FAQ

From spring semester 2025, several changes take effect on the courses offered by the Language Center:

• All the courses are open to employees.
• There is a wider range of courses: more German courses are offered at beginner level, and courses also offered to teaching staff.
• Course participants, including students, pay a course fee.

• All students of the University of Bern: bachelor, master, and PhD, including exchange students and students of the LLM, CAS, DAS, MAS, and PMP continuing education programs
• All employees of the University of Bern, including postdoctoral researchers, professors, lecturers, administrative staff, and employees of central services
• Students and employees of the institutions with which the Language Center of the University of Bern has a contractual agreement: Bern University of Applied Sciences and Bern University of Teacher Education.

These rules apply to participation in Language Center courses:
All course participants are required to pay a fee. The amount of the course fee depends on the participant category. Students of the partner institutions of the Language Center should consult their institutions to learn whether their course fees are paid or if they need to pay themselves.

Students from other institutions, including BeNeFri, auditors, and individuals from outside the university are not eligible to participate in the language courses.

Please check the range of courses available, and read the course descriptions in German and English.

The course descriptions provide essential details about the course content, materials, assessment methods, schedule, and lecturer.

If you have any questions about the courses, please contact info.aes@unibe.ch about English courses and info.daf@unibe.ch about German courses.

No. The placement tests are intended solely for placement purposes and are not suitable for comprehensive certification of your current language level in the same way as international language certificates. The Language Center of the University of Bern does not conduct exams to certify language levels because it is not an international language examination center.

Which situation applies to you? Please select:

When you register on ILIAS, you automatically register for both course and assessment.

1. To participate in a language course, you must be registered. Here is how to register for English and for German.
   • Please plan enough time for self-study outside the lessons.
2.  If the course you wish to register for is full, you should still register. The system will automatically assign you the next place available on the waiting list. You will be notified if a course place becomes available, and your registration status will then be changed from waiting to participating.
3. When you register on ILIAS, you automatically register for both the course and the assessment.
4. If you decide not to participate in the course after registration, please deregister on ILIAS and inform the lecturer about your deregistration before the start of the second week of the course so that someone else can take your place.
   • After this period, deregistration is no longer possible. Failure to participate in the course will be recorded as a no show (see below) ), and the course fee must be paid in full.

It is important that your level corresponds with the course’s starting level so that we can create an optimal learning environment.

Therefore, the lecturer will assess your level at the start of the course. This means that they will observe your reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills in addition to your lexical and grammatical knowledge to ensure that your level is neither too high nor too low for the course.

If the lecturer decides that your level does not correspond with the course’s starting level, you may not be able to join the course. In such a case, we will try to offer you another course.

1. We expect active participation and regular attendance: at least 80% attendance is mandatory. If you miss more than 20% of the classes, your course assignments and tests will not be assessed, and you will receive a grade of 1. In addition, you will not receive a certificate of course completion or ECTS points. In the subsequent semester, you can repeat the course.
   • If you are unable to attend a lesson, please contact the lecturer. In justified exceptional cases, replacement tasks can be set. The lecturer will decide on the type of task you will need to complete.
   • To pass a course, you must complete all coursework. If you fail to complete all the coursework, you will receive a grade of 1. If you have completed all the coursework, you will receive a final grade.
2. In addition to attending classes, you also need to devote time to assignments and self-study tasks to meet the workload required to obtain the ECTS points and achieve the target competencies. Merely attending classes is not sufficient to achieve the learning objectives. Please read the course information. At the beginning of the course, the lecturer will inform you about the course assignments, the self-study tasks, and any tests.
3. It is compulsory to take part in the course assessment through submission of assignments or completion of tests. The results are recorded on your study profile sheet (KSL).
4. It is not possible to attend the course without participating in the course assessment even if you do not need the ECTS points.
5. Upon successful completion of the course assignments and/or tests, you will receive ECTS points from the Language Center. Whether these ECTS points are accepted for your bachelor or master program is determined by your faculty, department, or institute. The Language Center has no influence over this decision.
6. On successful completion of a course, you may participate in a course at the next target level in the following semester.

1. If you do not complete a course successfully, meaning you fail the course assessment, you can repeat the assessment once.
2. If you wish to repeat the course assessment, you must do so at the next available opportunity. Your lecturer will inform you about this. Please contact them for the date and location of the next test.
3. If you do not pass the obligatory assessment, you may repeat the course.
4. If you register for the course assessment and then fail to attend or submit the work required, we reserve the right to ban you from our courses in the following semester.
5. If you fail the course assessment on the second attempt, you will receive a grade of 1. No further attempts or course repeats are permitted.

The Language Center’s courses support you in learning German and English. Our mission is to assist you with language learning. We offer high-quality courses designed and taught by language-teaching specialists.

Stable course groups, appropriate target levels, and consistent motivation are all key factors for your progress and success. Autonomous learning activities are integral to our approach to learning and teaching. Your personal contribution is essential to making progress.