This course is open to students who have an A-level (at least Grade A) or equivalent qualification in that language. We also offer beginners’ courses in Arabic, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Russian. Beginners completely merge with the advanced stream in the final year. Classroom teaching is an important part of your learning, but this is only the beginning of your learning. It provides a starting-point for your development as an independent, self-motivated learner. The majority of your time will therefore be spent working independently, reading widely, making notes, finding sources of information, listening to and viewing audiovisual materials. For each hour of timetabled classroom teaching you will therefore be expected to carry out approximately four hours of independent study and research. A significant proportion of this time will be spent preparing and completing assessment tasks, both formative and summative. In core language and specialised translation/interpreting modules, heavy emphasis is placed on formative assessment as an ongoing element of the learning process, progressively preparing students for written and oral summative assessments. In cultural modules, most assessment is summative, largely consisting of a mix of essays and written examinations, with oral presentations in some modules.