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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Money & Business
Business communication: writing a SWOT analysis
This free course, Business communication: writing a SWOT analysis, is designed to develop your writing skills for business. You will be taken step by step through the process of writing a SWOT analysis, with clear advice on selecting key information from a case study text, making concise notes, choosing an appropriate structure and using ...
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level 2: intermediate icon
Languages
Intermediate French: 14 July
This free course, Intermediate French: 14 July, is taken from Ouverture, a language module 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. It will be of interest to all those who want to improve their language skills ...
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Languages
Intermediate Spanish: Understanding spoken Spanish
Welcome to this free course, Intermediate Spanish: Understanding spoken Spanish, which is aimed at intermediate learners of Spanish with an interest in language and culture. The six-hour course is designed to develop your understanding of spoken Spanish through six video portraits of people living in Spain. It introduces you to naturally spoken ...
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level 3: advanced icon
Languages
Grammar matters
Grammar matters because, combined with vocabulary choice, it is our main way of making meaning. This free course introduces you to one approach used to understand how meanings relate systematically to different aspects of grammar and shows how this deeper understanding can be applied to make everyday communication more effective.
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Languages
Advanced German: Language, culture and history
If you already have a good working knowledge of the German language, this free course, Advanced German: Language, culture and history, will help to improve your language skills, knowledge of German-speaking societies and intercultural competence. It will also develop your critical and analytical skills as you study the geography and dialects of ...
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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
Understanding language and learning
Learning is understood broadly as any kind of activity, whether in a formal or informal context, that enhances an individual’s knowledge or skills in one way or another. The relationship between language and learning is approached in three ways: learning a language, learning about language and learning through language. This free course, ...
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Languages
Beginners’ French: food and drink
Improve your language skills by learning to communicate more easily and effectively in French. In this free course, Beginners' French: food and drink, you will also gain an insight into French societies and cultures through focusing on food and drink. You will listen to French speakers in a variety of situations, and you will be provided with ...
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Languages
Languages at work
All of us in our working lives increasingly need to work with people from other cultures or those whose native language is foreign, or we may have to go to another country and work as a foreigner ourselves. This free course, Languages at work, is about how to understand differences in culture and how to make the most of existing language skills....
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Languages
Intermediate Spanish: A trip across Latin America
In this free course you will embark on a journey off the beaten track, to see the natural wonders of Latin America and some of its people. Intermediate Spanish: A trip across Latin America invites you to discover how people in South and Central America have adapted to the different environments which have created the conditions in which ...
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Languages
Advanced Spanish: Language in context
This free course, Advanced Spanish: Language in context, 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 the many ways in which living languages - notably Spanish - adapt to the contexts in ...
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Languages
Upper intermediate French: discovering French cinema
This free course, Upper intermediate French: discovering French cinema, will help you discover aspects of French and francophone cinema. At the same time, you will also focus on grammatical points, such as expressing a comparison in French or understanding the structure of a sentence in the infinitive.