News archive 2009

Postgraduates offered free language courses

23 Apr 2009, PR 84/09

The Modern Language Centre and Graduate School at King’s have launched an innovative scheme to offer all postgraduate students the opportunity to sign up for an assessed language course free of charge that begins in October 2009.

Professor Vaughan Robinson, Director of the Graduate School said: ‘For some time, King’s has had a very exciting programme designed to internationalise its students, its research and its staff. The new collaboration between the Graduate School and the Modern Languages Centre takes this a step further. Now all postgraduate students registered with the College will have the opportunity to learn a foreign language free of charge, either for credit as part of a taught degree programme, or to support a research degree.’

He added: ‘Given the way in which academia and the labour market are becoming global in nature this will give our students an advantage when they seek employment, whether that is within, or outside, a university. It will also better equip them to engage with their international peers and become part of international research communities.’

Dominique Borel, Director of the Modern Language Centre said: 'Our new scheme which begins in October will be offering 44 hours language tuition (face-to-face and e learning) in a variety of languages as well as ten associated seminars. Students will have their performance assessed and will receive a certificate if they complete the course to the required standard. This series of courses is an exciting addition to what we already offer online through the Open Learning Centre, a recently opened self-access language centre on the Strand Campus.’

Students can choose from the following languages offered by the Modern Language Centre: Arabic, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Panjabi, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Urdu. Please note that the courses run over the Autumn and Spring terms with a final examination in May 2010. Enrolment will start on 28th September 2009.

For more information on the courses and how to enrol see www.kcl.ac.uk/mlc/grad or contact the Modern Language Centre on Tel +44 (0)20 7848 2890 or modern.language@kcl.ac.uk.

[Image by Phil Sayer]



Notes to editors

Modern Language Centre
The Modern Language Centre provides courses to University of London staff, students and alumni, and to the local professional and residential community, and also offers a state-of-the-art Open Learning Centre for language self-study.
 
Specialist tailor-made courses can be designed around the needs of an individual or a company. Some of its prestigious clients presently include the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the London Business School.

King's College London
King's College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (Times Higher Education 2008) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King's has more than 21,000 students from nearly 140 countries, and more than 5,700 employees. King's is in the second phase of a £1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.

King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of our academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading. The College is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of nearly £450 million.

King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe; no university has more Medical Research Council Centres.

King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King's Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental health services. For more information, visit: www.kingshealthpartners.org.



Further information
Public Relations Department
Email: pr@kcl.ac.uk
Tel: 020 7848 3202

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