How can languages further your career?

Learn about the concepts and skills required to learn languages successfully. This free course, How to learn a language, introduces the skills and strategies for language learning, setting realistic goals when learning languages and keeping motivated, practise speaking skills and vocabulary learning strategies. It will enable you to evaluate resources and create a virtual immersion environment.

Check out a range of FREE language courses in this dedicated hub.

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 they live. You will be able to listen to and read the personal stories of both locals and visitors, and you will improve your language skills by practising expressing uncertainty, opinions and concerns in Spanish.

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.

This free course, Beginners' Italian: food and drink, focuses on buying drinks and snacks in an Italian café, as well as on greeting and introducing yourself in Italian. It does not require any previous knowledge of Italian.

This free course, Intermediate German: The world of work, concentrates on developing cultural knowledge and practical language skills in listening, speaking, reading, writing and interacting in a variety of situations. 

This free course, Croeso: Beginners' Welsh, is taken from Croeso, a beginners' language module that concentrates on Welsh as a tool for communication, but it also provides some insights into Welsh societies and cultures through printed and audio materials. It will be of interest to all those who want to improve their language skills in order to communicate more easily and effectively in Welsh. The course focuses on basic greetings and introductions, numbers and days of the week. By the end of the course you will have gained confidence in communicating in Welsh, and you will be able to understand language used by speakers from different areas of Wales. You will develop the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing in Welsh.

How has the English language changed over the course of the last 500 years? What are the social and political contexts that have affected how these changes have come about? This free course, Exploring the English language, will consider the development of the English language from the 15th to the 19th century.

This free course, Language in the real world, explains and illustrates why a knowledge about how language works (i.e. ‘linguistics’) is helpful – some might say essential – for different aspects of our everyday lives. It provides an introduction to ideas around what language is and to the field of Applied Linguistics, which is dedicated to exploring and addressing situations where language plays a crucial role.

If you want to learn a new language for work or for leisure, this free course will introduce you to one of the most widely spoken languages in the world – Spanish. Whether this is the first time that you are learning Spanish, or you have already picked up some words and phrases from travelling across the Spanish-speaking world, this course is for you. This introduction offers the perfect opportunity to develop the skills needed to communicate effectively in Spanish in everyday contexts. This OpenLearn course is an extract from the beginning of the Open Centre for Languages and Cultures short course, LXS001 Beginners Spanish 1: ¡Empezamos!. After completing this free course, you may wish to register for the full course to continue your learning.

Have you always wanted to learn how to speak Mandarin Chinese? Are you fascinated by the sound, the script and its ancient civilisation? If so, this introduction will get you started on the essentials of reading, writing, speaking and listening in Chinese through a variety of online activities. A perfect introduction for absolute beginners! This OpenLearn course is an extract from the beginning of the Open Centre for Languages and Cultures short course, LXC001 Beginners Chinese 1. After completing this free course, you may wish to register for the full course to continue your learning!

Almost 100 million people speak German as their main language. Most of them live in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, making German one of the most widely-used languages in Europe. Although now associated with economic success and advances in science and technology, German has a long-standing reputation as the language of poets and thinkers, die Sprache der Dichter und Denker. The German speaking countries are also a popular tourist destination, offering visitors a great variety of landscapes - from the sandy beaches in the North to the majestic alps in the South, not to forget hills, lakes, rivers, vineyards and the historic and buzzing cities of Berlin, Zürich and Vienna. In this 2-week course you will go on a journey through Germany, Austria and Switzerland and introduce you to the language skills you need to start understanding and using German. You will start from the basics - simple greetings, introducing yourself and using numbers. Progressing towards being able to join conversations in German and to understand and use the language in a variety of scenarios.This OpenLearn course is an extract from the beginning of the Open Centre for Languages and Cultures short course, LXG001 Beginners German 1: fang an! After completing this free course, you may wish to register for the full course to continue your learning!

Are you fascinated by the Italian culture and lifestyle, cuisine, historic cities, art and beautiful landscapes? Have you always loved the sound and musicality of the Italian language? Perhaps you’ve visited an Italian city and wished you could chat with local people. Or maybe you would like to be able to read a menu, talk about yourself, or talk about yours or other people’s jobs.Whatever your reasons for learning Italian, this two-week course gives you a chance to start a new exciting learning experience. You’ll start from the basics to ordering food and drinks at the bar. This OpenLearn course is an extract from the beginning of the Open Centre for Languages and Cultures short course, LXI001 Beginners Italian 1: primi passi. After completing this free course, you may wish to register for the full course to continue your learning!

Whether you want to visit, work or live in a French-speaking environment, you will get more out of the experience if you can communicate effectively with people. In this short course you will begin to develop your reading and listening skills in French and learn to speak and write the language to communicate in everyday situations. You will acquire a knowledge of the basic structures of French along with key vocabulary to meet and greet people and to talk about yourself and others.This OpenLearn course is an extract from the beginning of the Open Centre for Languages and Cultures short course, LXF001 Beginners French 1: eh oui! After completing this free course, you may wish to register for the full course to continue your learning!