Languages for All celebrates successful start

An eclectic mix of more than 900 staff, students and members of the public ranging in age from seventeen to seventy signed up to learn a language in the new Languages for All programme this year.

The new language students have learned the basics or improved their fluency in one of the fourteen languages being offered in the programme, which is run by the School of Applied Linguistic and Language Studies.

Languages being taught include French, Gaelic, German, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, Japanese, Modern Greek, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian and Turkish.

"The large numbers of people enrolled in these courses show that languages are taken very seriously by students and staff at the University, as well as by the local community," said French teaching fellow, Brigitte Edelston.

"People on the courses were learning languages for professional or personal reasons, or quite simply for fun and sheer enjoyment."

The Languages for All classes are taught by experienced tutors in a lively and interactive environment and provide a great way to meet new people from different parts of the University, surrounding area, and even the world.

The cultural aspect is not forgotten and exposure to foreign language cinema is encouraged with free subscriptions for all language learners to the Cinema@SALLS Film Club, which has weekly showings of recent foreign language films (all subtitled in English!).

Other cultural events include the International Language Festival in December and the Italian Carnivale Festa in March, organised by one of the Italian tutors, Owen Reilly.

The Spring/Summer session is currently running, enabling language learners to maintain their newly acquired language skills over the summer period, and of course, to prepare for summer holidays abroad.

The 2006-7 academic session will kick off with the accredited language programme in late September, while non-accredited classes commence on October 9. All courses run for two semesters, the majority taking place in the evenings between 5:15-7:15pm and 7:15-9:15pm.

More detailed information and enrolment details are available on the website: www.dundee.ac.uk/languagestudies/languagesforall/home.htm or by contacting Liz Campbell on 388927, email e.c.campbell@dundee.ac.uk, or Catherine Meyer on 385488, email c.e.meyer@dundee.ac.uk.