Teaching languages to Courtauld students is a great opportunity to engage a cohort of learners who will go onto work in art history and museum curation. King’s Language Centre is proud to reinforce the idea, through our teaching, that artefacts are embedded in specific cultures and languages.
Dr Elena Borelli, Lecturer in Italian Language Education, King’s College London
12 May 2026
Hundreds of students gain new language skills through impactful partnership
More than 250 students have been able to learn a foreign language alongside their art history degree thanks to collaboration between King’s and the Courtauld Institute.
Since 2022, King’s has been partners with the Courtauld Institute, combining our expertise and resources to enrich teaching and research, create new opportunities for students and expand our arts and cultural programmes.
As part of this, the King’s Language Centre has been providing language courses for the past four years to History of Art undergraduate students. So far, more than 250 students have taken up the opportunity, with most opting to learn Italian, French or Spanish.
These courses equip Courtauld students with valuable linguistic and cultural skills that deepen their academic experience and enhance their future prospects. For the King’s Language Centre, part of the Centre for International Education and Languages, the partnership also reflects a broader commitment to engaging learners across London —supporting them to connect with new languages, cultures and global perspectives.
King’s has a long-standing commitment to forging impactful partnerships and, as outlined in King’s Strategy 2030, over the next five years the university wants to maximise their impact, build on their strengths and ensure they continue to benefit students, staff and communities.
One Courtauld student who has gained additional language skills from the partnership is Julia. She took up the opportunity to learn Italian which has enabled her to fulfil a long-held ambition to learn a new language which she hopes will enhance her future career options.
Studying Italian has been incredibly rewarding, and I feel it has opened many doors for me. I believe Italian is a highly respected language among employers. As it’s the third language I speak, continuing my studies next year would allow me to confidently list working proficiency in Italian on my CV
Julia Antonczuk, current Courtauld Institute student
The partnership between King’s Language Centre and the Courtauld Institute is a valuable opportunity for History of Art undergraduate students to develop foreign language and communication skills, which will enrich their understanding and appreciation of artworks, architecture and critical writing about art from non-English sources.
Dr Esther Chadwick, Head of Department, History of Art, Courtauld Institute
The King’s and Courtauld Institute partnership enables educational opportunities through module exchanges and shared learning experiences, research collaborations and cultural programmes. It also gives King’s students free entry to the permanent collection of The Courtauld Gallery, which holds one of the UK's most celebrated art collections, and access for Courtauld students to facilities across the university’s five campuses and some residences.
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Lecturer in Italian Language Education