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Whatever your language, the Language Centre extends a warm welcome to all students. In addition to the compulsory modules required for your respective degree programmes, you can also take a range of language courses here as optional modules or to gain an additional qualification (university certificate). To ensure the consistently high quality of our language courses, the teaching is carried out almost exclusively by native speakers – currently in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Portuguese and German as a foreign language. For several years now, a course in German Sign Language has also been on offer. Courses designed to develop intercultural competence round off our programme.

This is entirely in keeping with our guiding principle: “Our mission is to develop communication skills for future professionals in a culturally diverse global environment.”

The links to self-study resources that we have compiled for each language are organised by:

• Learning platforms and apps
• Reading comprehension: online journals, news and magazines
• Writing skills: online tutorials and guides, e.g. for writing job applications, business letters, academic texts or essays
• Listening comprehension: videos and podcasts, web TV/radio
• Grammar, spelling and vocabulary trainers
• Dictionaries, rhyming dictionaries and thesauruses

Are you keen to learn a new language? To make sure you don’t lose the joy of learning along the way, we’ve put together a few tips on language learning.

For greater success and faster progress!

1. Online learning: Make the most of new media!
There are countless apps, YouTube videos and well-known platforms, many of which are available for free or at a low cost. Cramming grammar and vocabulary takes a back seat, making it easier for beginners to get started with the language and have fun whilst doing so. The advantage of online learning is obvious: you can set your own learning programme depending on your language level, regardless of time and place.

2. Immerse yourself in the language – regularly!
You can immerse yourself in a language without having to travel abroad. Simply try to integrate the language into your everyday life.
This means, for example, watching films in their original version with or without subtitles, listening to a foreign-language podcast on your way to work, or reading before you go to bed. Make the most of the wide range of resources available, such as websites, books, online newspapers, radio stations and so on. This way, you’ll naturally become familiar with reading and listening comprehension in everyday language. A real insider tip!

3. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes: learn to speak!
Do you find speaking harder than understanding? Try striking up conversations with native speakers. These days, this is really easy to do virtually via language tandems. This will help you improve your natural accent and learn important idioms. The most important thing here is not to be afraid of making mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, and you can learn from them. So please ask the people you’re talking to to point out any pronunciation errors you make. It’s almost impossible to speak a foreign language without an accent, but that doesn’t matter at all! 
The most effective method is, of course, a longer stay abroad – for example, as part of your studies, an internship, for a job or whilst on holiday. It helps to spend as little time as possible with other Germans whilst you’re there, or even to travel alone.

Do have a look here too: Marc Green and Marianna Pascal offer further tips and insights into successful language learning in this TED Talk.

"Every new language is like an open window that offers a new perspective on the world and broadens one’s outlook on life." (Frank Harris)

Whether you’re a student, a member of staff at THI or simply interested in languages, here you’ll find useful links for self-study to help you maintain or improve your language skills, or even learn a new foreign language. These resources are useful for learning a language on your own, or as a supplement to classes at university, a language school or an adult education centre, and for preparing for a language trip or a stay abroad.

The Superprof website also offers a comprehensive source of tips on language learning, featuring up-to-date blog posts on the subject.

If you come across any interesting links that you’d like to share, we’d be delighted to receive them at sprachenzentrum@thi.de.

Online language tandems offer the opportunity to meet other users or teachers in virtual meetings or via an app.
Most of these services are subject to a fee.

• ACE2 EU Language Tandems: A free online language tandem programme for students and staff at partner universities, featuring international matching, flexible meetings and a certificate of completion.
• Italki: Like Preply, it offers one-to-one exchanges with certified teachers. It also features a community function for interacting with other language learners.
• Hello Talk: ‘Talk to the world’. A free app for chatting with native speakers from all over the world. Additional options for chatting with individual members or learning together in group chats.
• Preply: Foreign language learning for advanced learners with online teachers. Filter function to select language and teacher; booking lessons via a calendar function; virtual meetings with the teacher; structured learning with syllabuses.
• Tandem: A free app for learning a language through conversation with native speakers in a tandem partnership. In this case, both Tandem users are interested in language learning.
• Superprof: Originally designed as a tutoring platform for pupils, but you can also meet certified teachers and native speakers online for many languages.
• e-Tandem: You can practise your pronunciation with a tandem partner.

If you have any questions about studying abroad whilst you are a student, the International Office (IO) is your first point of contact. 

Summer/Winter Schools: If, as a student, a semester-long stay seems too long for you, check the IO’s website for information on short-term programmes at THI’s partner universities and selected third-party institutions.

For other language travel enthusiasts, we refer you to professional and specialised travel providers. This selection is based on the study ‘Language Travel Providers 2019’ by the German Institute for Service Quality.

