A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

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J

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L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

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A

Absence during the first lesson
It is absolutely essential that you notify your teacher of this by email, otherwise you will lose your right to a place in the course and your place will be given to someone on the waiting list.

Auditors
No auditors are allowed to attend language courses.

The only exceptions to this rule are the Latin and Greek courses (you must be immatriculated for the semester in which you take the exam).

B

C

Cancellation of fee-paying courses
You do not have to pay anything if you cancel your registration before the registration deadline. However, if you cancel after the deadline, or simply do not show up for the course, you will be charged the full course fee. Further information on general terms and conditions may be found on our Homepage. Cancellations must be sent in writing (letter, fax or mail) to the Language Center. It is also possible to propose a substitute person to take over your registration. Not paying the course fee does not count as a cancellation.

Certificates, Preparation for
In English, we offer preparatory courses for IELTS and TOEFL. In Spanish, we offer study counseling as well as an online preparatory course for DELE. In French, it is possible to obtain TEF Certification. You can also find information on our homepage about internationally recognized certificates in German and Italian.

Confirmation
See keyword "Certificate”

Confirmation email
On submission of the enrollment form, you will receive an automatic mail confirming that your application has been received and registered in the system. A few days later, a further mail is sent confirming whether or not you have been given a place in the course. Without this confirmation mail stating you have a definite place in the course, you cannot attend the course.

Contact
Information can be found here.

Content of courses

Cost of fee-paying courses
You can see the price for a fee-paying course by checking the course description.

Counseling
The Language Center offers counseling sessions on language learning for undergraduates, graduate students and staff. If you:
- want to plan your language learning over a longer period;
- would like to study autonomously beyond what is required in a language course;
- have special language-learning needs that are not satisfied by the regular course program;
- are uncertain, as a tandem partner, how to structure your tandem work optimally.

You will find further information (also about registering for this service) on our Homepage under the language in question or on the Self-Learning Center webpage.

The Self-Learning Center not only advises students on autonomous language learning, but also offers counseling to individual learners as well as to those in learning partnerships or tandems.

Course certificate
Upon successful completion of a course you will receive a certificate from the Language Center. The ECTS credits for the course and a grade will be noted on it.

D

D-GESS, registration
You have to register with the Language Center (online) as well as with D-GESS. Only when you have received an email confirmation from the Language Center can you be sure that you have been admitted to the course.

D-GESS, Zugehörigkeit der Kurse
The courses that may be counted as electives in the D-GESS program have, apart from the course catalog number, a number that begins with “ETH 851”. Moreover, these language courses are also published in the electronic course catalog of the ETH. Further information may be found under this link.

DELE
The Language Center offers preparatory courses for this examination. (See the course program for Spanish).

E

ECTS credits
We normally award 2 ECTS credits for a successfully completed course that meets for 2 hours per week. Please check the course description for details. Whether these credits can be counted towards your degree, however, is determined by t he study regulations for the degree program in your field of study. Further information may be found on our Homepage under this link.

Can I enroll for a course during the semester?
From the third week oft he semester enrollments are no longer accepted.
However, the following options are available at any time in the year.

• You can sign up for a Tandem partnership
• Use the facilities in the Self-Access Center
• Check if a running Language Learning Workshop
• Explore a range of learning opportunities in our on-line learning Resource Pool
• Read the Guidelines for learning German if you are a beginner in German as a Foreign Language

E-TEF
The Language Center offers preparatory courses for this examination. (Please see the French course program).

F

G

German examination
If German is not your mother tongue, you have to take an examination before you may be admitted to the University as a student. The Language Center offers this examination. For registration you have to contact Admissions Office

Greek courses
You will find all information about ( ancient) Greek courses, materials, and exams on the Greek homepage.

H

I

IELTS und TOEFL
The Language Center offers preparatory courses for these examinations. (Please see the English course program.)
You will find online information about IELTS at http://ielts.org or http://www.britishcouncil.org/switzerland. For online information about the TOEFL, click on http://www.toefl.etsemea.org

J

K

L

Late enrolements
See keyword "Can I enroll for a course during the semester?”

Latin

M

Map
Information can be found here.

Multi-semester courses
It is not necessary to attend the lower level of a multi-semester course in order to take the higher level course if you already have the required competence.

N

Number of courses per semester
Information can be found here.

Language Level
You’ll be able to judge your level much better with the help of the level descriptors and checklists provided. Further information on this can be found here.
Also, you should read the course descriptions - including the information concerning course requirements - carefully.

Language Level, wrong
Before the registration deadline: Cancel your registration for the wrong course and then register for the new course at the correct level.
After the registration deadline: Changing courses after registration has closed is difficult. Discuss the problem with your course teacher.

Language School
We do not recommend any particular language school.

Language course abroad
Unfortunately, we cannot make any specific recommendations. You can usually find details about language schools on the Homepage of the university that you want to attend.

Level of Swiss Matura
You should determine your level exactly by means of the DIALANG-Test. Officially speaking, the Matura target level is B2; in reality, the level is somewhere between B1 and C1. For this reason it is important for you to check your individual level. Weitere Informationen finden Sie hier.

Niveau, Wiedereinstieg
I haven’t used the foreign language I learned at school or abroad for a long time, but had a good level at the time. What level should I choose for my course now?
Register for a course that corresponds to your previous high level and not for a lower level course. You will soon regain your earlier competence.

O

Opening hours
Information can be found here.

P

Partner universities
Students from the PHZH and ZHdK are permitted to attend certain courses at the Language Center. See our Homepage for further information.

Q

R

Registration deadline
As a rule the online registration deadline ends registration. However, for courses that are not yet full, registration can go on until the first week of term. If the courses are marked “ausgebucht” (fully booked) or “Anmeldeschluss” (enrolment closed), registration is no longer possible.

Registration process
On submission of the enrollment form, you will receive an automatic mail confirming that your application has been received and registered in the system. A few days later, a further mail is sent confirming whether or not you have been given a place in the course. Without this confirmation mail stating you have a definite place in the course, you cannot attend the course.

Room
The course location (room) will be published on our Homepage one week before the semester starts.

S

Semester Dates

T

Teaching language
Whenever possible the target language is also the language used for teaching. Where necessary, German or English may also be used for explanations.

Textbooks and course materials

TOEFL and IELTS
The Language Center offers preparatory courses for these examinations. (Please see the English course program.)
You will find online information about IELTS at http://ielts.org or http://britishcouncil.org/switzerland. For online information about the TOEFL, click on http://www.toefl.etsemea.org

U

V

W

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Y

Z