Year in Europe
Dates for your diary
Summer extension course
Short intensive course to support with final preparations for the year abroad
NB: Only students taking their year abroad in 2024-25 are eligible
Details will be shared with eligible students in the summer term
Year-in-Europe Language Classes
If you would like to spend a year abroad as part of your degree programme, you have lots of options. Please look at the following links to see which programmes and partnerships are currently offered at Imperial College London:
- Full list of undergraduate degrees
- List of current exchange partners
In preparation for your stay abroad, we offer classes in French, German, Spanish and Italian.
- In order to register on these classes, you'll need to notify us of your 'Year-in-Europe' status when enrolling on a Horizons Language module.
- You may also contact the Year-in-Europe Administrator for further information.
- If you have any questions about joining the Year in Europe or Year Abroad scheme in general, you should contact your departmental exchange co-ordinator.
- If you have any language-related queries, please contact the relevant CLCC Language Coordinator:
French: Mrs Sibylle Moulin
German: Ms Christa Saller
Italian: Ms Cristina Paterno
Spanish: Dr Iria González Becerra
Aims of Year-in-Europe preparatory language classes
- Develop further all the basic language skills, i.e. reading, writing, listening and speaking, with a science, technology and engineering focus
- Apply more complex grammatical structures to specific genres
- Apply and extend vocabulary
- Introduce and use scientific and technical terminology
- Provide insights into university life and culture in the host countries
- Prepare students for residence abroad
Pre-requisites to going abroad in your 3rd year of study
To be able to join, you need to have done one of the following:
- Gained a GCSE Qualification in the relevant language (French, German, Italian or Spanish)
- Already achieved A1+ or equivalent on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)
Key information
- Classes are one hour per week, over two terms (Autumn & Spring Term) and must be taken in addition to the two hours taught as part of Imperial Horizons Programme.
- Attendance at this extra hour, and completion of any preparation work allocated, will be essential to achieve the proficiency required for a stay abroad beyond the scope of the general language class.
- The classes assessment contributes to the Horizons language modules overall mark.
Module descriptions
Year in Europe
Level 2 Year-in-Europe classes (content description)
Year-in-Europe Language class
Content description for Level 2
An additional third hour of language tuition per week is intended to prepare students for study abroad. Attendance at this extra hour and completion of any preparation work allocated will be essential to achieve the proficiency required for a stay abroad beyond the scope of the general language class.
These sessions will help you to become familiar with university life and culture in the foreign country and will support your language studies through the extra face to face interaction in the foreign language they provide. You may also expect to work with scientific and technical terminology in the foreign language at a suitable level. Your teacher will introduce a variety of topics and activities to develop a whole range of skills. At the start of term you will be provided with a general introduction to the topics and areas of practice that you will find in these classes, but you may expect the focus of each level to be as follows:
Focus :
Scientific and technical vocabulary will be introduced alongside cultural and university-related topics, as well as specific grammar points pertinent to language for specific purpose. The focus is on reading and listening and a variety of audiovisual materials will be used to enhance your language comprehension skills, enabling you to adapt to different accents and pace. Your teacher may ask you to research, read or listen to extra materials at home.
Assessment :
For this level, it will consist of an in-class assessment connected with topics seen in the class.
Assessment summary:
- A 10-12 minute in-class oral task at the end of Term 2 (100%)
- This counts for 15% of the oral examination grade of the general Horizons language module
Level 3 Year-in-Europe class (content description)
Year-in-Europe Language class
Content description for Level 3
An additional third hour of language tuition per week is intended to prepare students for study abroad. Attendance at this extra hour and completion of any preparation work allocated will be essential to achieve the proficiency required for a stay abroad beyond the scope of the general language class.
These sessions will help you to become familiar with university life and culture in the foreign country and will support your language studies through the extra face to face interaction in the foreign language they provide. You may also expect to work with scientific and technical terminology in the foreign language at a suitable level. Your teacher will introduce a variety of topics and activities to develop a whole range of skills. At the start of term you will be provided with a general introduction to the topics and areas of practice that you will find in these classes, but you may expect the focus of each level to be as follows:
Focus :
While some grammar support and general language revision is still part of this level, the focus on reading and listening will be increased. A variety of audiovisual materials will be used to enhance your language comprehension skills, enabling you to adapt to different accents and pace. Your teacher may ask you to research, read or listen to extra materials at home. Scientific and technical vocabulary will be introduced alongside cultural and university-related topics.
Assessment :
For this level, it will consist of an in-class assessment connected with topics seen in the class. Completion of this level is the bare minimum required for residence abroad. Students who spend a year abroad with level 3 completed are advised to make sure they join the pre-start of year language course offered by their host university.
Assessment summary:
- A 15-20 minute in-class oral task at the end of Term 2 (100%)
- This counts for 15% of the oral examination grade of the general Horizons language module
Level 4 Year-in-Europe class (content description)
Year-in-Europe Language class
Content description for Level 4
An additional third hour of language tuition per week is intended to prepare students for study abroad. Attendance at this extra hour and completion of any preparation work allocated will be essential to achieve the proficiency required for a stay abroad beyond the scope of the general language class.
These sessions will help you to become familiar with university life and culture in the foreign country and will support your language studies through the extra face to face interaction in the foreign language they provide. You may also expect to work with scientific and technical terminology in the foreign language at a suitable level. Your teacher will introduce a variety of topics and activities to develop a whole range of skills. At the start of term you will be provided with a general introduction to the topics and areas of practice that you will find in these classes, but you may expect the focus of each level to be as follows:
Focus:
This level focuses on communicative aspects (listening, speaking, presenting topics in the foreign language) and on practical cultural matters. Working with audiovisual materials, students will practice skills such as note-taking, summarizing and identifying essential detail from lectures. An introduction to the specific cities students may visit on their year abroad will also be provided as a complement of the cultural component of the general language class. New scientific and technical vocabulary will be introduced either through texts, translation, listening exercises and the scientific-technical presentations which will take place during the second term.
Assessment:
For this level, it will consist of an in-class oral assessment connected with topics seen in the class.
Assessment summary:
- A 15-minute in-class presentation (70%), abstract (20%), and bibliography (10%) = 100%
- This counts for 15% of the oral examination grade of the general Horizons language module
*For French Level 4, this will consist of a poster (50%) and presentation (50%) = 100%
Level 5 & 6 Year-in-Europe classes (content description)
Year-in-Europe Language class
Content description for Level 5 & 6
An additional third hour of language tuition per week is intended to prepare students for study abroad. Attendance at this extra hour and completion of any preparation work allocated will be essential to achieve the proficiency required for a stay abroad beyond the scope of the general language class.
These sessions will help you to become familiar with university life and culture in the foreign country and will support your language studies through the extra face to face interaction in the foreign language they provide. You may also expect to work with scientific and technical terminology in the foreign language at a suitable level. Your teacher will introduce a variety of topics and activities to develop a whole range of skills. At the start of term you will be provided with a general introduction to the topics and areas of practice that you will find in these classes, but you may expect the focus of each level to be as follows:
Focus:
These are the highest levels provided to students; communication and academic skills are enhanced through further work with audiovisual materials from online sources, radio/TV, as well as scientific and technical texts and in-class presentations.
Assessment:
For this level, it will consist of an in-class oral assessment connected with topics seen in the class.
Assessment summary:
- A 20-25 minute in-class presentation (70%), abstract (20%), and bibliography (10%) = 100%
- This counts for 15% of the oral examination grade of the general Horizons language module