Departments and service units
According to its diverse responsibilities and the services it is expected to provide, the Language Centre is structured into different departments and service units.
Departments:
German as a Foreign Language
The Department of German as a Foreign Language offers a wide range of German courses for everyone connected to Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU). The idea behind these courses is to give you the opportunity to learn German whilst in Erlangen or Nuremberg, or improve your existing knowledge of German language and culture. Some of the German courses are offered in partnership with the Language Centre, not directly by the Language Centre itself. As well as German courses, the German Department offers examinations for DSH and TestDaF twice a year.
English for Academic and Special Purposes
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English for Students of English and American Studies
The Department of English for Students of English and American Studies is responsible for the practical language courses that are part of the Bachelor’s, Master’s and teaching degree programmes in English and American Studies at FAU.
These advanced level courses include: general English language skills, academic writing and speaking skills, phonetics, translation, UK and US area studies and preparation courses for the Bavarian teaching examinations (1. Staatsexamen).
Courses take place in Erlangen and Nürnberg (Campus Regensburger Straße).
French
The French Department is responsible for providing language teaching in degree programmes in French Studies (BA, MA and teaching degree – Lehramt – in French), as well as in the bi-national degree programme in German and French Law. It also offers courses for students from all faculties taking a French course alongside their main degree programme or integrated into their degree programme in both locations (Erlangen and Nuremberg).
Ibero-Romance Languages
The Department of Ibero-Romance Languages is responsible for language courses in Spanish as part of the degree programmes BA Ibero-Romance Languages, MA The Americas/Las Américas and MA Romance Studies as well as in teaching degrees in Spanish (Lehramt Gymnasium).
In Erlangen, it also offers courses in Spanish and Portuguese which can be taken by students (as key qualifications, free electives or compulsory electives) in preparation for a stay abroad or for other international activities and qualifications. As well as general elementary courses (A1-B2), students at the higher levels (from B1) can also take specific courses focusing on grammar, area studies, listening comprehension or translation, or courses focusing on specific technical language or tailored to prepare students for the world of work.
Catalan is not currently on offer.
Italian and Romanian
The Department of Italian and Romanian is responsible for providing language teaching in degree programmes in Italian Studies (BA, MA and teaching degree – Lehramt), as well as courses for students from all faculties taking a language course alongside their main degree programme or integrated into their degree programme in both locations (Erlangen and Nuremberg).
Courses in Romanian are not currently on offer.
Courses offered for students from all faculties are based on the UNIcert® system. In addition to general language courses (levels A1 to C1 CEFR), specialist language courses are offered from level B1/B2.
Training in philology gives students the in-depth (meta)language and (inter)cultural skills they need for the First State Examination (teaching degree in Italian – level C2).
Nordic, Eastern European and Non-European Languages
The Department of Nordic, Eastern European and Non-European Languages offers a highly diverse range of languages, which students use to meet various study objectives. To name just a few:
• Languages such as Arabic or Danish in relevant degree programmes
• Chinese, Japanese and Korean as profile languages for their future careers
• Russian and Turkish for professional mobility in their native language
• Swedish and Norwegian for medical placements
• Swahili for development aid projects.
These and many more languages can be accredited as key qualifications, irrespective of degree programme.
Foreign Languages Department in Nuremberg
The Foreign Languages Department in Nuremberg works closely with the respective language departments to offer language courses at the School of Business, Economics and Society as well as in non-philological subjects at the former Faculty of Education (Regensburger Straße campus in Nuremberg). The language courses on offer are either integrated into degree programmes, taken alongside degree programmes or studied in addition to other degree programmes. UNIcert® Basis-III examinations can also be taken, leading to a certificate.
Media and Autonomous Learning
The Department of Media and Autonomous Learning is in the first instance responsible for developing, managing and providing material for teaching and independent learning as well as organising media-assisted teaching at the Language Centre.
The Department supports, encourages and accompanies autonomous learning by providing professional advice on language learning, a wide range of analogue and digital learning material and suitable facilities for learning activities (individual and group work). It also provides facilities and staff for compiling and running e-learning courses.
The Department has its own rooms tailored to meet the requirements of media-based language learning – the Multimedia Language Labs and the Self-Access Language Learning Centre.
Service units:
Language Service -- Translation and editing
The Language Service supports the internationalisation objectives of the University by ensuring that the language used to present the University to an English-speaking audience is professional and consistent. We also translate important websites and documents from German to English for the University Administration and the faculties to support international students, researchers and teaching staff.
The Language Service offers the following services at a charge: translation into English, academic editing and academic writing workshops.
BaySeV
The Bavarian Office for University Administrative Documents in English (BaySeV) supports internationalisation efforts at publicly funded universities across Bavaria. To this end, it helps develop administrative documents and forms for international students and employees at Bavarian universities. BaySeV also maintains an online glossary of university terminology (German-English) and provides numerous bilingual templates as well as a wide range of additional helpful resources (links to external websites, tables with summaries of related terms, and translation tips).
Writing Centre
The Schreibzentrum / Writing Centre of the Language Centre supports FAU students and employees in improving their writing skills. This support is offered through a variety of formats including writing workshops and one-on-one coaching sessions. These services are available for both non-native German speakers writing in German and FAU students and academics writing in English.