1. Eligibility
1.1 All students registered for an undergraduate programme of study at this University are eligible to apply for a Free Language Course.
1.2 Students must be based on campus and available to attend classes for the full academic year in order to participate in these courses.
1.3 ‘Free’ places are funded by your home School/College. The number of places in each course is limited and unfortunately not all applicants can be accommodated.
1.4 Places are not available to students already undertaking a language course as an accredited optional module in their programme of study.
1.5 The College of Arts and Law may at its discretion extend this opportunity to students registered for postgraduate study in this College. However, the scheme is set up primarily to extend the learning opportunities available to undergraduate students, who are given priority for places.
1.6 We reserve the right to decline enrolments which are not appropriate to students’ previous knowledge or experience of the language at the levels of study offered.
2 Application procedure and Allocation of places
2.1 Information and application is available to current students of the University during the summer for the next academic year.
2.2 New incoming students apply for places after full enrolment at UoB.
2.3 One application only per student will be accepted. Duplicate applications will be removed and the latest application only will be counted.
2.4 Applications made after the published deadline will not be accepted.
2.5 If demand for a language course exceeds the number of spaces available, ‘Free’ places are allocated on a random basis to the applications received. We do not operate a ‘first come, first served’ allocation process.
2.6 A student can take only one free language course (or accredited Languages for All module) in an academic year.
2.7 Students who have made an unsuccessful application in a previous year will be given priority for a place.
2.8 Where space permits, a degree of priority will also be given to students who have already completed a language course with Languages for All.
2.9 Successful applicants are notified at the email address given in their application. Unless you notify us that you wish to cancel your application, you will be expected to join the course you have been offered and you will be registered for the module in the normal way.
2.10 Cancellations must be made at the earliest opportunity in writing to lfa@contacts.bham.ac.uk . This will avoid potential conflicts in your timetable and will allow us to offer your place to another applicant.
2.11 Unsuccessful applicants are informed as soon as possible after the applications deadline and a waiting list will be kept until week1/week 2 of teaching. Places which become available through cancellations will be offered to unsuccessful applicants at the email address given in their application.
3. Module Registration
3.1 Free Language Course places are allocated to students for the full academic year and students will be registered for the appropriate module as part of the enrolment process.
3.2 Free Language modules are zero-credit rated and will not impact in any way on other modules or the calculation of end-of-year marks or degree classifications.
3.3 Students with a Free Language Course place will also be registered to the corresponding Canvas course, where they can access course material.
3.4 When multiple teaching timeslots are available, you will be asked to confirm your preferred time. Further details will be issued to the students concerned in due course.
4. Workload and Commitment
4.1 We ask that you are committed to attending weekly classes in the autumn and spring terms, and the work involved before taking up a place which might be of greater benefit to another applicant.
4.2 Students taking a Languages for All course are expected to have the use of the prescribed course textbook for the duration of the course.
4.3 Do not make an application if you are off campus on placement for part of the year (e.g. in Semester 2) and therefore cannot commit to classes for the full duration of the courses.
4.4 Any student who does not attend the first class without prior notification to Languages for All will forfeit their place on the course with immediate effect. Their registration will be cancelled and the vacant place will be offered to another applicant.
4.5 Free Language Courses equate to taking an additional 20-credit module, but without formal assessment. Before accepting a place, students should be aware of the commitment required and take this into account when considering their workload over the full academic year.
4.6 Most Languages for All classes include students taking a language module as a credited module, as well as Free Language course students.
4.7 The deadline for transfer requests (to a different language course/level) and withdrawals from the scheme is on the Friday of Week 1 of teaching.
4.8 Please note that non-attendance of the module or withdrawal from the module may have an impact on the Personal Skills Awards (PSA) points being awarded.
5. Completion
5.1 In line with University policy, a minimum of 70% attendance is required.
5.2 Students must achieve a pass standard in at least six pieces of formative assessment, three of which must be completed in Semester 2. These are informal assessments, to be taken as part of normal coursework, and their format will vary by language and level. ‘Pass standard’ means that it would be awarded a mark of at least 40% if graded;
5.3 Your Free Language Course will appear on your end-of-year transcript with a Pass or Fail result. Numeric marks are not awarded for these courses.