we are. You will evaluate and summarise information from a variety of ...
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Languages
Spanish for travel: Test your skills
Test your Spanish language skills as you immerse yourself on an interactive journey through Spain.
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Education & Development
Bringing up problems at work (without making things worse)
Talking about problems at work can feel risky but it doesn’t have to be. This article explores how to raise issues constructively, using a simple framework that focuses on clarity, solutions and professionalism.
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level 1: introductory icon
Languages
Machine translation in language learning and teaching
In this free course, you will learn to implement freely available online machine translation tools (OMT) such as Google Translate or DeepL into your language learning or teaching. The course is aimed at learners and teachers of all languages and levels. It introduces the uses of AI in language learning and provides activities and examples of ...
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Languages
Crime fiction
Explore the world of crime fiction with The Open University, a world leader in distance learning. Discover free courses, articles, video and audio resources, and interactive activities, free to study and available to start right away.
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Languages
Speak in colours!
What does 'rire jaune' or 'avoir un bleu' mean? Learn French idioms that use colour to convey a particular mood or impression of a person or situation.
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Languages
French for travel: Test your skills
Test your French language skills as you immerse yourself on an interactive journey through France.
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Languages
I have an accent, (why) does it matter?
Have you ever wondered why people speak with foreign accents and what impact it might have on their lives?
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Languages
Chinese at the tip of your tongue: A glimpse of Chinese
Why does Chinese sound so tonal? Dr Kan explains the myth of pronouncing Chinese characters.