Languages For All

By Haider Janjua

Bonjour!!
Comment ça va? Moi, ça va bien.

I have always been interested in learning about different cultures and love travelling. And how great is it if you can speak the language too + you can also use it as a secret language (for that you will have to force your friends to learn as well).  So as I told you earlier about the wonderland that is the countless emails we get, I came to know about Languages for all.

So if you want to learn a language but you don’t have unrestricted module choice in your course and you haven’t already enrolled in a language module, you can learn a new language without any extra charges. Yes you heard it right, ABSOLUTELY FREE! This is a great thing for engineering students who normally don’t get module choices + it also increases employment chances.

French

The languages that can be learned are French, German, Italian, Arabic, Latin, Portuguese and Spanish. These language modules are provided by Modern Languages Teaching Centre (MLTC). Staff and members of public can also study these. There are different levels of study, so you can either continue with a previously studied language or start from the beginning. Registration event takes place in the 1^st week of the 1^st semester (try to get there early because if you get late there is a huge queue and you might not be able to choose your preferred language). You can either choose to study for 1 semester or register for both. There is also registration through E-Mail links in 2^nd semester so you don’t have to worry if you didn’t choose both semesters during the 1^st semester. There is a two hour class every week followed by a one hour lab. You can choose from different time slots; the only requirement is that the lab hour should be after the class. Some classes are late in the evenings so you don’t have to worry if you are not free during the day.

Another great thing is you don’t have to sit for the exam if you don’t want to. You can still have it HEAR accredited. But there are some requirements: you have to attend at least 70% of the classes and there are 2 essential home works each semester that you have to do. In addition to these, there is an independent study record (2 listening and 2 reading exercises) that you have to submit by week 11 of every semester.

Revision Time

The pace is quite fast and you do have to work extra other than the classes. But by the end you will not only able to learn a new language and learn about new culture through it, you also get to meet students from different courses and even able to eavesdrop during the boring bus rides!!

So if you are interested in giving language a go you can go to the following website and get further information. https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/mltc

À bientôt! Au Revoir!