JCU Academy of Modern Languages

We offer a Chinese course designed for beginners (and near beginners) as well as an intermediate course.

In the beginner course we will cover common topics such as greetings, number-related topics (phone numbers, price, time and dates), dining and showing directions. It is a very conversational course with lots of opportunities for speaking and listening to help you with pronunciation and fluency.

The origin of the Chinese characters are introduced and writing of characters is encouraged but not enforced in the course. Cultural aspects such as business etiquette are embedded into the relevant topics. Grammatically, word orders and question patterns are taught and practised as group activities.

The goal of the course is to establish basic cultural and language knowledge for interested students and establish foundations for further study of Chinese. Students are also provided opportunities to read about everyday life in China life and also other Mandarin-speaking areas such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.

For more advanced students we also offer Chinese Intermediate during which we continue to extend the skills learnt in the Beginner course.

This course is designed for beginners (or near beginners). Through the use of a variety of medias, you will be introduced to the French culture and the language. You will learn to construct sentences so you can ask and answer questions as well as understand a basic written text. You will have the opportunity to meet others and practise the pronunciation together to develop skills and friendships.

There will be no exam or assessment, so you can learn and improve at your own pace in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. In the Intermediate course, you will have the opportunity to review your already acquired skills and further develop your knowledge of the language.

You'll learn to express yourself in the past tense as well as in the future tense to allow a more accurate and easy interaction with French-speaking individuals.

Italian is a beautiful language and one you will feel proud to master. In this course you will be given plenty of opportunities to practise your speaking skills but also develop your knowledge of the language through reading and composing sentences essential to everyday life communication.

At the same time you will learn about the many fascinating aspects of Italian culture. Learning Italian at the Academy of Modern Languages is a great way to have fun, meet some new people and learn a new skill.

Allora! Parliamo italiano!

We offer a Beginners Japanese course as well as an Intermediate course in Japanese.

The Beginners course is designed for people with no or very little knowledge of the target language and will cover practical daily conversation and travel phrases. It will be a very conversational course with lots of opportunities for role-playing and language games to help you with pronunciation and fluency.

A basic knowledge of Japanese writing systems and how to write Hiragana characters will be part of the course. The aspects of traditional and modern Japanese culture will also be integrated. There’s no need to buy a textbook and handouts will be provided.

Come and experience the Japanese language and culture within a fun atmosphere. The Intermediate course follows on from the work done in Elementary and caters for students with various previous experience of learning Japanese.

Spanish is spoken in so many countries throughout the world. At the AML we offer both a Beginner and an Intermediate class.

Our course offers a global approach to the teaching of Spanish language. In particular, we draw specific attention to correct pronunciation and oral comprehension. Additional practise using audio and video, written material and handouts dedicated to reading and introducing the basics of grammatical structures will provide every student with a range of opportunities to develop their language skills in Spanish.

Topics including history, culture and life in both Spain and Latin America will be addressed during our 12- week course. The course is about having fun with others who have a common interest in Spanish and all things Spanish.

Intermediate Spanish is designed to build on the Elementary Spanish class and is for students who have had some experience in the language, and/or in a Spanish-speaking country or workplace or intend to spend some extended time in a Spanish-speaking country. Grammar is very much a focus, so this allows for further development of conversational skills. Use of colloquial expressions, verb conjugation and tense are important aspects of this level. Understanding what we want to say and, reciprocally, understanding what we hear, is an important part of the course.

Our Swahili course is designed for beginners and near-beginners interested in exploring the basics of this vibrant language and the rich cultures of the Swahili-speaking world. In this course, participants will dive into practical language skills to help them communicate in everyday situations. We’ll start with foundational topics such as greetings, self-introductions, and simple conversations about family, weather and daily activities.