• ESL Language Travel: To meet the diverse needs of students, ESL offers various types of accommodation, such as host families, halls of residence, private flats and shared flats. Personal testimonials are published on the website.
• Dialog Language Travel: Programmes for adults and school pupils, as well as business language courses for corporate clients, executives and the self-employed. Free language level test. Language trips as part of educational leave.
• Lisa Language Travel: Language trips for adults and children, including exotic destinations and plenty of seaside language trips.
• Travelworks: TravelWorks, a brand of Travelplus Group GmbH, is a certified tour operator and has been sending participants from Germany, Austria and Switzerland on trips for more than 25 years.
• GLS Language Centre: GLS has been organising language trips, work placements abroad and high school stays for adults and school pupils since 1983. Its range includes gap years, work placements abroad and language courses for companies.
• LAL Language Travel: With 38 years’ experience, seven of its own language schools and over 70 partner schools worldwide, LAL is one of the leading providers and organisers of language travel in Germany.
• Linguland Language Travel: Holiday language courses for school pupils, Business English for working professionals, or extended stays abroad for those keen to explore the world. Language travel programmes in eight languages and around 30 countries, with a total of around 200 language schools on offer.
• IST Language Travel: 35 years’ experience organising language travel and secondary school student exchanges, as well as providing work placements abroad and au pair placements for children, young people and adults. Additional range of online language courses.
• Sprachcaffe Reisen: A selection of language trips, educational leave, online language courses, long-term stays abroad and youth trips. Additional online language courses are also available.
• EF Language Travel: Language trips, high school years and private schools & boarding schools abroad. 52 destinations in 23 countries. Age-specific programmes for school pupils and students, young adults, working professionals, businesses and the public sector.

Tech giants such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook now all use machine learning for their translations. This makes translators significantly more accurate and nuanced than previous generations.

The system, available as a web version or app, recognises the language quickly and automatically, converting the words into the desired language. Microsoft has now integrated its Translator into its Office suite and translates Word documents in full, as well as entire PowerPoint slides. Zoom enables simultaneous translation for meeting participants during virtual meetings. For more extensive translations, paid subscription packages are available.

Data protection notice: Providers such as DeepL guarantee that all texts are deleted immediately after the translation is complete and that the connection to their servers is always encrypted. This ensures that texts are used exclusively for this translation and not for any other purposes, and that they cannot be viewed by third parties.

We recommend that you do not use any confidential texts or personal data when entering text.

• DeepL Translator: A relatively new programme, but one that has worked its way to the top of the online translation providers in recent years.
• Google Translate: Like most Google products, its online translation programme is ubiquitous and therefore very well known.
• Microsoft Translator: As well as text translations, Microsoft also offers cross-device translated conversations for chats between two users or interactions with larger groups.
• Bing: Bing is the alternative developed by Windows.
• Reverso: The free version allows you to enter text up to 2,000 characters in length.
• Speak & Translate: According to Google Play, this Android app is described as a ‘micro-interpreter’. In fact, one of its features is that the app listens in on conversations in a foreign language and then reproduces them fluently in your own language. A total of 100 languages are available.
• Yandex.Translate: This app from Google’s Russian competitor is more of a translator than a dictionary. You can also speak the words you’re looking for into the app and have it read them back to you. In addition, you can have text translated from one of the photos stored on your smartphone or tablet.

For business translation services such as specialist translations, leaflets or marketing texts, we refer you to external translation agencies. Contact details for providers can be obtained from the Language Centre.

Please note: Most of these services are subject to a charge.

On the LanguageCourse.net platform, you will find a search function for local language schools in Germany and worldwide.

A selection of language schools in Germany and Ingolstadt (across all languages):

• Inlingua (national and international): Over 300 language schools in 34 countries, free placement tests, e-learning courses, language exams and certificates, as well as language study trips.
• Berlitz: A wide range of languages available through local language schools (face-to-face learning) as well as online courses for children and adults. Additional services include placement tests, language exams and certificates, as well as language study trips.
• Adult Education Centres (VHS): In addition to this nationwide course finder, local Adult Education Centres have websites offering intensive courses, online courses or taster sessions.
• Sprachschule Aktiv Ingolstadt: Learn German and foreign languages through intensive courses, private tuition, online courses or evening classes.
• EURO Ingolstadt: The language and learning academy offers numerous courses and language exams, both on-site and online
• Virtual University of Bavaria (vhb): The vhb, a consortium of 32 universities in Bavaria, offers free language courses in an e-learning format that can be accessed across university boundaries (OPEN vhb).

Here you will find the contact details of the language lecturers and the management of the Language Centre, as well as testimonials from students.

Please send any enquiries, requests or suggestions to sprachenzentrum@thi.de.