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General Course Information

Welcome to the Language Center! We look forward to accompanying you on your language learning journey. On this page you will find all the important information about our courses, from the schedule and content to the conditions of participation. Whether you want to refresh your knowledge or learn a new language - we are here to provide you with the best possible support.

Please check the information there for possible updates shortly before you register for a course and shortly before the course begins.

Start and duration of classes

In the winter semester 2025, classes will generally start from 21 October 2024 and carry on until 14 February 2025.

There will be no classes on the following days:

Winter break:  23 December 2024–10 January 2025

The specific times for each class are stated in the course descriptions. You can see a list of all sessions of your class and the corresponding locations by clicking on the box with the course dates underneath the course description.

Make-up classes for missed sessions may take place online.

Please note that the course times refer to the precise time (i.e. no "academic quarter")!

Certification / Credits

If you successfully complete the course, you will receive a certificate including an overview of acquired competences at the end of the semester. These certificates indicate the number of credits and the grade you obtained. Upon request, certificates can be handed out with a generic "pass" grade.

In order to complete a course successfully, you need to attend regularly. In a weekly face-to-face class, no more than two sessions may be missed (in the case of classes with two sessions per week, a total of four sessions). Exceptions can be made in individual cases and depend on the individual situation, provided that no more than 25% of the classes have been missed.
This regulation applies correspondingly to the video conferences in the online-classes.

For successful completion of a course, you are expected to work about the same number of hours outside class as the hours spent in class.

Advance registration for follow-up participation

If you finished a course in the previous round of classes, you are considered a follow-up participant and can complete advance registration if you obtained a grade of 8 points or better in all languages except English. A password is usually sent out via email at the end of March for the summer semester courses (for summer semester 2024 on 22 March 2024) or at the end of September for the winter semester courses. If you took an English course in the previous round of classes and would like to register early for a follow-up level, please contact the head of the English program at the language center to make your advanced registration in person.

Course materials

The material to be used in class will, in part, be supplied by the Language Center. In the event that certain teaching materials (e.g. textbooks) need to be purchased, this will be mentioned in the course description.

For the online-classes in particular, you will need access to the university's learning platform ILIAS. When taking part in a video conference, a device with a moderately large screen is recommended.

Number of participants

The minimum number of participants for each class is 10. The maximum number may vary from case to case but will not exceed 20.

Course fees

The fee for your specific course is indicated in the course descriptions under "Preis".  When two different fees are indicated, the lower amount is to be paid by members of Philipps-Universität and students of JLU Gießen. The higher fees are to be paid by external participants, who can register for courses when there are vacancies (cf. Terms and Conditions §2)

The payment of the course fee is carried out by way of SEPA direct debit.

Classrooms

For classes with face-to-face teaching, the location of each class is indicated in the course description (see "Course Program" of the language in question). Most classes take place in rooms that are fitted with multimedia facilities. The precise location of all classes can be found on a map by clicking on the corresponding box underneath the course description.

Abbreviations used on our website

  • CNMS: Centrum für Nah- und Mitteloststudien, Deutschhausstraße 12 (next to Elisabethkirche)
  • ECTS: European Credit Transfer System (Credit system for the international accreditation of studies; 1 ECTS-credit corresponds to 30 working hours of 45 minutes)
  • HG: Hörsaalgebäude = lecture hall building, Biegenstraße 14
  • PhilFak: Philosophische Fakultät (Arts Faculty building), Wilhelm-Röpke-Straße 6
  • SR: Seminarraum = classroom (until recently, classrooms in the Language Center were called  Medienräume/ MR)
  • SLZ: Selbstlernzentrum = Self Study Center
  • SWS: Semesterwochenstunden = teaching hours per week and semester
  • SZ: Sprachenzentrum = Language Center
  • 99090 50401 (ex.): The course numbers of the Language Center are made up as follows:
    99 = Language Center / 090 = subject code for Modern Languages / 5 = current semester / 04 = corresponds with the letter of the alphabet that the language begins with (04 = D = Deutsch, 05 = E = English etc.) / 01 = course number in rising order.