UWLP: Frequently Asked Questions

The only prerequisite for registering on the UWLP is that you must be a current Newcastle University student. This can be at undergraduate or postgraduate level. PhD/PGR students are also welcome to apply but priority will be given to UG and PGT students.

Your own School may have in place certain restrictions on extra-credit modules, which may prevent you registering on the UWLP. It is important that you check with your Degree Programme Director that you are eligible before applying to the UWLP.

You should also consider carefully if you have the time spare and the dedication to learn a new language. Learning a new language can be great fun but it also requires time, patience, and a lot of effort.

Many students often misjudge the amount of study time they will need to dedicate to their language modules and eventually decide to drop out. Unfortunately, this means that many places on the programme are wasted as a result.

Whilst we'd love to have you on the programme, it is important for us to be honest and ask you to consider first whether you can afford the time and commitment.

No, the UWLP is free for all undergraduate and postgraduate students currently registered at Newcastle University. The modules are funded by the University itself. All that we ask is that you show your commitment by borrowing/purchasing the recommended coursebook and attending the module regularly.

Please note: As our funding depends entirely on the number of students engaged in our courses, we will be unable to remove you from the programme after the first two weeks. This applies even if you decide to stop attending later in the semester. This is important as your transcript will show a failed mark next to the UWLP module you are enrolled on if you decide to drop out and do not complete the assessment.

Once you have taken the time to consider if you can afford the time and commitment required for learning a new language, please fill out the form linked on our website under the 'How to Apply' section.

We will process your application in due course and will confirm whether you have been successful in obtaining a place once we have finalised the lists at the start of the academic year.

Students who register in Semester 1 will automatically be enrolled for entry in both semesters, to ensure that you are able to continue to study with us for the full academic year if desired. You will be given the opportunity to withdraw before the start of Semester 2 if you do not wish to continue.

Please do not submit multiple applications in any given academic year - please e-mail us at uwlp@newcastle.ac.uk if you need to make any changes to your application or have any questions.

Unfortunately, the University-Wide Language Programme does not offer English classes for non-native speakers.

If you are a current student, you may wish to look into the in-sessional English courses that are offered by INTO Newcastle.

Unfortunately, it is not possible for students to take more than one language at a time on the University-Wide Language Programme. This is to ensure that as many students as possible have a chance at a place.

This does not mean that you cannot study different languages at different times, though. For example, if you studied Beginners Italian in first year but would like to give learning Arabic a go in second year, this would be absolutely fine.

All modules are subject to student demand; therefore, we are unfortunately unable to guarantee that you will be given a place on your first choice course if you apply.

Language classes must reach a minimum student demand in order to run. Students will then be allocated places on a first-come, first-served basis.

Once all groups are full, further applicants will be placed on a waiting list and will be offered a place on their second choice course where possible. We will do our best to find a suitable place for you so that you do not miss out.

All modules on the University-Wide Language Programme are assessed in a similar way. The assessment consists of two tasks as below:

The exact date and time of the assessment will be set by your teacher. Preparing for your assessments shouldn’t be too time-consuming, but if for some reason you struggle to complete them, you should contact your teacher as there may be ways to accommodate you so you don’t get a fail for your module.

In order to pass the module, you must take both assessments. If you do not take both, your transcript will show a fail for the module.

The pass mark for UWLP is the same as for any other undergraduate module in the School of Modern Languages. You must achieve an overall grade of 40% or above in order to pass.

Speaking and Listening Task

For lower levels, these will generally take the form of a role-play, or a discussion where you will have a short conversation based on situations that you have practiced in the module, a text or a given topic, depending on your module level (please refer to each module's assessment information on Canvas for specific details). This assessment will normally last a few minutes and you may be given some time to prepare it. From lower intermediate and above, you may be required to give a short presentation followed by some questions.

Reading and Writing Task

This assessment usually involves composing a letter, an email, or (in higher levels) a short summary or essay in which you will be asked to include specific information from a document in the target language. You may be expected to show as well whether you’ve understood the grammar points covered as part of the module. These tasks might differ slightly in East Asian language as they are taught differently from European languages - your teacher will be able to provide you with more details on this part of the assessment.

No, UWLP classes are held in person. Students must be able to attend on campus in order to register for the UWLP. We are unable to hold any classes in a hybrid fashion.

Additionally, we are unfortunately unable to grant students access to the materials used in class without being fully registered for the programme; however, you may wish to join the Language Resource Centre (LRC), which has self-study resources in over 100 languages, many of which are available remotely.

UWLP teaching begins in the second teaching week of the first semester, and in the first teaching week of the second semester.

UWLP classes take place throughout the week depending on the language.

Classes take place:

• Mondays-Fridays between 5pm-7pm
• Wednesday afternoons from 1pm
• Friday afternoons from 1pm

We realise that evening classes are not ideal in terms of concentration, but this is often the most convenient time for students with busy timetables. For popular languages, we usually run multiple groups at different times in the week to enable as many students as possible to study with us. Classes that run on Fridays will also have another group elsewhere in the week.

If your availability at these periods is restricted, you may wish to contact us on uwlp@newcastle.ac.uk to confirm the days/times of the classes you will be attending.

We would prefer it if you could attend all the hours of your classes, as language learning takes a lot of effort and it is easy to fall behind. However, in some cases, we recognise that we need to be as flexible as we can in order for you to be able to study with us.

If you are likely to miss some contact hours on a regular basis, please get in touch with us so that we can see how we can accommodate your situation.

Please send an e-mail to your class teacher and copy uwlp@newcastle.ac.uk in to inform us that you will not be able to attend your class. We will mark you as an authorised absence on our attendance records.

Once you have recovered, please catch up on any missed content via Canvas.

It is possible to withdraw from a module in the University-Wide Language Programme within the first two weeks of teaching.

If you are considering withdrawing, it is important that you do this as soon as you have made your decision. Withdrawals after the first two weeks of teaching are not permitted. If you do not withdraw on time, you will have to take the assessments and pass in order to not receive a 'Fail' on your transcript.

Once you have completed the first semester of teaching and successfully passed, you will be automatically enrolled onto the second semester module. If you do not wish to continue, you will be given the opportunity to withdraw again at the beginning of the second semester.