Free courses

Produced by The Open University, a world leader in open and distance learning, all OpenLearn courses are free to study. We offer nearly 1000 free courses across 9 different subject areas. Our courses are available to start right away.

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Grid List Results: 76 items
Getting started on classical Latin free course icon level 1: introductory icon

History & The Arts

Getting started on classical Latin

This free course, Getting started on classical Latin, has been developed in response to requests from learners who had had no contact with Latin before and who felt they would like to spend a little time preparing for the kind of learning that studying a classical language involves. The course will give you a taster of what is involved in the ...

Free course
10 hrs
Advanced French: At the science museum in Paris free course icon level 3: advanced icon

Languages

Advanced French: At the science museum in Paris

Using the topic of science and technology in France, this free course, Advanced French: At the science museum in Paris, will show you how to structure arguments, write a summary, use the subjunctive, report numbers and express wishes in French.

Free course
15 hrs
Advanced Spanish: Protest song free course icon level 3: advanced icon

Languages

Advanced Spanish: Protest song

This free course, Advanced Spanish: Protest song, will develop your knowledge and understanding of the societies and cultures of Spain and Latin America and extend the practical skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The course focuses on protest song, a musical genre that has played an important role in Hispanic society.

Free course
4 hrs
Beginners’ Spanish: Getting around free course icon level 1: introductory icon

Languages

Beginners’ Spanish: Getting around

Do you want to improve your language skills and communicate more easily and effectively in Spanish? This free course, Beginners’ Spanish: Getting around, concentrates on Spanish as a tool for communication, but it also provides some insights into Hispanic societies and cultures through authentic printed and audio materials. This OpenLearn course...

Free course
20 hrs
English in the world today free course icon level 1: introductory icon

Languages

English in the world today

How did English become the global force it is today? This free course, English in the world today, explores the status of the language and its worldwide diversity. It looks at how social and political factors influence people's attitudes towards it, and at the relationship between one's linguistic heritage and sense of identity.

Free course
8 hrs
Getting started with French 3 free course icon level 1: introductory icon

Languages

Getting started with French 3

In this course you will learn how to ask for directions in French. Along the way, you will build up your vocabulary so little by little you will be able to have more complex conversations and understand more French language in a variety of different scenarios.This OpenLearn course is an extract from the beginning of the Open Centre for Languages...

Free course
6 hrs
Why study languages? free course icon level 1: introductory icon

Languages

Why study languages?

Learning languages and finding out about other countries can be fun, as well as useful, and this free course, Why study languages?, is an introduction to the differences in culture and language about which we all need to be aware. There are 10 independent sections: any selection of them can be studied in any order. Some are about why knowledge ...

Free course
5 hrs
Beginners’ German: Places and people free course icon level 1: introductory icon

Languages

Beginners’ German: Places and people

Do you want to learn the basics of the German language? This free course, Beginners’ German: Places and people, will take you on a journey through German-speaking countries. You will read and hear about a range of places and people. This OpenLearn course will give you the opportunity to develop language skills which will help you to cope in a ...

Free course
5 hrs
Intermediate French: Holiday plans free course icon level 2: intermediate icon

Languages

Intermediate French: Holiday plans

This free course, Intermediate French: Holiday plans, is taken from Ouverture, a language course that concentrates on French as a tool for communication, but it also provides some insights into French society and culture through authentic printed, audio and video materials. The course will be of interest to all those who want to improve their ...

Free course
20 hrs
Getting started with Chinese 2 free course icon level 1: introductory icon

Languages

Getting started with Chinese 2

Have you always wanted to speak Mandarin Chinese? Have you even started learning a few basic words and expressions? If so, this course will give you more essentials of reading, writing, speaking and listening through a variety of online activities. A perfect online short course to develop further the skills needed to speak and understand simple ...

Free course
8 hrs
Describing language free course icon level 1: introductory icon Badge icon

Languages

Describing language

This free course introduces you to the basics of describing language. Using examples from English, you’ll learn how words are built, how they fit together to make sentences, and what labels like noun, verb and adjective mean. You’ll see how language patterns in regular ways and how the meaning of a sentence is more than the sum of its parts. ...

Free course
24 hrs
Advanced Spanish: Arts and crafts free course icon level 3: advanced icon

Languages

Advanced Spanish: Arts and crafts

This free course, Advanced Spanish: Arts and crafts, is designed to develop your knowledge and understanding of Spanish-speaking societies and cultures and extend the practical skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. You will examine the world of Spanish and Latin-American art and explore the difference between art and craft.

Free course
12 hrs