Modality of the courses

Idiomes UPF offers different types of courses according to the temporality and the modality. On the one hand, there are anual courses, intensive courses, preparation courses for Cambridge certificates, monographs and specific courses, quarterly courses, summer courses… On the other, there are face-to-face courses and online courses via videoconference… Find out how they are organised and choose the kind of course that suits you best!

These courses vary in length (one-month intensive courses, quarterly intensive courses, four-month intensive courses, summer courses…) which take place at the different campus of Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Campus de la Ciutadella, Campus Poblenou, Campus del Mar). They allow students to enjoy the wonderful premises of the university and provide personal contact with the teacher and the other participants in the course.

Moreover, they enable a direct and personal contact with the teacher of the course, who is always a native speaker with many years of experience in teaching at university, and the rest of participants. These courses are specifically menta to provide first-hand contact with the language you want to learn.

As a complement to face-to-face classes, each course is supported by an Aula Global where teachers promptly upload the materials and the class planning, so that students can review or go through the contents again if they need to, and where many resources and additional work are shared in order to improve students knowledge in an autonomous but supervised way.

The teacher of the course offers personalised attention to all participants in the course during the lesson and, additionally, if it is needed, during their office hours.

The online course consists of the following:

  • Live sessions. Classes will take place live online during the course, with the whole group, using either the Zoom or the Collaborate platform.
  • Online and offline activities. Different dynamics of activities will be generated, individually and/or in groups, some of them during the class and some others after the class in order for you to do the programmed self study activities. In this sense, depending on the type of activity, different work groups will be set up: forums, online rooms for specific groups, chats, etc.
  • Self-study. You will be provided with some exercises and activities that will have to be completed during the sessions or after them, such as written exercises, speaking activities, readings, various consolidation exercises, etc.
  • Personalised attention. Both in the live classes and throughout the course, you will receive constant personalized attention from the teacher. In addition, you will have one personalized hour-long video conference session per week to consult your teacher about any doubts you may have.
  • Aula Global. The teacher will make videos explaining the different linguistic concepts of the course and will upload them into the Aula Global of the course so you can check them anytime you wish. So if you cannot attend a live session or you have any doubts about the concepts explained in class, you will be able to check the explanations as many times as you need. All the materials used in class and the answer keys of the exercises done in class will also be available on Aula Global.
  • Course planning. The teacher will also upload into Aula Global a document of the class sessions organization so that you know at all times how the different sessions will be organized, the topics that will be dealt with and the tools that will be used. Furthermore, the teacher will upload the plan of each session before it starts so, if you cannot attend the live class, you will have the chance to know the contents and materials used in that session.

Type of courses

Fast Track courses present a unique chance only available at UPF, since they are designed to give students the chance to complete and certify two CEFR levels during one academic year. It is the perfect choice for students who need to improve their English quickly in order to go on a stay abroad, apply for a master’s or make a difference before they finish their studies. One level can be completed between November and February, and another one between March and June: two levels in a single academic year!

These courses are offered both online and face-to-face.

These courses focus on the linguistic structures, the vocabulary and the strategies necessary to sit the B2 First (FCE), C1 Advanced (CAE) or C2 Proficiency (CPE) Cambridge exams with confidence. They combine online teaching (with a teacher and a set schedule) with programmed online work, and their goals and methodology follow a communicative appproach.

These French, German or Italian courses present a unique opportunity exclusive to UPF. They are designed to give students the chance to certify 2 CEFR levels during one single academic year.They are the perfect choice for students who need to improve their English quickly in order to go on a stay abroad, apply for a master’s or make a difference before they finish their studies. One level can be completed between November and February, and another one between March and June: two levels in a single academic year!

These courses are face-to-face.

The programme “Develop your plurilingual profile” allows students to start learning up to six languages with native teachers during a single academic year. In academic year 2023-2024, Idiomes UPF offers Japanese and Russian during the first term (October-December), Korean and Arabic during the second term (January-March) and Portuguese and Chinese during the third term (April-June).

They are 30-hour face-to-face courses that allow undergraduate UPF students to obtain up to 12 ECTS credits (if they study four different languages) during the academic year, which will be recognised within the UPF Minor in Plurilingualism.

Spanish immersion course (CIE): this is an intensive Spanish programme designed for international students who have an A2 level of Spanish and are interested in reaching the upper intermediate (B2 MECR) or advanced (C1 MECR) level by the end of the academic year, in order to apply to undergraduate or master’s programmes in Spain.

The course Iniciación a la enseñanza de espanyol como lengua extranjera lasts 40 h and is taught face-to-face during the first two weeks of July. It offers a general vision of the methodologícal principles and techniques needed to teach Spanish as a foreign language, and it provides students with the essential theoretical and practical tools needed to become Spanish teachers in the future.

Duration of the courses

The courses offered at Idiomes UPF vary in length:

Catalan and Spanish courses offered during the month of September. 

These courses follow UPF’s quarterly division during the academic year: from October to December, from January to MArch and from April to June. There are general language courses (Catalan, Spanish, Arabic, Korean, Japanese, Potuguese, Russian and Chinese) and also Spanish courses for specific purposes.

These courses take place from October to February or from February to June. There are English courses, preparation courses for official exams (FCE, CAE and CPE) and German, French and Italian courses.

These are English, French and Spanish courses that last 3 to four weeks and that take place in July.