Self-study Language Courses
When a student is faced with the daunting task of reading a social science text in a foreign language, it can take a little longer than they are used to. Even experienced academics may struggle. The formal language and countless specialist terms can quickly make a text appear unwieldy and difficult to read. Even in English, a language which most of us speak quite well, such difficulties can still arise.
How many people would love to speak another Romance language? Maybe you found French easy to learn and with a new method, you can develop your skills in other languages of this family on the basis of your existing language knowledge. The name of this approach is the EuroCom method, which draws on existing knowledge and utilizes your subconscious “feel” for language.
The two language and reading courses are designed as digital self-study programs and can easily be completed alongside full-time studies due to their small scope and manageable costs. In addition, successful completion of the Romance language course provides proof of the language skills required for a virtual semester abroad.
Profile
| Qualification: | No certificate is issued for these courses |
| Study duration: | 30 hours each |
| Start of studies: | anytime |
| Registration deadline: | not applicable |
| Costs: | €50.00 |
Target Groups
This program is aimed at anyone interested in improving their English language skills or learning another Romance language. This can be students or academics, but also people who have other professional or private points of contact. The Romance language learning program is recommended for students who want to spend a virtual semester abroad in Spain or Portugal.
Personal Development Prospects
In addition to personal development and opening up new perspectives, these digital courses strengthen your self-study skills.
- Become a distance-learning student in Spain or Portugal
- Read English texts from the social sciences more fluently and understand them correctly
Register here or request information material
Course start: anytime
You can find information about ordering and links to registration on the following page.
Useful Information
You will find further information on the structure and progression of the courses on the website of the Center for Electronic Continuing Education.
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Admission requirements
- There are no specific admission requirements for the self-study courses
Course content and organization
Students in the English course “Reading Skills: English for the Social Sciences” read authentic, unsimplified texts. This is followed by exercises on text comprehension, vocabulary and text grammar. The texts used include articles from specialist journals and daily newspapers as well as excerpts from monographs and textbooks. They cover topics from history, politics, economic policy, sociology and psychology.
The “Seven Sieves” learning program is a step-by-step introduction to text comprehension methods for Romance languages. Each chapter corresponds to a “sieve,” i.e., a method of understanding texts. The method is motivated and explained in each case and applied using suitable texts from different Romance languages as examples. As you work through the texts, you will receive support in the form of guiding questions, essential knowledge input, and interactive exercises.
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The CeW’s self-study courses
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The FernUniversität in Hagen is Germany’s only state-run distance-learning university. It has 50 years of experience and is the largest university in Germany in terms of active students. Thanks to the flexible study system, the FernUniversität is the ideal choice for the following:
- Working professionals
- People bringing up families
- People with disabilities or chronic illnesses
- Students abroad
- Refugees
